Editor's Note: With this post we welcome Jayne Bielecki to the writing team. Jayne writes out of Wisconsin, and will be writing about her and her partner's experiences as they slowly turn a 1940s era homestead into an environmentally friendly and energy-efficient home. Be sure to offer your encouragement and advice, in what could become a shared Celsias Community learning curve.

In the middle of a Wisconsin winter, late last year, my fiancée and I bought an old homestead on 40 acres. The small house was built by the original homesteaders in the 1940’s. It was virtually unchanged except for an updated kitchen and bath (1980’s vintage). We knew we had a challenge ahead of us! The challenges include:

Front of the 1940's Homestead

• contaminated well
• asbestos siding on house and garage
• a substantially leaky roof
• inadequately built porch
• cloth-insulated electrical wiring (an unexpected surprise)
• an “absorbent” basement
• a leaning barn
• 40 acres of open field
• updating and decorating to express our personalities and meet our needs

Being do-it-yourselfers and environmentalists, our goal is to make our new home energy efficient and environmentally friendly. We want to have the smallest combined carbon and eco-footprints possible. We also want to be able to do the majority of the projects on our own. Although both of us are familiar with environmental and sustainable living, we needed to do some research on the necessary details for informed decision-making on priority projects. The Renewable Energy and Sustainable Living Fair sponsored by the Midwest Renewable Energy Association is a great place to get current information from experts working to sustain the environment. The priority projects for this summer are:

• the contaminated well
• the leaky roof
• the open 40
• the needed ENERGY STAR refrigerator.

Making sure that we are making informed decisions is very important for us and the environment. We are investing time, money, and our mental, emotional, and physical selves into this project. We do not want to create unnecessary waste and we do not want redo any part of it! With all the extra time I save from not redoing projects, I will be keeping you informed of our progress. :) I will be able to tell you about the projects we work on, what environmental information I have found through my research, and, of course, our trials and tribulations. I hope you will be part of our environmental learning and building community, and share your knowledge, experience, and expertise with us. Any help and moral support will be appreciated.