Protecting and Preserving Your Precious Memories

Preserving our memories properly is a major part of organizing many homes. All of us have items that have sentimental value to all of us but may not mean anything to anyone else. Photographs and paper mementos can be both a treasure and a burden for us. I’m all in favor of preserving these precious family treasures, but it is unfortunate when they get damaged because they were thrown too quickly into a cardboard box or shoved onto a free space on a shelf in the basement. If you’re going to save these items, it’s important to treat them as the treasures they are, or they will appear to have the same value as all of the other items you threw into a box to clear your kitchen counter or dining room table before company comes over!

There are several factors that can contribute to the deterioration of photos and mementos. Humidity, temperature, and sunlight are all environmental factors that can cause damage. In addition, rapid temperature changes, such as humidity followed by cold weather can cause cracking and ruin the image in photos. This is especially true in basements and attics where temperatures can fluctuate. Other things that damage photos are dirt, dust, and oil. Your photos can stick together, curl, or get moldy in damp environments. Insects and rodents can also tear away at paperwork. That all said, attics and basements are not the best locations for storing precious documents.

Your keepsakes should be stored in a place with consistent temperatures of 65 to 70 degrees and a humidity level of no more than 50%. Not all homes can maintain such consistent climate control, especially those without air conditioning. If this is the case, safety deposit boxes can be a safe solution for valuable papers and photos if another option is needed.  When storing your photos, it is best not to keep the negatives with the photos. Just in case something happens, you will have the opportunity to re-print the photos if they are stored in two different locations. Ideally, your photos should be scanned as well and backed up on your computer as well as cloud storage and CDs.

When making decisions to display valuable papers or photos in your home, think about making a copy and keeping the original in storage. Sunlight will slowly fade the photograph. In addition, glass will sometimes stick to the photo in the picture frame. To be safe, make a high-quality photocopy to ensure the preservation of the original.

It’s also important to never write on the backs of photos with ball point pens or use anything acidic. Acids can break down the photos over time and destroy the image. If a document or photo needs special protection, consider wrapping it in acid free tissue or paper to protect it from environmental elements. You should avoid using plastic bags, storage containers, or non-acid-free photo boxes. It may be tempting to use these means of storage because they are inexpensive and available everywhere, but they will not protect your papers and photos in the long run. Use only lignin-free, acid-free, buffered paper for photos and papers. These products can also be used in-between pages in photo albums. Use only PVC free plastics such as polyester, mylar, polypropylene, polyethelyne, and Tyvek.

These are just a few suggestions about how to preserve your precious memories. You made the decision to keep the papers and photos, so be sure to store and preserve them in a way that you and future generations will be able to enjoy them for years to come!

Are your memories going to last?

In this digital age, it’s easy to capture and store countless images on our computers, phones, tablets etc.   However, a growing collection of digital photos, scattered throughout our multiple devices, may seem overwhelming to organize.  What’s a memory keeper to do…? Make a plan! 


Wait…  why should I organize?, you might ask. After all, it’s time consuming and a lot of work. We take pictures to document our lives and to tell our stories. It’s a struggle to share those stories if they can’t be easily and quickly accessed and we want them to live forever.

 

 

“People are used to the idea of having old family pictures from 50 or 100 years ago or more. There will be VERY FEW surviving family pictures from this decade or 1990′s in the year 2100. Many more pictures will survive from 1920 than from 1980.” ~Christopher G. Mullin, Special Collections, Mansfield Library, The University of Montana

Wouldn’t it feel great knowing that our photos (our memories and stories) are safe and accessible?  Not only for ourselves, but for future generations?  Don't let your children grow up to be jpegs!!

Your story to share!

People love stories. Every successful speaker keeps you on the edge of your seat as they tell their story.  You are connected, engaged, you can relate to what they are saying.  While telling their story they are slipping in nuggets of information and you find yourself taking notes and excitement fills the room.  There is laughter, sometimes tears, but you are present the whole time.

Telling stories with your photos can evoke the same set of emotions.





Take this photo for example. This is photo of my dad singing to his granddaughter about 1 year before he passed.

At the time, we did not know how ill he was and that we would only have a short time with him.  Luckily, not only do we have a photo, my sister also took a video of this precious family memory.

My challenge to all of you:

1. Locate a shoebox of photos (I know you have them) and pull out a half dozen or so photos.
2. Look at the details: objects in the background, hairstyles, fashion, expressions
3. Write down what you feel – just a couple sentences about the photo.  There is no right or wrong…it is your story about your photo.
4. Share with family or friends – you will be pleasantly surprised at how many people will enjoy your unique perspective on your photos.

Journaling Heritage Photos

Telling the story of a heritage photo is probably the most difficult. What exactly is a heritage photo anyway? Old....really old. These photos are especially important as our children are growing up. That dreaded year of elementary school is bound to come. Your child will arrive home and say, “I have to draw a family tree.

Now, let me just say that my mom's family, had a very interesting history.  I've just recently discovered that the first boat sank that was bringing my grandmother and her three children to Canada.  Luckily, they were rescue by another boat because my mom was still just a twinkle in my grandfather's eye.  Unfortunatey my grandfather was only told that the boat sank and was not aware that his wife and children were still alive until they arrived in Canada.  I can only imagine his thoughts and feelings during this time, from deep sorrow to overwhelming joy...and of course, wonderful surprise.

Well, you didn’t live with those ancestors from generations ago, and neither did your kids...maybe even your parents didn’t live with them. Those ancestors have the core traditions and background that your children will be looking for as they mature and look for their own identity. You can piece together the stories of these generations-ago family members, but you’ll need your spyglass and pipe! Not really, but you will need tenacity. Pull as many pictures together as possible. You’ll want to refer to them collectively, yet sort them by era (use people in the pictures or backgrounds to help determine the facts of the picture). If you’ve been blessed by another family member with a collection of already proven facts, use those as a reference for building on for the unknown stories of these pictures.

Record the facts as best you can. Talk to living relatives about the pictures. Ask questions about the people in the pictures, locations, and anything they may have been told by their parents or grandparents about those people and places. Ask especially about how events were celebrated or marked within the family. Did they graduate from college? High school? Did your mom grow up in a Hutterite community in Alberta and later leave this community when she was 18 years old with her older sister? Oh, wait, that was my mom. Record this information so that you can keep it separate but put it with the picture later should you determine it holds merit.

Do I have a picture of my mom at 18, or the Hutterite community where she grew up? No. But the story is amazing and I want it recorded so my children, siblings, and friends can be amazed and inspired by what she did. So as you’re collecting information, recognize that those stories, even without a picture, can be as powerful as the photos you’re preserving. All the stories of your family are important to your family’s history. Remember, if you enjoyed hearing the story, future generations will too. Now...where is that picture of my mom and dad on their favourite beach in Jamaica?