What's the safest way to store photos?

[veramats]

1 Should I put my photos in one of those photo boxes you can get at a Michael's? (that's what I currently do)

2 Should I separate negatives from the photos?

3 I know the photo lab's envelopes are not acid free, but do I have to take the photos out of them and label them? That just seems so time consuming!!!

It's Spring Cleaning so I feel a cleaning/organizing session coming on!

Vera

[imsteelefullofscrap]

I store all of my photos in the large cropper hopper, I organize them as to who it is etc. Though I do have a huge tote full of pics that I need to sit and go thru as well, just finding the time!
Now for the negatives, I do not have any since I use a digital, but they do have a storage holder just for htose as well.
HTH
Jen

[kaclarke]

I'll try to answer your questions:

Quote:

1 Should I put my photos in one of those photo boxes you can get at a Michael's? (that's what I currently do)

- if you are talking about the paper boxes it should be ok as I believe most of them say acid free on the packaging. If you are unsure you could always test the box with a pH testing pen. If plastic make sure that the plastic is PVC free.

Quote:

2 Should I separate negatives from the photos?

- Yes - if possible store them in a seperate location in your house or a relatives house.

Quote:

3 I know the photo lab's envelopes are not acid free, but do I have to take the photos out of them and label them? That just seems so time consuming!!!

- Definitely take them out of the lab's envelopes. You don't need to label each individual photo - just use the box's dividers to sort by date/event or whatever other sorting method you use.

HTH
[/quote]

[scrapgoddess67]

Creative Memories has a photo safe photo organizer that can hold up to 2500 pictures with 12 compartments for dividing your photos into years or projects until you scrap them.
The smaller version holds 600 photos with 3 compartments. This photo organization system works will for me, I take one compartment out to a scrap and its all together.
As far as the negatives, they have negative holders that are made from acid free plastic. I havent' used them but I have heard they are good.
Storing pictures in the paper boxes is not recommended because the paper contains acid and it will harm your photo- my experience has proven that.
Good luck with your photos!

[Mamalanie]

I wouldn't use the boxes from Michaels unless you know FOR SURE what they're made of. Most plastics emit photo-harming chemicals over time. Polypropylene (sp?) is the best way to go - it is photo safe. I have the CM PowerSort box and it is the best thing I've gotten from them (and believe me, I have a lot of CM stuff!) It holds up to 2400 pictures and you can remove the insert boxes and take them with you to a crop. I have a couple of mini powersorts (hold 600 each) too that I will use to carry some with me if I'm cropping someplace other than home. I think it costs $35 for the big one and $11 for the mini's. I think it's the best invention EVER and I don't worry about my photos being in it at all!

[Mamalanie]

Great minds think alike - and at the same time! :lol:

[karin]

What happens to the photos in the photo processing envolopes? My mom took tons of pictures of us when we were little; they are all stored in the envelopes and then in file boxes. We pull them out and look at then every few years and they still look just as vibrant as ever. As a matter of fact, my grandparents store them this way too. Its so nice to keep them separated by roll and then the negatives are right with them. My siblings and I have most of the doubles if anything were to ever happen to them.
Enlighten me...

[msdetloff]

I put all my pics in ablums as soon as I get them from the developer. I have a book for my family, extended family, and misc. I organize them in there so they make sense for when its time to scrap them. The type I use have a back pocket where you can store negatives and a cd...like from your digetal camera. This works well for me and I then just fill up spots with new pictures from those I have already scraped.

Mindy