Photograph Care and Organization

You dropped the cash on the camera,  the gadgets and all the corresponding accessories.  Having your photos stand the test of time is the next challenge. Without proper care and storage conditions, photographs can fade, discolor, accumulate mold, even crack into bits. Here, tips to assure your photos will last for generations and ways to store and display them through the course of your own.

Where to store your photos

• Climate-controlled environments. The basement or attic are the worst of places. Humidity encourages mold growth and dryness causes cracking and brittleness.
• The first floor of your house is a wise location for storing as it tends to be the coolest and most stable in temperature. Keeping stored photos against an inside wall also helps as outside walls tend to fluctuate in temperature.
• A relative humidity (RH) level of 30%-50% is ideal.

A temperature and humidity meter  is a simple way to monitor levels in your home. Some have alarms that ring when humidity or temperature hits a certain level.These gadgets are priced across the board, ranging from $7 to upwards of $300.

What to store them in

• Protect photos from deterioration by storing them only in acid-free frames,  albums,  and boxes.  Most paper is naturally acidic so be sure to look for acid-free storage boxes, mats,  tissue,  and file folders. 
• Make certain your photo albums do not have magnetic pages. Those pages are made with polyvinyl chloride (PVC) which is a softening agent and may discolor your photos.
• If mounting your photos in a scrapbook,  do not use rubber cement. It is made with a sulfur compound and may turn your photographs yellow.

Functional Storage Tools
Archival photo storage boxes  are a must for keeping photos safe. Most come complete with sleeves for photos and cost somewhere around $15-$20. They aren't the prettiest or more decorative but they're functional and that's most important.	Acid-free resealable bags are an alternative to boxes and albums. They're great for odds and ends--post cards, magazine and newspaper clippings, photographs--and have resealable flaps for reuse. Very affordable: roughly $5 for a pack of 25.	Acid-free, non-toxic glue is an essential if you plan on scrapbooking or securing photos into a photo album with glue. Acid-free glue sticks are an alternate if you don't like working with liquid glue. Neither will damage your photographs.

To display

Pretty, functional
Archival Album Storage Box  are a smart place to store your photo albums.	These archival photo albums  are both functional and handsome.	Aluminum picture frames  are safest because wood can give off acid but aluminum will not.	A space-saving pocket photo organizer  great for keeping photos tucked away in an organized way.	Digital Pocket photo albums  are a fun way to take your pictures on-the-go.