Protect your photos Store each photo individually in a plastic sleeve that is PVC free when you pack photos. You can find photo safe storage sleeves at your local hobby or photo supply store. An easy DIY alternative if you cannot find non-PVC sleeves is to use a Ziploc sandwich bag.
Always opt for a dry, cool place to store your photos. You'd never want to keep a photo box in full sunlight or in a place where water damage is possible (think: always off of the basement floor!). As you take and print more photos, your organization system will allow you to easily add them in.
Store loose pictures in a photo-safe container & do not over or under-fill these containers. Look for photo-safe plastic containers containing uncoated polyethylene, polypropylene or polyester as these can withstand temperature fluctuations. Also seek out containers that are free of acid, lignin and PVC.
For example, due to the wear/tear and continuous use of the self-sealing plastic ziplock bag, the plastics can be broken down and release some debris as microplastics.
Ziploc bags and similar storage products (like takeout containers) are incredibly useful around the house and in life, but they're not great for the environment: they're single-use, not recyclable, and can contain microplastics or other materials you probably don't want to ingest.
“You can reuse Ziploc bags as long as they haven't been used for raw meat or other TCS foods,” Hutchings said. “TCS (time/temperature control for safety) foods are more susceptible to bacterial growth than shelf-stable foods, so if you store a TCS food item in a Ziploc bag, there may be more germs inside the bag.”
If you sort chronologically, photo storage boxes or a photo book might be what you need. A pretty scrapbook will allow you to add some personality and really tell a story as you create a keepsake that will be treasured for years to come. Glassine envelopes are also a good option.
External hard drives offer a convenient and cost-effective solution for storing large photo collections. Invest in high-quality drives with ample capacity and reliable performance. Organize your photos into folders and regularly back up your entire photo library to external drives to protect against data loss.
One of the worst things for photos is moisture and plastic can tend to keep moisture in. If you store our photos in a ziplock bag, be sure to place a tissue or paper towel between each photo to keep them from sticking to each other.
A: The best way to store photos long-term is a combination of archive boxes, data-filled index cards and climate-controlled self-storage. Archive boxes will provide your photos an acid-free home and protect them from sunlight and exposure.
You may be tempted to use a clear plastic box that's advertised as being acid-free. But Smithsonian Institution Archives conservator William Bennett advises against that because at this point no one knows how plastic interacts with photographs over the course of a century. It's safer to use time-tested paper boxes.
The chemicals and coatings old photos contain can be harmful if left in a landfill to decompose. The additional benefit for securely destroying your old photos is that you know you'll never see them again. The photos won't get fished out of your trash bin, garbage truck or recycling bin and end up online.
Cloud storage
Cloud backups are one of the simplest and best ways to backup your photos. Why? For a start, these days most cloud storage completely automate the process, so once you've signed up all your images can automatically be saved to the cloud.
External Hard Drives
External hard drives are a popular method of photo storage, both among hobbyist photographers and some professionals as well as family archivists with large collections of digital photos. It's also the primary storage method I use for my image catalog, which currently contains 30+ TB of data.
If the highest quality paper such as 100% cotton or acid-free paper is used and printed with a high-quality ink-jet printer that uses permanent pigment inks, the photographs should last several hundred years, especially if kept from direct sunlight and stored in moderate temperature and humidity conditions.
Option 1: Scanning at home
Clean your photos with a microfiber cloth and place them on the flatlay glass of your scanner. Depending on size, you may want to speed up the process by placing 3-4 images on the scanner at once. You can always go back and crop them later.
According to Ziploc, its plastic bags are made with materials strong enough to be reused several times. Ziploc brand bags are indeed reusable after hand-washing with soap and air drying. Any bags that have damage or become difficult to clean completely (looking at you, marinades with turmeric) should be tossed.
No, bed bugs cannot chew through plastic. Strong, sealed plastic bags without any openings are effective in containing them.
Natural fibres such as wool and silk in a plastic bag can be damaged by the vacuum seal and can make clothing lose shape over time. Although it may seem like a good idea and a quick fix to use plastic bags, they can be a breeding ground for mould and bacteria.