Hi Catherine,
It's easy to get overwhelmed because there is such a vast richness to permaculture!!
Contouring is great and hugelkultur combined with contouring is quite powerful. We've done a lot of hugelkultur and I'm always glad we did. Sheet mulching is another excellent way to build soil. Planting or encouraging good "weeds" to help the soil get better, too.
I'm a big fan of the book Gaia's Garden. If you haven't seen that book, I'd highly recommend you give it a look.
