My new goal and daily challenge - will you tag along?

My dream is a self-sufficient lifestyle. In reality, this will be nigh on impossible to achieve. I work full time. I have three kids under 10. I have a husband who works full time too, and while he works at DIY during winter, I become a cricket widow when the summer months roll by. I don't have much money. I don't have much land (about half an acre). I have next to no experience. I study history part time at Uni. And, well, I can just be extremely lazy most of the time.
Having financial issues lately made me re-evaluate what I find important in our family. Is it the ability to be able to get what we want, when we want it, or is it more satisfying and fulfilling to make it ourselves, recycle something, or save up and be patient?
Well, that's what I want to find out. I can't say I'll post daily but I will use this blog as a bit of a diary and hope I can inspire others to seek new ways of doing things in the globalised and, dare I say, sometimes selfish world. I have ambitions - I want to make more household items, like cleaning products etc. I want to convert Mrs Beeton recipes from the 1800's to the Thermomix to try old school recipes in a modern way. I love animals and have started our menagerie this weekend by obtaining a gorgeous puppy and 9 chickens for next to nothing - and I am so grateful for them being part of our family and lifestyle. The kids are loving it too, and they are learning responsibility by having to put the chickens to bed every night.
I want to reassess every dollar we spend - what can we do without, what can we make do with, how can I get things cheaper? Our goal is to get out of debt (apart from the car and mortgage) by the end of the year, and to pay off our mortgage by the time the our eldest finishes high school (so we have 9 years - a big call!) and I certainly don't want to wait until I'm 70 to retire!
Of course, there is a need for our modernisation and globalisation in today's world, but I certainly don't want to be a slave to it. I'm not going to sell my car and start riding a horse to work, but there are other ways that I can make life more saturated with meaning for my children.
Come along for the adventure - try out some things and let me know about them - let's be proud of our work together.
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