To someone else, your items of memorabilia might look like junk, but in truth, each one holds the seed of a story. Items don’t start out as memorabilia. They begin as functional objects that get sanctified through time—often by the mere fact they didn’t get trashed!  Without a system, piles of college notebooks, bags of bellbottoms, and kids’ school projects get stuffed, stashed, lost for years, and often destroyed in the process.

Let’s define true memorabilia as objects that encapsulate your most significant memories, when a photo just won’t do. Their physical form transports you to a time in your life with a mere smell, touch or glance. 

So, this is the fork in the road- is it junk or memorabilia? Here’s your chance to rescue the items you deem important, and treat them with the honor and protection they deserve.

Store Safely

Pick a clean, climate-controlled location, such as the attic, guest bedroom or family room. Avoid basements and garages, which are more prone to grease/water damage. Invest in archival-quality containers (acid-free, lignon-free) that protect items from dust and help slow the breakdown of chemical structures. Check out www.archivalmethods.com, www.lightimpressions.com , and www.getsmartproducts.com for rich options.

Century and Century Elite boxes come every shape imaginable; for safely storing maps, newspapers, documents,  cards, videotapes, slides, and artwork.

Costume Storage boxes and Textile Storage kit, provide ideal storage environment for quilts, fabrics and garments.

Anti-corrosion envelopes protect metal objects, like skeleton keys, watches, and a baby’s silver cup. 

Pigma pens (acid-free, fade and water-proof), and artifact identification tags (for objects you can’t write on) keep memorabilia clearly labeled.

Repair for longevity

If your memorabilia wasn’t stored properly, odds are that some items will be damaged. Suppliers like www.talasonline.com and www.librarysuppliers.com, offer affordable preservation and restoration products, especially for paper and book repair. In particular, look for:

Ph Testing pen  to determine the acid content in all paper memorabilia, and     De-acidification spray to safely reduce the acid content you find.

Absorene cleaner, a soft, pliable cleaner that works like an eraser—absorbing dust, dirt, smoke and film from books and paper.

Metal repair kit to eliminate rust and seal scratches.

Display-

Handpick a few signature pieces to put on display, for constant enjoyment:

Shadowboxes, curios and velvet-lined tabletop glass cases allow you to arrange such diverse items as a pocket watch, pair of reading glasses and opera program into a still life tribute to a moment. 

Lucite or acrylic wall display cases in specialized shapes will provide a 1970’s poncho or game-winning Little League Bat a place of honor.

Scrapbooking is popular for travel souveniers and personal family relics such as first lock of hair, first tooth, report cards. 

Custom quilt or wall hanging If you are particularly attached to old textiles- e.g. your kid’s baby clothes, t-shirt collection from the 70’s—have a quilter transform your fabric into a piece of art.

Organizing and preserving your memorabilia will free you to relish memories, instead of feeling stifled by all the room they’re taking up.  Be selective as you go-tossing objects whose reason for saving you can no longer remember; ditto for relics that are redundant (OK, save one or two college notebooks- not all 32!) And be sure to enjoy the process—it’s a precious opportunity to reconnect to lost and lovely parts of yourself. And on rainy days, you can take periodic trips down memory lane.