diff --git a/src/js/background/identityState.js b/src/js/background/identityState.js
index 850ee50..d032790 100644
--- a/src/js/background/identityState.js
+++ b/src/js/background/identityState.js
@@ -39,19 +39,37 @@ const identityState = {
       const storeKey = this.getContainerStoreKey(cookieStoreId);
       return await this.area.remove([storeKey]);
     },
+
+    /*
+     * Looks for abandoned identities keys in local storage, and makes sure all
+     * identities registered in the browser are also in local storage. (this
+     * appears to not always be the case based on how this.get() is written)
+     */
     async cleanup() {
       const identitiesList = await browser.contextualIdentities.query({});
       const macConfigs = await this.area.get();
       for(const configKey of Object.keys(macConfigs)) {
         if (configKey.includes("identitiesState@@_")) {
           const cookieStoreId = String(configKey).replace(/^identitiesState@@_/, "");
-          const match = identitiesList.find(localIdentity => localIdentity.cookieStoreId === cookieStoreId);
-          if (!match && cookieStoreId !== "firefox-default") {
-            console.log("removed ", cookieStoreId, " from storage list");
+          const match = identitiesList.find(
+            localIdentity => localIdentity.cookieStoreId === cookieStoreId
+          );
+          if (cookieStoreId === "firefox-default") continue;
+          if (!match) {
             this.remove(cookieStoreId);
+            continue;
+          }
+          if (!macConfigs[configKey].macAddonUUID) {
+            await identityState.addUUID(cookieStoreId);
           }
         }
       }
+
+      for (const identity of identitiesList) {
+        // ensure all identities have an entry in local storage
+        const data = await this.get(identity.cookieStoreId);
+        await this.set(identity.cookieStoreId, data);
+      }
     }
   },
 
diff --git a/src/js/background/sync.js b/src/js/background/sync.js
index 41497bf..ff01e82 100644
--- a/src/js/background/sync.js
+++ b/src/js/background/sync.js
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-const SYNC_DEBUG = false;
+const SYNC_DEBUG = true;
 
 const sync = {
   storageArea: {
@@ -39,28 +39,25 @@ const sync = {
     async backup(options) {
       if (SYNC_DEBUG) console.log("backup");
       // remove listeners to avoid an infinite loop!
-      browser.storage.onChanged.removeListener(
+      await browser.storage.onChanged.removeListener(
         sync.storageArea.onChangedListener);
-      removeContextualIdentityListeners();
-      try {
-        await updateSyncIdentities();
-        await updateCookieStoreIdMap();
-        await updateSyncSiteAssignments();
-        if (options && options.uuid) 
-          await updateDeletedIdentityList(options.uuid);
-        if (options && options.siteStoreKey) 
-          await addToDeletedSitesList(options.siteStoreKey);
-        if (options && options.undelete) 
-          await removeFromDeletedSitesList(options.undelete);
-      
-        if (SYNC_DEBUG) {
-          const storage = await sync.storageArea.get();
-          console.log("in sync: ", storage);
-          const localStorage = await browser.storage.local.get();
-          console.log("inLocal:", localStorage);
-        }
-      } catch (error) {
-        console.error("Error backing up", error);
+
+      await removeContextualIdentityListeners();
+
+      await updateSyncIdentities();
+      await updateCookieStoreIdMap();
+      await updateSyncSiteAssignments();
+      if (options && options.uuid) 
+        await updateDeletedIdentityList(options.uuid);
+      if (options && options.siteStoreKey) 
+        await addToDeletedSitesList(options.siteStoreKey);
+      if (options && options.undelete) 
+        await removeFromDeletedSitesList(options.undelete);
+      if (SYNC_DEBUG) {
+        const storage = await sync.storageArea.get();
+        console.log("in sync: ", storage);
+        const localStorage = await browser.storage.local.get();
+        console.log("inLocal:", localStorage);
       }
       browser.storage.onChanged.addListener(
         sync.storageArea.onChangedListener);
@@ -113,6 +110,10 @@ const sync = {
       }
     },
 
+    /*
+     * Ensures all sync info matches. But maybe we shouldn't even use
+     * sync info that doesn't match.
+     */
     async cleanup() {
       console.log("cleanupSync");
       browser.storage.onChanged.removeListener(
@@ -180,12 +181,38 @@ const sync = {
 sync.init();
 
 
+async function runSync() {
+  browser.storage.onChanged.removeListener(
+    sync.storageArea.onChangedListener);
+  removeContextualIdentityListeners();
+  console.log("runSync");
+  await identityState.storageArea.cleanup();
+
+
+  if (await sync.storageArea.hasSyncStorage()){
+    await sync.storageArea.cleanup();
+    console.log("storage found, attempting to restore ...");
+    await restore();
+    return;
+  }
+  console.log("no sync storage, backing up...");
+  await sync.storageArea.backup();
+  return;
+}
+
+async function restore() {
+  console.log("restore");
+  await reconcileIdentitiesByUUID();
+  await reconcileSiteAssignments();
+  await sync.storageArea.backup();
+}
+
 async function runFirstSync() {
   console.log("runFirstSync");
+  // looks for abandoned identities keys in local storage, and identities
+  // not in localstorage (which also adds a uuid)
   await identityState.storageArea.cleanup();
-  const localIdentities = await browser.contextualIdentities.query({});
-  await addUUIDsToContainers(localIdentities);
-  // const inSync = await sync.storageArea.get();
+
   if (await sync.storageArea.hasSyncStorage()){
     await sync.storageArea.cleanup();
     console.log("storage found, attempting to restore ...");
@@ -197,17 +224,11 @@ async function runFirstSync() {
   await assignManager.storageArea.setSynced();
 }
 
-async function addUUIDsToContainers(localIdentities) {
-  for (const identity of localIdentities) {
-    await identityState.addUUID(identity.cookieStoreId);
-  }
-}
-
 async function restoreFirstRun() {
   console.log("restoreFirstRun");
-  await reconcileIdentitiesByName();
+  await reconcileIdentities();
   await reconcileSiteAssignments();
-  sync.storageArea.backup();
+  await sync.storageArea.backup();
 }
 
 /*
@@ -215,8 +236,21 @@ async function restoreFirstRun() {
  * same container, and the color and icon are overwritten from sync, if
  * different.
  */
-async function reconcileIdentitiesByName(){
-  console.log("reconcileIdentitiesByName");
+async function reconcileIdentities(){
+  console.log("reconcileIdentities");
+
+  // first delete any from the deleted list
+  const deletedIdentityList =
+    await sync.storageArea.getStoredArray("deletedIdentityList");
+  // first remove any deleted identities
+  for (const deletedUUID of deletedIdentityList) {
+    const deletedCookieStoreId = 
+      await identityState.lookupCookieStoreId(deletedUUID);
+    if (deletedCookieStoreId){
+      await browser.contextualIdentities.remove(deletedCookieStoreId);
+    }
+  }
+  
   const localIdentities = await browser.contextualIdentities.query({});
   const syncIdentities = 
     await sync.storageArea.getStoredObject("identities");
@@ -338,30 +372,6 @@ async function setAssignmentWithUUID (newUUID, assignedSite, urlKey) {
   throw new Error (`No cookieStoreId found for: ${newUUID}, ${urlKey}`);
 }
 
-async function runSync() {
-  browser.storage.onChanged.removeListener(
-    sync.storageArea.onChangedListener);
-  removeContextualIdentityListeners();
-  console.log("runSync");
-  await identityState.storageArea.cleanup();
-  await sync.storageArea.cleanup();
-  if (await sync.storageArea.hasSyncStorage()){
-    console.log("storage found, attempting to restore ...");
-    await restore();
-    return;
-  }
-  console.log("no sync storage, backing up...");
-  await sync.storageArea.backup();
-  return;
-}
-
-async function restore() {
-  console.log("restore");
-  await reconcileIdentitiesByUUID();
-  await reconcileSiteAssignments();
-  await sync.storageArea.backup();
-}
-
 /*
  * Matches uuids in sync to uuids locally, and updates containers accordingly.
  * If there is no match, it creates the new container.
@@ -371,9 +381,9 @@ async function reconcileIdentitiesByUUID() {
   const syncIdentities = await sync.storageArea.getStoredObject("identities");
   const cookieStoreIDmap = 
     await sync.storageArea.getStoredObject("cookieStoreIDmap");
+    
   const deletedIdentityList =
     await sync.storageArea.getStoredArray("deletedIdentityList");
-
   // first remove any deleted identities
   for (const deletedUUID of deletedIdentityList) {
     const deletedCookieStoreId = 
diff --git a/src/js/background/test.js b/src/js/background/test.js
index 97a6c53..1001075 100644
--- a/src/js/background/test.js
+++ b/src/js/background/test.js
@@ -1,24 +1,54 @@
 browser.tests = {
   async runAll() {
+    await this.testIdentityStateCleanup();
     await this.test1();
     await this.test2();
   },
 
+  async testIdentityStateCleanup() {
+    await browser.tests.stopSyncListeners();
+    console.log("Testing the cleanup of local storage");
+    await this.removeAllContainers();
+    const localData = {
+      "browserActionBadgesClicked": [ "6.1.1" ],
+      "containerTabsOpened": 7,
+      "identitiesState@@_firefox-default": { "hiddenTabs": [] },
+      "onboarding-stage": 5,
+      "identitiesState@@_firefox-container-7": { "hiddenTabs": [] }
+    };
+    await browser.storage.local.clear();
+    await browser.storage.local.set(localData);
+    // async function assignIdentities () {
+    for (const containerInputSet of TEST_CONTAINERS) {
+      await browser.contextualIdentities.create(containerInputSet);
+    }
+    // }
+    // await assignIdentities();
+    await identityState.storageArea.cleanup();
+    const macConfigs = await browser.storage.local.get();
+    const identities = [];
+
+    for(const configKey of Object.keys(macConfigs)) {
+      if (configKey.includes("identitiesState@@_") && !configKey.includes("default")) {
+        identities.push(macConfigs[configKey]);
+      }
+    }
+
+    console.assert(identities.length === 5, "There should be 5 identity entries");
+    for (const identity of identities) {
+      console.assert(!!identity.macAddonUUID, `${identity.name} should have a uuid`);
+    }
+    console.log("Finished!");
+  },
   async test1() {
     await browser.tests.stopSyncListeners();
     console.log("Testing new install with no sync");
 
     // sync state on install: no sync data
     await browser.storage.sync.clear();
-    await this.removeAllContainers();
     await browser.storage.local.clear();
-    const localData = {
-      "browserActionBadgesClicked": [ "6.1.1" ],
-      "containerTabsOpened": 7,
-      "identitiesState@@_firefox-default": { "hiddenTabs": [] },
-      "onboarding-stage": 5
-    };
-    await browser.storage.local.set(localData);
+    await browser.storage.local.set(LOCAL_DATA);
+    await this.removeAllContainers();
     for (const containerInputSet of TEST_CONTAINERS) {
       await browser.contextualIdentities.create(containerInputSet);
     }
@@ -56,72 +86,13 @@ browser.tests = {
 
   async test2() {
     await browser.tests.stopSyncListeners();
-    console.log("Testing sync differing");
+    console.log("Testing sync differing from local");
 
-    // sync state on install: no sync data
-    await browser.storage.sync.clear();
-    const syncData = {
-      "identities": [
-        {
-          "name": "Personal",
-          "icon": "fingerprint",
-          "iconUrl": "resource://usercontext-content/fingerprint.svg",
-          "color": "red",
-          "colorCode": "#37adff",
-          "cookieStoreId": "firefox-container-146"
-        },
-        {
-          "name": "Oscar",
-          "icon": "dollar",
-          "iconUrl": "resource://usercontext-content/dollar.svg",
-          "color": "green",
-          "colorCode": "#51cd00",
-          "cookieStoreId": "firefox-container-147"
-        },
-        {
-          "name": "Mozilla",
-          "icon": "pet",
-          "iconUrl": "resource://usercontext-content/briefcase.svg",
-          "color": "red",
-          "colorCode": "#ff613d",
-          "cookieStoreId": "firefox-container-148"
-        },
-        {
-          "name": "Groceries, obviously",
-          "icon": "cart",
-          "iconUrl": "resource://usercontext-content/cart.svg",
-          "color": "pink",
-          "colorCode": "#ffcb00",
-          "cookieStoreId": "firefox-container-149"
-        },
-        {
-          "name": "Facebook",
-          "icon": "fence",
-          "iconUrl": "resource://usercontext-content/fence.svg",
-          "color": "toolbar",
-          "colorCode": "#7c7c7d",
-          "cookieStoreId": "firefox-container-150"
-        }
-      ],
-      "cookieStoreIDmap": {
-        "firefox-container-146": "22ded543-5173-44a5-a47a-8813535945ca",
-        "firefox-container-147": "63e5212f-0858-418e-b5a3-09c2dea61fcd",
-        "firefox-container-148": "71335417-158e-4d74-a55b-e9e9081601ec",
-        "firefox-container-149": "59c4e5f7-fe3b-435a-ae60-1340db31a91b",
-        "firefox-container-150": "3dc916fb-8c0a-4538-9758-73ef819a45f7"
-      },
-      "assignedSites": {}
-    };
-    await browser.storage.sync.set(syncData);
-    await browser.storage.local.clear();
-    const localData = {
-      "browserActionBadgesClicked": [ "6.1.1" ],
-      "containerTabsOpened": 7,
-      "identitiesState@@_firefox-default": { "hiddenTabs": [] },
-      "onboarding-stage": 5
-    };
     await this.removeAllContainers();
-    console.log("TEST_CONTAINERS.length", TEST_CONTAINERS.length);
+    await browser.storage.sync.clear();
+    await browser.storage.sync.set(SYNC_DATA);
+    await browser.storage.local.clear();
+    const localData = LOCAL_DATA;
     for (let i=0; i < TEST_CONTAINERS.length; i++) {
       //build identities
       const newIdentity = 
@@ -141,14 +112,16 @@ browser.tests = {
     console.log("local storage set: ", await browser.storage.local.get());
 
     await sync.initSync();
-
+    
     const getSync = await browser.storage.sync.get();
     const getAssignedSites = 
       await assignManager.storageArea.getAssignedSites();
+
     const identities = await browser.contextualIdentities.query({});
+
     const localCookieStoreIDmap = 
       await identityState.getCookieStoreIDuuidMap();
-    console.log(getSync.cookieStoreIDmap);
+
     console.assert(
       Object.keys(getSync.cookieStoreIDmap).length === 6, 
       "cookieStoreIDmap should have 6 entries"
@@ -225,7 +198,65 @@ const TEST_ASSIGNMENTS = [
   "siteContainerMap@@_www.linkedin.com",
   "siteContainerMap@@_reddit.com"
 ];
+const LOCAL_DATA = {
+  "browserActionBadgesClicked": [ "6.1.1" ],
+  "containerTabsOpened": 7,
+  "identitiesState@@_firefox-default": { "hiddenTabs": [] },
+  "onboarding-stage": 5
+};
 
+const SYNC_DATA = {
+  "identities": [
+    {
+      "name": "Personal",
+      "icon": "fingerprint",
+      "iconUrl": "resource://usercontext-content/fingerprint.svg",
+      "color": "red",
+      "colorCode": "#37adff",
+      "cookieStoreId": "firefox-container-146"
+    },
+    {
+      "name": "Oscar",
+      "icon": "dollar",
+      "iconUrl": "resource://usercontext-content/dollar.svg",
+      "color": "green",
+      "colorCode": "#51cd00",
+      "cookieStoreId": "firefox-container-147"
+    },
+    {
+      "name": "Mozilla",
+      "icon": "pet",
+      "iconUrl": "resource://usercontext-content/briefcase.svg",
+      "color": "red",
+      "colorCode": "#ff613d",
+      "cookieStoreId": "firefox-container-148"
+    },
+    {
+      "name": "Groceries, obviously",
+      "icon": "cart",
+      "iconUrl": "resource://usercontext-content/cart.svg",
+      "color": "pink",
+      "colorCode": "#ffcb00",
+      "cookieStoreId": "firefox-container-149"
+    },
+    {
+      "name": "Facebook",
+      "icon": "fence",
+      "iconUrl": "resource://usercontext-content/fence.svg",
+      "color": "toolbar",
+      "colorCode": "#7c7c7d",
+      "cookieStoreId": "firefox-container-150"
+    }
+  ],
+  "cookieStoreIDmap": {
+    "firefox-container-146": "22ded543-5173-44a5-a47a-8813535945ca",
+    "firefox-container-147": "63e5212f-0858-418e-b5a3-09c2dea61fcd",
+    "firefox-container-148": "71335417-158e-4d74-a55b-e9e9081601ec",
+    "firefox-container-149": "59c4e5f7-fe3b-435a-ae60-1340db31a91b",
+    "firefox-container-150": "3dc916fb-8c0a-4538-9758-73ef819a45f7"
+  },
+  "assignedSites": {}
+};
 browser.resetMAC2 = async function () {
   // for debugging and testing: remove all containers except the default 4 and the first one created
   browser.tests.stopSyncListeners();
diff --git a/test/features/sync.test.js b/test/features/sync.test.js
index ddc87a0..72656fa 100644
--- a/test/features/sync.test.js
+++ b/test/features/sync.test.js
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 describe("Sync", () => {
 
-  it.only("should init sync on startup", async () => {
+  it("should init sync on startup", async () => {
     console.log("!!!a")
     const tab = await helper.browser.initializeWithTab();
     console.log(await background.browser.storage.local.get());