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lurker needing help. Not TIP related.
Not really the right board for this, but I don't post much anymore and figured you ladies are the all knowing on almost any subject.
Yesterday we moved my Grandma into a nursing home. (good move and she was all for it!) But as my aunts and I were going through things I was given a BUNCH of family heirloom type stuff. A pearl necklace my grandpa gave grandma on their wedding day, a quilt made by my great grandma, a scrapbook that my grandma made for my mom's elementary years full of pictures, news articles, and all kinds of other stuff, my mom's wedding dress, cookbooks from WAY back (the oldest date we found was a leather bound 1907 one), and some other things that mom had made during her 4-H years and old doilies grandma made, pillowcases and towels my mom embroidered before she passed away and all kinds of stuff.
But now that I have all this, i would like to keep it in good shape for obvious reasons. My mom passed away when I was a year old so this is the first I have seen some of this stuff. Other things I have seen, but she wanted to keep until now.
So do you have any storage tips on how to keep some of this good?? TIA for ANY help you can give me.
Re: lurker needing help. Not TIP related.
Hm, each of those things you describe really needs specialized treatment to be "properly" preserved, and you can no doubt google or consult professionals to guide you on how to preserve a wedding dress vs. a scrapbook.
Beyond that, at a most basic level I'd just recommend keeping things inside in a good climate-controlled, well-ventilated part of the house. Maybe a hall closet or something like that.
Do I dare put it in a storage tote of some kind? At grandma's it was stored in one of her dresser drawers and I don't know if it should have some air going to it or not?
I'm a big fan of cardboard boxes if they are clean (such as new moving or banker's boxes) and mold is not a concern. You could also use plastic bins and drill holes in them for ventilation I guess. Dresser drawers seem like a good option too, since they do provide some ventilation to the contents.
I'm no expert on this though, so maybe it's time for me to shut it and see if anyone else has ideas.
Lurker from a library/archives background. Beyond any individual care for specific items, storing each in acid-free archival boxes can help prevent damage.
This is the brand we order for our special collections items, from books to artifacts: http://www.gaylord.com/listing.asp?H=3&PCI=128119
Major thing: do not attempt to do repairs/cleaning yourself unless you are prepared to possibly do more damage than help. It can be very difficult to undo something once it is done, particularly to antique or special items.