Project notes, tested ideas, and the guides we keep coming back to — for anyone who likes to build something, grow a little food, and get more out of a small outdoor space.
A good plan is what you take to the lumberyard, not just a Pinterest board
Green Manual grew out of a Pinterest page for backyard woodworking and small garden builds. We kept saving the same kinds of projects, so we built a place to write them down properly: how to size a shed for a tight lot, how to start a small kitchen garden, and which resources are actually worth your Saturday once you're ready to build.
We write from our own notes first. A product only gets mentioned when it fits the page it's on, and every paid link is labeled clearly, so you always know what you're clicking.
Build Sheds, benches, worktables, and outdoor rooms
Grow Compact gardens, greenhouse ideas, and seasonal planting
Cook Simple plant-based meals from ordinary grocery aisles
Keep Storage, organization, and quieter weekend projects
Where we'd start
A searchable library of woodworking plans, built for weekends
Our Pinterest page has always leaned toward DIY woodworking and backyard builds, so this is the resource we point people to first. We feature it because it fits what this site is about — not because anyone paid for the placement.
Where we'd start
TedsWoodworking
TedsWoodworking is a digital library of more than 16,000 plans — furniture, outdoor builds, workshop pieces, storage, and small projects — each one with step-by-step instructions, a materials list, and cutting diagrams. It's built for people who'd rather spend Saturday cutting wood than hunting for a plan that actually works.
Good for: weekend builders who want a clear cut list before they buy the lumber, including anyone just starting out in a corner of the garage.
Searchable library, organized by category and skill level
Exact cut lists and full materials lists for every plan
This is an affiliate link — we may earn a commission if you buy through it, at no extra cost to you. We'd still encourage you to look over the official page yourself before deciding.
From the journal
Start with a useful article, not a checkout page
Everything below stays on this page. Scroll, read, then decide if a paid guide is useful.
These sit alongside the woodworking library above — useful for whenever your next project is a shed, a more productive backyard, or a simpler way to get dinner on the table.
DIY · Woodworking · Backyard
Ryan's Shed Plans
Over 12,000 shed designs in every size and roof style, each with step-by-step instructions, materials and cut lists, and 3D drawings — handy for anyone whose next build is bigger than a bench.
Affiliate link — we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Gardening · Homesteading
The Self-Sufficient Backyard
A backyard self-sufficiency guide covering food growing, preservation, greenhouse setups, and water catchment — written for a normal-sized yard, not acres of land.
Affiliate link — we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Plant-based · Easy cooking
The Complete Plant-Based Cookbook
More than 200 plant-based recipes built from everyday supermarket ingredients — breakfasts, bowls, pastas, and dinners you can have on the table in 30 minutes or less.
Affiliate link — we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
DIY and projects
Build the piece you keep sketching, without guessing the cut list
Most weekend projects stall between the idea and the first accurate measurement. These notes are for people who want a workbench, a garden bench, or a storage cabinet — and would rather buy lumber once.
Plan it before you cut: our favorite weekend builds
A photograph is not a plan. The difference shows up at the lumberyard, when you either have a list or you buy an extra sheet “just in case.”
Choose a piece that fits the wall. Then cut from a written list.
Pick a project that already has a home
A workbench that lives against the garage wall, a garden bench that replaces two folding chairs, or a storage cabinet over the washer will get finished. Measure the wall, the ceiling, and the door swing before you fall for a design.
Write the cut list on paper
Every board gets a length, a quantity, and a note for grain or knots if it matters. Hardware goes on the same page: screws, hinges, glue, finish. If a downloaded plan includes this list, use it.
Buy for the actual milled size
A 2x4 is not 2 inches by 4 inches. Plans that assume nominal sizes without saying so are how joints miss. Check the diagram against a tape on a scrap from the same pile you will buy.
Stage the weekend like a small job site
Clear the floor. Set up sawhorses. Cut all similar lengths together. Dry-fit before glue. This is slower on Saturday morning and faster by Sunday afternoon.
If you want a finished sequence
TedsWoodworking
A digital library of more than 16,000 woodworking plans with step-by-step instructions, materials lists, and cutting diagrams.
If a piece does not hold tools, people, or plants, it is optional. Start with a workbench you can clamp to, outdoor seating that can take weather, and storage that gets things off the floor. A potting bench sits at the overlap of shop work and yard work, which is where most Green Manual projects live.
A small yard works when storage, growing, and a place to sit do not compete. These notes look at footprints, sun, and one structure that is actually worth building.
Give the space a door zone, a work zone, and a sit zone. The door zone stays empty enough to carry groceries. The work zone holds a bench against a wall. The sit zone can be small. Two chairs beat a dining set that never gets used in February. Dry storage is a comfort feature: cushions and potting soil do not belong under a plastic sheet.
Starting a kitchen garden, even with barely any space
Sun and a short crop list matter more than a large structure in year one.
Watch the light for two days
Stand in the yard at mid-morning and again in late afternoon. Fruiting crops need about six hours of sun. Leafy greens tolerate more shade.
Choose a container you can reach
A pair of 18-inch pots by the kitchen door will teach watering faster than a 4x8 bed across the lawn. If you build a raised bed, keep the width under four feet so you never step on the soil.
A short crop list for year one
Herbs you already buy: basil, parsley, chives
Cut-and-come-again lettuce
One summer crop you will eat weekly, such as cherry tomatoes
Skip ten novelty packets until those succeed
If you want a fuller backyard system
The Self-Sufficient Backyard
A guide covering gardening, food growing, preservation, greenhouse ideas, water catchment, and projects for smaller spaces.
Plant in rings of use. Herbs and salad greens belong within a few steps of the kitchen. Fruiting crops can sit farther out. Keep pots in a line against a wall, not a scatter in the middle of the patio. Leave air around the plants: crowding looks abundant in May and mildews in July.
Self-sufficiency on a city or suburban lot usually means dry tool storage, a bed that actually produces, and one water or growing upgrade you can maintain. Map sun and drainage first. Then give tools a dry place. After that, plant what you already cook. Building codes and setbacks still apply.
Related resource
The Self-Sufficient Backyard
Gardening, food growing, preservation, greenhouse ideas, water catchment, fruit trees, and small-space projects. The material is presented as based on decades of the authors' experience. Read the official page before you buy.
This is a working list, not a diet plan and not medical advice. Each idea uses supermarket ingredients.
Keep a grain, a bean, a sauce, and a vegetable. Rotate the rest.
Bowls and plates
Rice, black beans, salsa, avocado, and shredded cabbage
Farro with roasted broccoli, chickpeas, and lemon
Baked sweet potato, canned lentils, and tahini
Quinoa, cucumber, tomato, olives, and olive oil
Leftover rice fried with frozen vegetables and soy sauce
Tortillas and bread
Black bean tacos with lime and pickled onion
Hummus wrap with grated carrot and greens
Pita with smashed chickpeas, olive oil, and paprika
Toast with white beans, garlic, and parsley
Bean quesadilla with peppers and salsa
Pasta, noodles, and hot pans
Spaghetti with olive oil, garlic, chili, and frozen spinach
Pasta with canned tomatoes, chickpeas, and basil
Peanut noodles with shredded cabbage
Tomato, white bean, and kale soup
Broth with tofu, greens, and scallion
Stir-fried tofu and broccoli over rice
Mushroom and onion skillet with tortillas
Chickpea curry from canned tomatoes and coconut milk
Zucchini and corn sauté with rice
Oats with banana and peanut butter, or a tofu scramble
If you want a larger library
The Complete Plant-Based Cookbook
More than 200 plant-based recipes using common supermarket ingredients. Many meals are prepared in 30 minutes or less. A 60-day guarantee is presented on the official page.
Keep canned chickpeas, lentils, rice, tortillas, canned tomatoes, tahini or peanut butter, and frozen spinach. With olive oil, salt, lemon, and one hot sauce, you can make bowls, wraps, and pasta without a second store. This is not medical advice. It is a kitchen method.
Open shelves, a mud-room bench, and a wall cabinet do more for a small house than another decorative object. Measure the wall, write the cut list, and build for the things you already own.
The public Green Manual Pinterest profile is organized around DIY woodworking, so TedsWoodworking is the featured recommendation. Shed plans, backyard self-sufficiency, and plant-based cooking appear where those subjects are the actual topic. Paid links are affiliate links and are labeled. See the affiliate disclosure.
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Last updated: September 3, 2026
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