Storing salt for SHTF

Sea Salts & Bath Salts | SaltWorks

They have a lot of expensive gourmet salts, but you can also get 50lb bags of Sonoma Sea Salt delivered. They pack it well too. If you are buying it for long term storage, you don't really need to do anything other than stick it on the shelf when you receive it.

The coarse salt is recommend for long term storage. It can easily be ground on demand if you need it fine.

I would recommend asking your local Whole Foods type grocery store if they can get you 50lb bags. They might be able to beat SaltWorks price.

 

here in michigan are several salt mines
detroit is built on one
there another over towards ludington and im told more down state
ive checked these out before and know what it will take to get there if i run low

 

Yep..We have several mines in the area...Avery Island is real close...

 

If they can beat $1.00 a pound, I'd be shocked. 99Cent Only stores sell $0.99 1 pound boxes of sea salt. I have a few of those, but I get iodized and non iodized bulk salt bags from Sams/Costco for around 12 cents a pound, no shipping just haul it home myself.

Gator, you have the largest salt mine in the world not too far from your door. The GULF. Go down, fill some shallow pans and let the water evaporate out. Collect the crystals.

 

Saltworks is asking $54 for a 50# bag with free shipping currently ( ~$1.08/lb). Last I checked, I could get sea salt at my local Whole Foods Market for $0.69/lb, but I don't recall what quantities they were offering or how it was packaged, so you have to factor that (packaging) in as an additional cost.

 

Great info on Saltworks. I still save on shipping and $0.08 a pound additional, plus I have my salt in hand when I buy local. All it takes is a few minutes to walk in load up and leave. Others may not have that advantage.

Whole Foods at $0.69 is a decent price, but the gas I save not traveling to the most local store (20+ miles distant, also I would have to travel closer into the city) balances the $0.31/pound savings. I can walk to the 99Cents Only store, and save time, gas, and the "city driving" traffic headache.
However, these may help others who are more local to a Whole Foods or don't mind waiting for something to ship and are willing to pay the extra.

I still advocate Sams Club and Costco for nice big bulk bags of cheap salt. Considering it takes 2 pounds of salt to salt a small deer hide, approximately 1 pound of NON-Iodized salt to cure 1 pound of meat (iodized leaves a nasty flavor in the meat - no special "curing salt" needed, but it helps, make sure you rack the meat for drainage - once the meat stops weeping, pack it into a nice wooden crate and top with more salt for long lasting preservation without refrigeration), and about a 1 cup of salt to make the brine for my brined jerky. I use a LOT of salt for cooking and preserving now and will definitely use more in a SHTF scenario. If your power goes down for a long period of time, you need not lose all of your frozen meats, simply allow to defrost, salt cure and pack it or brine and smoke. We have had mechanical refrigeration for less than 100 years. Heck my Grandparents did not own an electric refrigerator until the late 1940's. We need to preserve the skills of former generations.

Got game in your local area and need to eat In a WROL/SHTF scenario? Set out a nice salt lick (available at many feed and tractor supply stores I keep 20 or so stacked off in my preps) in a clearing and wait. You'll have meat, hides, and bones in no time. Salt is essential to life for all animals.

You can make saline solution for wound cleaning, sinus sprays (great for allergy relief and colds - it busts up mucus and helps disinfect your sinuses), heck, even contact lens rinse (again use non-iodized salt, there are tons of directions available on the net). Salt has over 14000 additional uses and functions in our daily lives.

Again, salt is essential on your prep list.

 

Thanks for bumping Falcon.
I lurk around the forum taking in the info quite often and I hadn't seen this thread.

 

I figured salt is so essential, everyone could use a review. My pleasure.

 

Salt=salary This concludes today's Roman history reminder. Speaking of salt, was looking in one of my many pet care books, and epsom salts is an antidote for arsenic poisoning. Was good for another poison remedy too, but can't remember what it was and I'm too lazy to move a few feet to double-check

Author's Note: Not too lazy now, it's lead poisoning as well that epsom salts is good for, for dogs at least. And regular table salt is for thallium poisoning.

 

And Rock salt has always been an alternative to lead poisioning....

 

my old man always cusses n smiles when he talks about the neighbors orchard
and rocksalt loads in his shotgun

 

Well i have a friend who was working one of the salt mine's close to me...
Saw him today and we discussed about getting a 30 gal.drum of the samples of salt...This is when they go in and undercut a layer of salt and send out samples to the lab for testing...The rest the lab just's throws away...
Will cost me a little gas and a drum to go pick up....

 

Wars have been fought over salt in our world's past and people used to paid in salt, hence salary. Necessary for life and don't scrimp on the iodine. If you don't live near the sea when the balloon goes up and you don't have salt...a goiter looms in your future LOL

 

our local grocer has 25 lb bags of salt for about 7 dollars. Iodized only. Still thats less than 30cents per pound. Guess I should buy a few more bags.

 

Salt used to be so valuable that the term "worth his weight in salt" came about. It was imported to Europe and was the standard of exchange for many years. During the depresson(30's) salt and all condiments were often very hard to get. Rationing books allowed only so much per person.

 

Worth his salt is indeed an old saying. Slaves were bought and sold for salt. A useless slave was considered to not be "worth his salt".

Sams club sells non-iodized salt in 25 pound paper sacks for $3.88 ($0.15 a pound).

Costco sells 50 pounds of iodized salt in a sealed food grade bucket for $36.99 ($0.74 a pound - the bucket obviously increases the cost. I like the resealable bucket, myself).

 

I have 2 Sam's clubs in my area and neither carries bulk salt. I do have a local Mennonite store that periodically will have 50 lbs bags. I have a couple buckets full put away.

 

You can order anything Sams carries through their website, and have it delivered for you to pick up to a local store of your choice for free. Same with Costco.

 

Epson salt is not salt at all it's magnesium sulfate.

BWM