Strategic Living for a Joyful, Self Reliant and Healthy Life

Super Simple Goats Milk & Honey Soap for First Time Soapmakers

For the longest time, I have wanted to make soap but was intimidated by the process. I envisioned donning my pandemic-ready overalls, goggles, and three layers of gloves so that I could safely work with lye. I have since learned that with care, I do not have to go quite that far but still, I was just not ready to take that step.

About six months ago, I learned about something called melt and pour soap base. Melt and pour base is a block of premade soap with nothing added. All of the work to create soap from oils and lye has been done, leaving the fun part of adding color, fragrance, and molding into bars to you. The more I read, the more I was hooked so I purchased some supplies and got started.

What You Need to Know About CBD Oil

By Gaye Levy 25 Comments

Jump on any wellness-related website and you will find glowing accolades for CBD Oil. Along with the accolades, you will find references to various studies that attempt to prove the point and further entice you to make a purchase. The issue, at least for me, is that there is a lot of technical mumbo jumbo in these articles and that many of the studies cited are not what I would call scientific let alone peer-reviewed.

A study with 24 test subjects and no control group is not a study. Neither is a study where the test group consisted of a group of 50 rats. A study of how a handful of subjects deal with anxiety while using social media is simply not relevant.

I wish I could say these are extreme examples but they are not. They are everywhere.

So what is the big deal about CBD Oil? Is it the real deal when it comes to dealing with anxiety, depression, insomnia, aches, pains, and cancer? (The emphasis is mine.) Or is it 21st-century snake oil?

In this article, I hope to summarize, in plain English, what I have learned, so far, about CBD oil.

It is important to note a few things from the onset.

First of all, I am not a healthcare professional although I have received input from my own physicians regarding CBD oil. Second, although I have immersed myself in learning about CBD, I am not an expert and will continue to research CBD and update this article as I feel necessary. Finally, I will do my best to speak in layman’s terms, without the using highly scientific and technical terms that for me, at least, make the discussion of CBD oil confusing.

Encore: Get the Updated Prepper’s Guide to Food Storage for Free May 4-8

By Gaye Levy 6 Comments

It is once again time to grab a copy of The Prepper’s Guide to Food Storage for free. The dates are May 4 – 8.

Those of you familiar with my book will notice that I have recently changed the cover in order to reflect that the book is no longer a part of or associated with the Backdoor Survival website. You will also find that I have updated the “About the Author” section to reflect my current life situation which is retired and living in Arizona. There are a few other small changes, but nothing major.

It is hard to believe that The Prepper’s Guide to Food Storage was first published in December 2013.

Although not a lot has changed relative to food storage methods and techniques, there are some pieces missing in the book, such as dealing with food storage when there are special health or diet concerns. In addition, moving from Washington State to Arizona has greatly influenced my thoughts relative to the stability of canned and packaged goods when maintaining a steady 70 degree or less environment is either cost-prohibitive or impossible. I will be addressing those issues in upcoming articles here on Strategic Living.