i know i you said you are using a hoe but the best way to dig a basement is with a track loader. there are our rules per say. you strip the topsoil and take it to the highest back corner of the lot( on subdivision lots, not big farms) this is for the fact that this is the last thing needed on the lot and any closer it will just be in the way for masons concreate trucks....and every one else. then the clay take it to the other corner and pile it up. making sure you do not stock pile where the septic system goes. we always daylight our basements. we start out digging in to the hill at our finish grade or just a few inches above. so that as we dig we are also walking in the basment pad. make sure you build the driveway to the house when you dig the basement, this is so that all the trucks comming on and off the property pack the road in, and that you don't have to cut through hard pack at the end of building when you are prepping for pavement. we set out our basments 3-4 feeet and dig inside the stakes . keep the wall straight as you can as hangers can get people hurt working on the out side of the walls. get the floor good and level it is hard to fix with a bobcat later, also makes digging footers easyer as your lines don't get messed up as easy when the floor is fairly slick. as a side note one of the best things i have seen a builder do is after the footers are poored is to go ahead and put the stone in there before they bring the block, as you can just spread them with a truck and it keeps every thing clean