Scott, 
Another question… for items I want to keep in a transparent enclosure (so they don’t have to be handled directly to view), there seem to be so many choices. I’m thinking the polyester or polyethylene envelopes might be the best because they’re closed on 3 sides (less chance of something falling out) and seem sturdier than the poly bags. But they’re also way more expensive than the polyethylene bags. Please help!
Kathie
Hatfield Historical Museum
http://hatfieldhistory.weebly.com
In the illustration: Acid stains from contact with cardboard
The page protectors are a great, cheap way to go because they can be kept in a regular spare notebook so you can easily leaf through the pages and see your archived pages. However, they will only fit an item that is 8 ½” x 11” or smaller. One draw back, though, is that the plastic is kind of slick and the smaller paper items can slide out if the notebook is tipped. So, I sometimes use a paper clip or double sided tape to close the top, open edge. Don’t let the clip or the tape come into contact with the paper item.
An option to this idea is to put things in a zip lock bag (they are all made of “archival” stable plastic) and then keep the items in a box.
If you want something more fancy (and it’s a product I love!) are L-velopes. They seal around all 4 edges by a fold-over method. Look them up in the catalog.
Either of these last two methods of storage will require a box to keep your loose items in. While an expensive, acid free, archival box from your catalogs is not required, the box will stay nice for a much longer time.
Good questions.
I love scrapbooking and photo albums and this info is so good! Its good to know there are cheaper ways to do things that fully decorated, tricked out expensive scrapbooks that take so much time to put together. With your suggestions I can throw together a notebook of important items and still keep them “archival.” You’re good Scott! Thanks Kathie for the questions.
Dear Scott:
I LOVE YOUR E-MAIL SUGGESTIONS. I attached your photo saving suggestion to an e-mail I sent to my club members (Oakmont Algonquin Roundtable a group of 54 published authors and screen writers). I DO, I DO, I DO WANT YOUR E-MAILS!
Thanks Scott for the very helpful, current, suggestions.
Very best regards,
Priscilla Edwards
Women’s issues concerned with emergency preparedness at Twitter account readyin10net tweeted “@SaveYourStuff Thanks so much. Great site!”
I think it really depends on how long you’re intending to keep those documents in storage right? And also what type of material the document is made of? Can’t you get little sleeves from the stationery shop anyway and if you need something more robust, than why not laminate?
Good article about archival materials and preserving important family history documents. Thanks