1 Year Food Storage &Personal Products Questions


sarahgw
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Hi,

I am working on my 1 year food storage because I don't have one and this past year I've been working on being prepared. I do have a 72 hour emergency kit. I live in California so I've always felt that was important. Anyways, I am single female. However, I am preparing a food supply for 4. I figured that if there was an emergency there are people in my life that I love and care about and they would probably be with me. This would include my sister and her plus one, and my boyfriend. My sister eats here 4 out of 7 nights anyways because she never has food or money. My family is 3000 miles away, so turning to them would be difficult. So to me preparing for one doesn't make sense, so I will prepare for four.

I am currently taking my pantry stock and finding that I do have alot of stuff I can go ahead and use to get my storage started. I come from a big family, and I've been through bad times before so I've always kind of kept prepared without trying so its nice to see I already have a good start. Lots of rice, beans, flour, and sugar.

Now for the questions!! (sorry I am long winded).

1. How much personal supplies would save for a family 4. (I am talking about cleaning supplies, laundry detergent, fabric softener, bleach, deodorant, shampoo, soap, dishwasher detergent, etc...). I am a clean person and so is my home I want to keep it that way!

2. How would you do laundry if you A. Couldn't afford it (no machine at home or no electricity). B. You live in an apartment so hanging it outside to dry really isn't an option.

3. Dog food and animal supplies. Obviously I want to keep a 1 year supply of food for my dog. That is easy, but how long does dog food last? Also I bought flea and heart worm medicine I buy 2 years at a time. I use it by the expiration date. I always keep 1 year extra just incase. What about other vaccinations. I know I don't have to be a vet to buy them but where would I get them. I want to make sure my baby is always okay. Are there books or instructions on how to administer the shots and when? I have a 5lb yorkie and she is my life so her health is my number one priority.

4. What products would you recommend that I buy to prepare for a time when I don't have the luxuries we have now. Like I have a breadmaker and make bread regularly but if I don't have electricity to be honest I wouldn't know where to begin! I have plenty of cooks books as I am a seasoned chef. I also print off recipes. I grow my garden, herbs, and spices.

5. A gun? Protection? Ikes... I hate guns. They scare me. I think I should get one though a rifle. So that I could hunt if I needed to ( I grew up in the south I know a thing or two). I know I would need ammo and lessons. What kind should I get? My long-term boyfriend knows how to make bullets and makes his own not mention he has several guns as do many of my friends. Would it make more sense to buy gun powder and ammo or just ammo?

6. I love to bake. I have a baking blog and its one of things that makes me happy. I have found though that a lot of recipes call for butter milk and I don't always have that on hand. So, I searched and found powdered buttermilk online ages ago. I bought it in bulk and I have 10 qts of buttermilk (2lbs of powdered before made) Anyways, how much do you think I would need to keep on hand? I've gone through a jar and a half this year. Although its mainly been baking for 2 people. With four I would imagine I would go through more.

7. Do you keep dirt in your supplies? I mean like 2 or 3 extra bags for gardening? What about fertilizers, organic pest control methods, etc.. I have seeds all open-pollinated and heirloom seeds that my dad and grandparents send me. I know how to garden and have several books on that.

8. Canning supplies... I do my own canning at home something that has been passed on generations in my family. I was wondering should I keep a supply of empty jars on hand if so how many?

9. I have a large 3 bedroom apartment and i have plenty of storage where I live. However. I can see it becoming hard to find everything if I don't have some sort of organization. What can you recommend for cans? I've been using neon green tape and marketing the expiration date on them. I want to use what I mainly cook with so I can shop out of my food supplies and just use my grocery list to restock my supplies as needed. That way I rotate everything out when needed.

10. Wheat... How do you grind your own?

11. What about quinoa. Quinoa grains contain essential amino acids like lysine and good quantities of calcium, phosphorus, and iron. I love it and I find it as a great health alternative especially when your in need of nutrients. How long does it last? How much should I have. I eat it in salads, with meat, or just on its own.

Sorry, I am so long winded thanks for reading and answering.

I have the LDS 1 year I am using as a guide, and I am working on .... is there anything that I might be forgetting.

Many Thanks,

Sarah

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Hi and welcome to the board! I honestly don't know the answer to a lot of your good questions, but I'll try on some of them.

2. How would you do laundry if you A. Couldn't afford it (no machine at home or no electricity). B. You live in an apartment so hanging it outside to dry really isn't an option.

The way people did laundry before washing machines. Washboards in a washtub. I've seen a product that looks like a drum with a handle on it, and you turn the handle to tumble your clothes around in the soapy water - but I'd probably stick with the washboard.

3. Dog food and animal supplies. Obviously I want to keep a 1 year supply of food for my dog. That is easy, but how long does dog food last?

I dunno, but I'm thinking canned will last far longer than bagged. I've stored a bag of dog food for 3 months once, I wouldn't want to go longer than that.

4. What products would you recommend that I buy to prepare for a time when I don't have the luxuries we have now. Like I have a breadmaker and make bread regularly but if I don't have electricity to be honest I wouldn't know where to begin! I have plenty of cooks books as I am a seasoned chef. I also print off recipes. I grow my garden, herbs, and spices.

Something I've learned - stuff is useless without the skills to use the stuff. Will you grow food? Hunt? Make your own clothing or shoes? Do you know how to treat injuries or sickness? Are you fit enough to do a day's worth of heavy 1800's style work? If you like to bake, maybe you look into baking using cast iron. They work in stoves as well as campfires.

5. A gun? Protection? Ikes... I hate guns. They scare me. I think I should get one though a rifle. So that I could hunt if I needed to ( I grew up in the south I know a thing or two). I know I would need ammo and lessons. What kind should I get?

If skills are important to sew or bake, skills and knowledge are critical to properly using any firearm. They're not just useless in untrained hands - they're dangerous or even deadly. Kudos for understanding that. It sounds like your boyfriend might be a great place to start gaining some knowledge and skills. I don't know him, but most guys would love to teach their lady how to shoot safely. NRA offers all sorts of beginners classes. Know your state and local laws. If you live in California, you're probably in for a rougher time than if you live in Wyoming. :D

Welcome again!

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I agree. I actually sew on a regular basis. I make dog clothes and sell them to boutiques. I can make my own clothes. I also make quilts and regularly donate a few a year to organizations in need. I have a stockpile of fabrics, sewing needles, threads, patterns, and more...

I currently have my own garden growing peas, watermelon, okra, egg plant, tomatoes, green beans, lima beans, bell pepper, carrots, cantaloupe, lettuce, cucumber, and broccoli. When I say I have a bread maker but I don't know how to make bread I don't know how long do I let it raise? I make homemade bread 4 times a week. I cook all of my food from scratch. I just have appliance to make it easier. In addition I have many friends that have gardens that always give me stuff to can for them, and I usually get to keep half.

I guess what I am asking here is when I don't have electricity. Obviously, my oven and bread maker won't work. How would I cook. Okay I have a webber grill but can I make bread in that? How would I make the wheat? I guess I would need a wheat grinder but do they have good wheat grinders that are manual? I went through hurricane Katrina and was trapped in my house for several weeks so I understand not having power. While I can remember alot of what we did to survive (thankfully my parents were well stocked). We just made do with what we didn't have. A few weeks is a lot different than a year and bread is something that I would want and I love. That is all I'm asking. I hope I made sense.

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2. How would you do laundry if you A. Couldn't afford it (no machine at home or no electricity). B. You live in an apartment so hanging it outside to dry really isn't an option.

Doing laundry without electricity would be done by handwashing. Even in an apartment there are places to hang clothes. One place is over the curtain rod in the bathroom. Even drying sheets would be no problem. Get 2 kitchen chairs and hang them over the chairs. How to do laundry wouldn't be the issue. Having enough clean water would be more the issue to me.

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1. store laundry detergent, soap, deodorant, bleach, dish soap that will last for two years. Forget the rest your life is going to change period

2. what are you going to do if there is no municipal water, heat, electricity, fuel, transportation?

3.dog food like many foods store for a year dry or canned. Go online and do a google search for dog medications, may even find a book on how to use them

4 learn to make bread by hand, learn how to do most cooking like they did in the 1890’2-1940’s there are good books out there on this

5 Get you boyfriend to let you use his and learn which you like and can use and which are just not for you, learn how to make your own and see if is something you would like to do, get a shotgun works or both hunting and protection, think maybe a 20 guage. Also develop the mind set that you can stop the clock of a baddie either human or animal if you need to if you can not do this then don’t get a gun would work more against you than for you.

6 Canning supplies get what you will need based on what you will each and the others you are putting it up for will eat. Get a good canning book, Ball Canning guide is a good one and you can determine how many of what size jars you need, how are you going to heat the canner to do the canning, get two years supply of canning supplies, lids, spices etc.

7 If yo have to leave where will you go, how will you get your stuff out, will the other tenants be pleased you have food and they don’t, people turn real mean when hungry and they have no way to get food.

8 what kinds of disasters do you have to worry about, where I am I have flooding, snow, drought, tornadoes, earth quakes, municipal water shortage, electrical, police fire and I am sure I am missing some but you get the idea. Where will you go if your are forced out of your apartment? How much can you get out in a short period of time think minutes maybe?

I am starting all over after a divorce that left me with some things but lacking in many more like a way to heat where I live, cook and light it if there is no municipal source? Just some things to think about there is way more but this is a start

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3. Dog food and animal supplies. Obviously I want to keep a 1 year supply of food for my dog. That is easy, but how long does dog food last? Also I bought flea and heart worm medicine I buy 2 years at a time. I use it by the expiration date. I always keep 1 year extra just incase.

I have looked at the shelf life of dry dog food. Most is about 1 year; and that's in the 50#bag it's sold in.

I repackage it in #10 cans using O2 absorbers. I bought my own manual canner for canning the things that can not be canned at the cannery.

I have no data, but I figure the shelf life to be at least 2 years.

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Cooking/Baking...

Fuel for cooking is more the problem, there are sun ovens, rocket stoves, volcano stoves, and for baking look up apple box ovens...

This uses very little fuel...apple box oven

[

rocket stove (lot's of how to make them on youtube even one out of bricks) or to buy

Official Home Page of the Best Rocket Stoves on the Planet - Welcome to StoveTec

Volcano stoves work well with dutch ovens

Sun Ovens (There are a lot of different DIY kinds) then there are some you can buy also

(I didn't watch so FWIW)

The car windshield reflectors are supposed to work well although I haven't tried any of them.

I have talked to people that have used this one and like it

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For my dog I plan on feeding him leftover people food or animal parts I wouldn't feed to people...that's usually what's in dog food anyway...rice, grains, chicken parts, etc. Some vet supplies sell to the public, I have also seen things like flea products at Costco, pet stores, etc. Rabies hasn't been around for a long time and so if you can't keep up to date, it still shouldn't be a problem in most parts of the country if your dog can't get the shot.

Edited by lds2
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deodorant - I have heard that "stones" work and will last up to a year, the more popular brands are Thai and Crystal like any "deodorant" some people can be allergic to these mineral salts and some brands contain aluminum which isn't real good for some people.

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For washing a plunger in a 5 gallon bucket or tub if water isn't an issue will get the job done with a little hand washing where needed or you can get something like this, there are several brandshttp://compare.ebay.com/like/260744376360?var=lv&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar&_lwgsi=y

If you need the clothes disinfected, boiling can still work on some fabrics.

There are many recipes for clothes washing soap on the net using fels-naptha, borax, and washing soda...here's just one, call around to see where these are available as few stores have them all, I think Macey's, Harmons, Reams, Target, have at least one of these ingredients.

The Best Laundry Detergent is made with Fels Naptha Soap, Washing Soda and Borax

If there is a wringer on your mop bucket it can help get the water back out, or there are some commercial types but I haven't researched them very much.

You can "hang" or "lay out" clothes anywhere where you aren't worried about water damage. Two chairs with a rope between might work for lighter fabrics, etc.

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Cooking...your best bet is to look at sprouting your grains, it makes them MUCH more nutritious, if you add in sprouted beans, I believe you even have a whole protein. If you don't have a grinder you can use a #10 can with a long pole or something else heavy but you are going to use up a lot more calories making the low grade flour than it would be worth. A good quality grinder is best, but yeast is tricky and for most people they won't have the skills or the environment to keep it "ALIVE" dependinbg on the season, so soda and baking powder and making flat breads are probably a good back up plan to go in a longer term power out problem.

There are hand mixing bread makers and blenders but I have never tried them, and making bread by hand is not that hard to do, you can watch youtube or other similar sites to learn how then it just takes practice.

Vitamins in sprouts

Life Sprouts: Category :: Organic Sprouting Seeds / Product :: Pro-Vita-Mix

You can buy them at health food stores, Kitchen Kneads or KSL classifieds (food storage), honeyville (store) in Utah or Walton Feed in Idaho, etc.

Edited by lds2
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You might look into "no poo" for emergencies a LOT of women that have tried it say that their hair is more manageable, healthier, curlier or less frizzy, etc.

The No Shampoo Alternative there are many sources on the web

There is an art to sponge bathing using as little water as possible, end with dirtiest area, let water run back into bucket when cleaning cleaner areas, etc. Without a lot of hot water (that uses a lot of time, energy, and fuel) the whole bath thing won't be that fun. Some people plan on using diaper wipes for sponge bathing and to stay smelling "fresh." They sell them in bulk at Sam's/Costco but sponge bathing may just have to do for most of us in a power out situation.

Another thing for women is having a reusable women's product and/or truly absorbant reusable cotton products but I wont go into the brands here but you can pm me if interested. Also, you can look into using a drinkinng type squeezable bottle as a type of bidet and have a goodly supply of paper, flannel squares or cotton whatever for those various bathroom needs. These are something that should be bleached or boiled if they need to be reused and/or treated like cloth diapers without a washer/dryer.

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When I started looking to store non-food products I tracked what my family used in a month. Then I multiplied by 12 and had my figure to work toward. Some things I guesstimated. Items like OTC painkillers etc.

The easiest way for me to track was to put the cleaned empty containers into a kitchen trash bag that I kept in the guest room closet. I remove bar soap from their wrappers and place in a basket so that they will dry out - they last longer when in use. So, when I used a new bar, I wrote Bar Soap on a post-it note and tossed that in the bag.

I also wrote the date on the jug of laundry soap and bleach when I opened them. Then noted the date when I used the last of it. Did the same with certain food items: Syrup, ketchup, mustard, dressings, etc. Mayo can sit in the fridge for a year after I open it to make mac salad. So I no longer buy Mayo. Use 1/2 Miracle Whip and 1/2 sour cream.

I don't know if any one else does this, but my cupboards and storage is set up like the store. I use from it on a daily basis. When the sale ads come out, I sit at the table nearest my kitchen and circle the items in the ads which are close to being out in my cupboards. Example, right now I am out of spicy brown mustard (just love this crazy condiment), only have two cans of refried beans left, am overstocked on 1000 dressing, have one can of black olives (again- love them).

We are down to 3 boxes of Instant Oatmeal. Been wondering if making my own instant packages would be cost effective? Husband prefers to mix and nuke- and he only likes the plain/regular. Only have 2 envelopes of Idahoan Instant Mashed Potatoes, Lipton Rice Sides/Pasta Sides.

Last time I bought the Sides was over two years ago in AZ. Fry's had a special buy of boxes of 10 on sale for $3.99 each- no limit. Bought 20 boxes. Totally out of Hamburger Helper.

I grew up on canned salmon made into patties or loaf. The other night I was craving this, so I got out a can of canned salmon and made patties, adding diced onions and celery. Husband loved them! Wonder if he will like home made oyster stew? That is another favorite of mine. Also Clam Patties. Made like the salmon ones, only using the minced clams.

On impulse I purchased 10 cans each of salmon, oysters and minced clams- different stores, and approximately 18 to 20 months ago. They were on fantastic sales and the Use By Dates were well into the future. It wasn't until I got them home, that I realized I didn't know if Husband would eat them. 1st Husband did, and I LOVE them.

In my experience there is no Use By Date on laundry detergents, bar soaps, dish detergents, etc. If you close the lid tight on liquids, they will last indefinitely. I prefer liquid- sometimes powder just doesn't dissolve completely. Also, you can fill the empty liquid laundry jugs with water and label -WASH water. Bleach jugs filled with water and marked WATER-NOT FOR DRINKING.

I vacuum seal anything that comes in a box or flimsy bag. Rice a Roni, Hamburger-Tuna-Chicken Helper, pasta, 5# bags of flour and sugar. Think I need to buy extra bags of cat food and repackage into the 1 gal vacuum seal bags. Mark them for 2 years, and them open up and use. UNLESS they are needed sooner.

Most canned foods last longer than 1 year. When you purchase them in the store- check the dates and buy the one with the longest time on it. Example: Use by Feb 12; Nov 15. Get the Nov 2015. You would do this with milk, cheese, eggs, etc. So do it with ALL foods.

Note: Some food manufacturers use the Julian Calendar. Here is a link for deciphering it: Julian Day Table If the box has a code 36512= Dec 31, 2012 is the use by date.

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1. It varies by family, so best thing you can do is measure what you use.

2. When I lived in south america for two years, we often had to do our laundry in an old cement tub and hang it to dry. A bar of soap and a stout brush does wonders. You dry it where you can.

3. Store what you can. My wife often will cook up some home made dog food. Not much too it, rice, beans, meat, etc. If things go really bad (i.e., no infrastructure for months and months) our dogs will be eating our table scraps and be fed some home made dog food.

4. As others mentioned, you'll need to find an alternative way to cook. Look on you tube for sun stoves and other methods. My wife has put away years worth of spices, the ones she can't grow.

5. No need to fear guns. Fear bad people who use guns, and knives, and bats, etc. A pistol for home protection is wise for anybody. A simple revolver either in .38 or .357 and a gun class is advisable. A rifle (depending on the rifle) may not be best for home protection, especially in an apartment b/c of over penetration of the fired bullet.

If things go really bad, don't plan on hunting, at least not in the long term. Everybody will be out trying to kill food. If you're not a hunter now, there's almost no way you'll be able to do it when things go bad.

6. There are numerous food calculators on the web to help you know how much of each staple to put away. We have minimal powdered milk, but we also milk goats, so don't need as much.

7. No, but we have acres of dirt. We do keep seeds, extra shovels, hoes, rakes, etc. Things that will become scarce if the world goes sideways.

8. Keep as many jars as you can. We have 100s stored in our cellar and metal building. We also have a bunch full of food in the house.

9. For cans, check out shelf reliance, they have some great shelving systems.

10. We have an old electric wheat grinder and we also have a hand grinder.

11. We have quinoa, as well as other types of wheat and grains stored.

You have a good plan as far as food goes, but food is only one part of survival preparedness. What if you have to leave, aka bug out? Where will you go, how will you get there? What are you going to use for water? How will you purify water? Good start.

Edited by Cacinok
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  • 2 months later...

1. Take inventory on how much you use in a month and multiply by 12. Remember that some items you won't need if you loose power (which happens in most emergencies) like dishwasher soap.

2. We lost power in an ice storm years back and had no power for a week. I put the clothes in the bath tub of warm soapy water and had the kids stomp on it. I got the clothes and kids washed at the same time. :D

But if it is a short time emergency then clean clothes wont matter and if it is a long time then you will probably have to move out of the apartment especially if you lose water because you can't flush the toilet, pew! Try having a water fast where you turn off the water for a day to see how many things are affected by not water. Then try it for electricity, internet, tv, phone, etc. That will give you an idea what to prepare for.

3. You will probably have to eat the dog. Remember dog meat is lean so you will have to cook it like venison. Just joking about that, mostly.

4. Get a hand powered grain mill with steel discs so you can grind different kinds of grains. Some grains have oil which will gum up stone grinding wheels. Get a dutch oven, a camp stove with extra fuel, and any other camping supplies that you are missing.

5. A .22 rifle like a Ruger 10/22 is good. It is light and has a lot of attachment so you can customize it easily. .22's is good because the ammo is cheep and light, and it is a very common caliber so you can use it to trade for other items. An it is powerful enough to kill most vermin. The Israelis used to use it for a sniper rifle.

A 20 gauge shotgun with bird shot or rock salt is good for indoor defense because it is hard to miss and the light shot won't go through the walls and hit someone else. The problem with shotguns is that the ammo is heavy. You will probably be using the guns more for defense than hunting. People will want your stuff because they didn't prepare and they will be desperate. You should also get a good survival knife, some mace, and learn to make snares.

Most of the things you ask are easy to find on the internet. Literally just type the question in your search bar. And the you need to practice the things that you learn. The problem you will run into is not having enough time to study everything there is to learn.

I read about making nets and then I tried it until I could make a hammock comfortably. Unfortunately a lot of things are hard to practice in an apartment. like making a generator or large crops. Just focus on what you can learn and do. I was really into herb gardens because I could do those in pots inside. By the way, a lot of herbs are medicinal.

Learn skills that will make you valuable in a group. Anything medicinal will be of high value so maybe you can be the medicine woman.

Anyway good luck with you adventure!

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  • 2 months later...

For quantity I would monitor the amount you use per person per week. for example toilet paper...Enlist your families help and have them only use one bathroom for a week. Count how much paper you use and divide by amount of people. Reason I say this, is during an emergency will others come to you. I know my parents in law would come to me.

So if it comes to 1/2 a roll per person per week x by 52 equals 26.

26 times # of people you expect and that would give you your answer.

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Ok it sort of has been mentioned so I will add a little bit more. female products also make some really good emergency band aids if there is a big enough wound. So it would be a good idea to have say 2 1/2 times what might be needed for the family needs and who knows who else might just end up there also.

Firearms are only useful if you understand how to use them and are willing to if necessary to take another life to protect you and yours.

If you are in a city make sure you know who has like ideas as yours as you may just end up in that part of the city as a safe place to be and don't forget what is yours might end up being what is the collective group supply.

The real issues I see are mostly natural issues but there is also the one most of us would rather never deal with which is civil unrest. This can be possible if enough natural disasters destroy the ability to produce and transport enough food and products from one area to another. It is possible well yes as we have no control over nature and we also have seen the issues of big government to even grasp at issues facing normal individuals.

We need to also have trade goods in our stock pile of goods some things we would not normally store like matches, bullets maybe would have to know the person(s) really well as what is to stop them from coming back and killing you with your own bullets to get everything you have, alcoholic beverages for trade and some for medical needs of your own ( You must think 1890's here), maybe some extra tools, fuel depending on what you use and how you use it, kerosene for lighting and most of all is where you are where you are going to stay, what sort of space do you have to put stuff in, do you have a pair or two of work shoes, boots, warm clothes, seeds that are open pollinated, do you know how to hunt, do you know in your area what is edible in the wild, do you know how to take care of animal that you just killed for food, can you do it with nothing more than a knife, canning jars and lids and a pot to boil water in, do you have a place to put it that won't freeze, do you have a wood stove for heating and cooking with, do you have two years wood for them, is it stored well, if you have to leave how do you plan on moving it, shelter what do you have if you have to leave your primary place, do you have health issues that require medicine that has to be kept cold, kept from freezing, can you acquire a large enough supply for 2 years, what if you can't get your medicine then what, have you accepted this fact and are ok with what might happen, and lastly do you have a set of scriptures in your bug out bag? This might be the only reading material that you and yours might have for a long time.

When we look at issues dealing with food storage it is not only the body but the mind we must think about.

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