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Author: Gaye Levy

I grew up and attended school in the Greater Seattle area. After spending many years as an executive in the software industry, I started a specialized accounting practice offering contract CFO work to emerging high tech and service industries. Awhile back I abandoned city life and moved to a serenely beautiful rural area on on San Juan Island in NW Washington State.

These days I call Arizona home and am actively pursuing the purchase of a mountain retreat along the Mogollon Rim.

As you may have noticed, I am a bit of a glamourista but hope you do not hold that against. me. My bug out bag includes makeup and other items to make me look and feel good if SHTF.
Is Cooking From Scratch Worth It?

Is Cooking From Scratch Worth It?

One of the dilemmas we all face from time to time is deciding when is it worth it to buy something instead of making it from scratch.  As preppers, the…

Coping With Uncertainty In Today’s World

Coping With Uncertainty In Today’s World

Every afternoon as I sit down with an extra large cup of espresso, I ponder something to write about next on Backdoor Survival.  It is difficult, but not for the…

Surgical Masks for the Survival Kit

Surgical Masks for the Survival Kit

Today I want to focus on an item that people rarely think about unless they are surrounded by sickness, disease or a pandemic situation.  I am referring to the common…

15 Ways to Conserve Water

15 Ways to Conserve Water

The information in this article, 15 Ways to Conserve Water, has been updated and incorporated into an all-new, enhanced article. Survival Basics: 16 Ways to Conserve Water In Your Home  …

15 Alternative Uses For Honey

15 Alternative Uses For Honey

The information in this article, 15 Alternative Uses For Honey, has been updated and incorporated into an all-new, enhanced article. 20 Ways to Use Honey for Wellness and Survival  

The Miracle of Lavender Oil: 25 Amazing Uses for Survival

The Miracle of Lavender Oil: 25 Amazing Uses for Survival

When it comes to essential oils, you will find that everyone has their favorites.  There are so many to choose from that deciding which ones to use on a regular…

Survival Friday: Learning to Cope with Adversity

Survival Friday: Learning to Cope with Adversity

How many times have you experienced a setback in your life and felt angry, lost, disoriented and worse?  From personal experience, I can tell you that the stress of it…

7 Ways to Rekindle the Quest for Truth

7 Ways to Rekindle the Quest for Truth

In recent months I have found myself shrugging in disgust as I browse the web and read the latest headlines. I mumble the words I used to say in the…

9 Simple Ways for Preppers to Be a Good Neighbor

9 Simple Ways for Preppers to Be a Good Neighbor

I have written many times about the importance of community and neighbors when it comes to long term survival.  Last year I wrote: There is no question about it.  I…

Survival Friday: DIY Wire Saw from Scraps

Survival Friday: DIY Wire Saw from Scraps

Have you ever been in a situation where you needed to do something but you did not have the right tool or gizmo to get the job done?  In my…

39 Fantastic Prepping Tips

39 Fantastic Prepping Tips

People often ask where my ideas and where my knowledge comes from. When that happens, I chuckle a bit to myself because just like the person asking, my knowledge comes from a variety of sources: first hand experience, books, online forums and of course, Backdoor Survival readers. Here are some of those tips.

Survival Basics: How to Build a Fire in a Rocket Stove

Survival Basics: How to Build a Fire in a Rocket Stove

There comes a time when every prepper will say enough with all of the food and enough with all of the gear. Preparing a survival pantry, first aid kit and…

4 Prepping Lessons Learned Following a Near Disaster

4 Prepping Lessons Learned Following a Near Disaster

Living in the Pacific Northwest, you become accustomed to the occasional earthquake.  I still remember the earthquake of 1964 as well as the big Nisqually quake of 2001. I especially…

How To Build A Worm Bin the Cheap and Easy Way

How To Build A Worm Bin the Cheap and Easy Way

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about using worms to create compost. The official term for this is “Vermicomposting” and the great thing about it is that it is…

Summer Book Festival: Emergency Air by F.J. Bohan

Summer Book Festival: Emergency Air by F.J. Bohan

Today I share the next author interview and book giveaway in the Backdoor Survival Summer Book Festival. F.J. Bohan, the author of EMERGENCY AIR, is back for an encore interview…

5 Uncommon Skills That Will Be Useful After the SHTF

5 Uncommon Skills That Will Be Useful After the SHTF

As cliche as it sounds, skills will always trump stuff. Here are five useful survival skills you may not have thought of.