As a homesteader having large amounts of Salt is very important for many reasons. This post will point out those reasons and which kinds of salts are best for all around general purpose at the homestead and how to store a years worth of salt properly. Follow me to learn all about Salt.
Salt is not only good to eat (in small quanitites) but it has many medicinal purposes as well. Let's look at some of the more common uses.
Sore throat, gargle with warm water and salt 2 X a day and voila it's gone.
Stings of all kinds, add salt to sting area and it will lessen the pain from the sting.
Treat gum infections such as gum boyles with salt, just swish salt water around your gums a couple times a day.
Treating Sinusitus, by breathing in hot salt water mist, and or use hot salt water in a Neti Pot to open the passage of sinus.
Pimples or Acne, just rinse your face with a salt water solution and the salt will dry the pimple and clear the bacteria.
Now lets look at Salt uses in the Garden (Epsom Salt is best for most gardens, seed germination etc)
Getting rid of a nasty patch of Poison Ivy, by mixing a solution of salt and water
Natural weed control, great for the weeds on driveway and sidewalks. Boil 1 quart of water, then add 2 tablespoons of salt and 5 tablespoons of vinegar. While its still hot, pour the mixture directly onto the weeds.
Get rid of pesty ants by sprinkling salt in the common areas where they travel
Cabbageworm dust the leaves of these vegetables with a mixture of 1 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of salt. Use this dusting powder in the morning or evening when plants are damp with dew.
Household cleaning Solutions using Salt
Oil spill on cement or the driveway simply sprinkle salt on the spot and the oil will absorb.
Clean rust off anything
Water rings on cups, bathtubs
Use Salt in final rinse of laundry to prevent clothes from freezing in winter when hanging outside to dry
Extinguish grease fires
You can add salt to your homemade soaps
Soak your candles in salt water for a few hours and let them dry naturally this will decrease the amount of drips when burning.
Now Salt is also a great item to trade or barter with when the SHTF, situation could happen in your community.
Salt is also a great way to store meat for the long term, refer to my past post about storing meat. You would typically want to store both pickling salts for your preserves and table salt. However some people are particular about the health of their intake of salt so they buy the pink Himalayan salt. This is usually purchased in a block and stored where humidity is low. I will make a post all about Pink Himalayan salt soon. Salt lick is another salt for the livestock of the homestead, you might want to store some of that long term as well. Lastly Sea Salt is a nice treat but a delicacy and could easily be substituted by table salt.
How to Store the Salt Long Term:
Get yourself a 5 gallon food grade bucket with a lid that has a seal. Goto your local bakery and ask to purchase for a few cents a bucket. I typically buy table sale and buy it in bulk at Costco or the big box stores. Get yourself some large ziploc bags and fill one gallon bags. Put 4-5 one gallon bags into each bucket and label the buck Table salt. Do not store salt in metal buckets. Salt can be stored indefinatley if done properly.
Hope this post has been useful to you and see the value of having an abundant amount of salt on hand in the homestead. If you have any other uses that are unique and care to share please do so.
Happy Trails
Images Sources:
https://www.saga.co.uk/magazine/health-wellbeing/diet-nutrition/diet-blog/2014/health-problems-caused-by-too-much-salt
https://www.healthrangerstore.com/products/pink-himalayan-bath-salts-with-cloth-bag-2-0-2-5-lb?variant=16535149697