If you have an attic full of old photos and other memories from the past, you’re not alone. A lot of people are always wondering what to do with old family photos and how to take care of them, and there are many ideas out there, so don’t worry.
With a few simple steps you can make sure they last as long as possible, and you don’t need any big bucks to do so either! If you want to put your family photos to good use and display them around the house or in an album, we have tips on how you can do that too.
Keep reading to find out all about these care tips, but don’t forget – these old photographs may be your only tie to your ancestors, parents, and grandparents. Even if a photo doesn’t mean much to you, or wasn’t taken in your lifetime, it’s still a precious reminder of where you came from.
Don’t Display the Originals
Sure, your grandma didn’t learn to pose from a modern day article about selfie poses for girls, but that doesn’t mean you treat the photos carelessly or place them out in the sun to fade. Old photos may not be vibrant and expressive like new ones, but they have a charm of their own.
It’s a tempting idea, but if you leave your older photos out in the sun or in any natural light, they’ll just fade faster than they need to. A great tip is to keep the original photos and get high quality prints from a place that specializes in printing photos from old films or developing high quality photos from existing ones. This way you can display your family’s history all the while making sure the photos stay intact for as long as possible.
Make Prints From Old Films
Sometimes, the photos themselves are lost but the negatives live on. If that’s the case with your family memories, get them printed as soon as possible from a printing service like The Darkroom. With digital technology rapidly improving, who knows how hard it’ll be for you to get the photos printed a decade or two later!
Make Digital Copies
Digital copies of any old and important documents are a necessity, especially since they won’t eventually deteriorate, no matter what you do to stop it from happening. You can do so by scanning all the old photos and making several digital copies of them. Make sure to store them in more than one place – many people suggest storing them in a physical USB drive as well as in cloud storage. This way you won’t accidentally lose them.
Also make sure to share the digital versions with your relatives, so multiple copies exist in multiple places.
Keep Away From Heat and Moisture
It’s a well known fact, but one that needs to be repeated as often as possible – heat and moisture are the worst enemies of any old documents you want to preserve. The same goes for old photos in your storage room and any written letters or deeds. At the same time, you need to keep your photos and documents away from too much frost.
Temperatures of about 65F to 70F and a 50% humidity level is best for storing old photos, but if you can’t afford to regulate it, just make sure to keep the photo boxes dry and away from any light sources.
Use Dividers
When you put the photos in boxes, make sure to put newspapers or any other kind of paper in between them. This way the ink or pigments on one photo won’t mix with the other, and it’ll also keep the photos from sticking together.
In addition, make sure the box you’re using is bigger than the size of the photos, and to avoid over-stuffing the boxes. This might damage the corners or cause the photos to lose their flat shape.
Organizing and storing old photos can be an act of love, and it can also teach you a lot about your family and the lives your grandparents or great grandparents lived. Be prepared for anything new that you may find, and if you feel like you’re not the best person to take care of old photos, ask a sibling or a relative to take over them for you.
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