While you may not have a full preservation lab at your disposal, there are many things you can do to prolong the life of your treasured materials.
Environment
At the very least, materials should be kept in cool, dry places. A garage or attic are often some of the worst places to store your materials as they are very prone to drastic temperature and humidity changes which will accelerate any deterioration and make your materials a perfect breeding ground for mold growth.
Enclosures and storage
Every item type (i.e. photographs, paper documents, artwork, artifacts, etc.) has ideal storage specifications. (If you’re interested in looking into proper storage for different material types, check out PSAP Collection ID Guide.) Item that are held in archives are placed into archival boxes (boxes that are acid free) to protect the items from light exposure, dirt and dust, acid migration, and physical damage. Archival materials can be fairly pricey, however, if you have a particular item that is very meaningful, valuable, or fragile, purchasing an archival enclosure could be a worthwhile investment.
Here is a list of some archival suppliers:
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