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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.
7 Ways to Recover When Life Sucks

7 Ways to Recover When Life Sucks

When it comes to life in general, stuff happens on a daily basis. Sometimes, the things that happen throw you a curve ball and leave you feeling vulnerable and helpless. Couple the stress of prepping with life’s daily setbacks, and you have a recipe for a train wreck. Or do you? Here are 7 things you can do to recover when life sucks!

Best Practices for Dealing with Wounds in a Survival Situation

Best Practices for Dealing with Wounds in a Survival Situation

When faced with an austere survival situation, the decision you make to close a wound or not could spell the difference between proper healing and an infected mess. Personally, I vote for proper healing but getting to the correct decision when under pressure may not be easy. Learn when to close – or not close – an open wound.

Survival Buzz: How to Test Your Drinking Water

Survival Buzz: How to Test Your Drinking Water

When you think about emergency water, most likely you think about acquisition, purification, and filtering processes. What is missing from this equation, though, is testing. Can we assume that the water coming out of the kitchen faucet is safe to drink? And what about well water or home filtered water? Wouldn’t you like to know about the lead, bacteria, pesticide, iron, and copper content of your water? Learn how you can test your drinking water sinply andeasily at home. Plus, enter the giveaway to win a free home testing kit. There will be 3 winners.

Prepper Book Festival 12: Alcohol Mantle Lamps

Prepper Book Festival 12: Alcohol Mantle Lamps

There is always a blackout somewhere. It might be local and affect just your city. Or it could be big, manmade, caused by war, and impact your whole country. Or it could be humongous, a natural EMP event that shuts down the whole continent. For life. It is because of the potential for a blackout that I have tried to learn as much as I can about emergency lighting. In this latest Prepper Book Festival, learn about alcohol mantle lamps and enter the giveaway to win one of two complete sets of Ron Brown’s Non-Electrit Lighting Series.

Three Ways to Use Healing Essential Oils That Work

Three Ways to Use Healing Essential Oils That Work

When it comes to using essential oils topically, most recipes will simply say “add to carrier oil and apply”. That sounds simple enough but the reality is that measuring the proper number of drops can be hit or miss. Instead create a salve, body butter, or lotion bar using the healing combination of lavender, rosemary, and peppermint essential oils.

Save Money By Raiding the Pantry for Food Preps

Save Money By Raiding the Pantry for Food Preps

There are times when even the most well-heeled preppers need to go on an austerity program. Learn about the #1 baby step for building up your food storage when times are lean, namely raiding your kitchen pantry for food preps.

Nine Things You Can Learn from Camping That Will Make You a Better Prepper

Nine Things You Can Learn from Camping That Will Make You a Better Prepper

There are lots of similarities between camping and prepping. In more than a few ways, a camping trip can be a great dry run for an emergency situation where you would have to rely only on your preparations. Although I am certain there are more, in this article learn about nine things you will learn camping that will make you a better prepper.

It’s More Than SOS: How to Learn Morse Code

It’s More Than SOS: How to Learn Morse Code

Knowing rudimentary Morse code so you can communicate during or after a disruptive event is important. But how do you learn? Where do you start? In this article, amateur radio expert George Ure tells you how. It is not as difficult as you think!

6 Useful Preps You May Not Have Thought Of

6 Useful Preps You May Not Have Thought Of

If and when the time comes, it will be comforting to have the basics covered so that you can spend time worrying about important things such as safety, security, and the overall health and well being of your family. Learn about 6 items that will make your life easier and more comfortable when the SHTF. (Hint: you may already have most of these items.)

How to Make an Awesome Healing Body Butter

How to Make an Awesome Healing Body Butter

Have you wondered about the hoopla surrounding body butters? A body butter is like a salve except it does not include beeswax and has a creamy, silky feeling when applied to the skin. Here is my version, including instructions for making a body butter version of “miracle healing salve”. You are going to love it!

Getting Out of Dodge: The Survival Retreat

Getting Out of Dodge: The Survival Retreat

Sometimes you have to know when it is time to move on. In this very special and personal article, learn why it is time for me to get out of dodge and find a better survival retreat. I share my bucket list and some of the challenges. The takeaway? Periodically we all need to re-evaluate where we are with our prepping and come up with goals and bucket lists.

15 Ways To Prepare for a Rogue Wave of Collapse

15 Ways To Prepare for a Rogue Wave of Collapse

If you were around in 2011, you might recall predictions of a pending collapse. What happened? Our thoughts relative to the type of collapse may have changed but the fact remains that the possibility is something we prepare for. Here are 15 things to do now to help you prepare for whatever it is that’s coming.

15 Common Food Storage Mistakes To Avoid

15 Common Food Storage Mistakes To Avoid

When it comes to food storage, we all make mistakes. Here are 15 common mistakes to learn from and help you move forward in becoming better prepared.

Review: Emergency Lighting with the Aladdin Mantle Lamp

Review: Emergency Lighting with the Aladdin Mantle Lamp

Long before the term prepping was coined, our great grandparents and perhaps even our grandparents relied on oil lamps to light their way. Some of us have been lucky enough to inherit an old-timey Aladdin lamp or pick one up for a song at a garage sale. The rest of us? Learn about using an Aladdin Mantle Lamp and enter the giveaway to win one of your own. Plus, an interview with Galen Lehman, the CEO of Lehman’s .

Practical Reasons to Learn Morse Code for Survival

Practical Reasons to Learn Morse Code for Survival

You may think that Morse code is archaic because, heck, texting is so easy these days. Think again. Learn some practical reasons why Morse code is a skill you need to learn for survival.

How to Survive a Dental Emergency: From Temporary Toothache to Long Term Situations

How to Survive a Dental Emergency: From Temporary Toothache to Long Term Situations

In the event of a major disaster or disruptive event, finding dental care from a trained professional may be impossible. First responders are going to be saving lives and not tending to a nagging toothache or even to a broken tooth. For that reason, we need to think about being dentally prepared with the tools and knowledge to get us by during a dental emergency. Here are some tips and tools you will need along with 21 home remedies for mitigating the pain of a toothache.