Lets see a show of hands.. How many of us, and yes, I will certainly include myself in this one, store away little bits and pieces of our lives in every place imaginable around the house.

Finding a place to put all the little things that you have collected over the years that speak of your history and heritage can be a daunting, if not nearly impossible task.

Finding the right location isn’t impossible it just takes some creative thinking, for all of that stuff, but, really considering what is the best location for some of it, is not just beneficial, its imperative.

The experts say that five factors more than all others will destroy paper documents, including old bibles, old photos and older letters and things such as birth certificates and other things you absolutely don’t want to let go of.

Finding a good place to keep those things will spare you a lot of work, and in fact a lot of heartache in the years to come, and if not you, then one of your family who wants, or needs to use them.

About twenty years ago, I learned my lesson. I was given a stash of older magazines by an elderly gentleman who had hoarded them for years and years. The magazines, Original copies of Ladies Home Journal and Harpers Bazaar, from as early as 1870 something were stashed in a drafty old barn in boxes and bags.

They were a living breathing history, with advertisements, and unique articles and other things in them, that were among the most interesting things I had seen. Sadly, those magazines were damaged by mildew, rotted by moisture, tattered by mice and dried by sun and heat.

Out of fifty odd magazines that were there, some which were worth a quite interesting sum of money, we managed to salvage about twenty, only ten of them in their entirety.

Likewise, photographs. Those of my grandmother, which had been stored in a glass case in her home were moist, faded, and some damaged beyond all hope of repair.
Bev Schneider of Faded Memories whose work it is to restore older photos, offers some words of wisdom on storing them.

UV light will cause damage to your photos. Protect them from bright light which will damage them. Keep those family photos out of the direct sunlight to prevent fading and sometimes cracking. If you have older, more frail pieces, keep them in a dark storage area and if you wish to use them on the wall, use copies.

If you choose to frame and use your older photos, get glass that filters UV light rather than just glass.

If you store your photos for lengthy periods of time, be aware of the amount of temperature and humidity that will be in the storage area from season to season and make sure that its not going to be too great for the health of the photos. High humidity, high light areas are not the place to keep your papers or photographs, and have them last as long as you want them to.

No matter what area that you select for your storage area, make sure it is low in light, low in pollutants and low in humidity so that your precious family documents remain safe in every season.