Ahh, awesome, so funny you mentioned the kill a watt, we just ordered one over the weekend so we can start monitoring our appliance energy usage while we are still renting to better figure out our energy needs for planning our solar setup. It's good to hear you also spent some time doing the same. We have a lot of ideas while we brainstorm and to hear that others have put those same ideas into action is very reassuring and validating!

We are also planning on heating mainly with wood, fortunately in Colorado it doesn't get quite as cold unless we are at elevation. We are looking at property between 7k and 9k ft elevation, chilly but we have some friends who live at 10k who have to fire their stove up even in the summer sometimes.

Thanks for the suggestions, it's so helpful! I'll be looking out for a pressure canner as I'll be canning a lot this winter at our rental. It's never too early to learn skills!