Things You'll Need:
- Acid-free storage envelope
- Photo boxes
- Archival quality negative sleeves
- 3 ring binders
- Index prints
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Step 1
Put the negatives in an acid-free storage envelope for an easy, but efficient storage system. Archival businesses have these in stock. Use a photo box with index cards to keep them organized. Place the index card behind the envelope. The labeled photos go behind your negatives.
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Step 2
Store negatives in archival quality polypropylene, mylar or polyethylene negative sleeves for another very effective storage system. You can buy these at photography or archival businesses. Storing negatives this way will help preserve them so that you can get prints 20 or more years later.
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Step 3
Take the negatives out of the envelope used for processing and place them into their new sleeves. Make sure you keep them in order by number and in whole pieces. Organize the negatives by recording the year, month and theme on the edge of the sleeve.
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Step 4
Place the negatives inside a 3-ring binder. To make it even easier to access your negatives, create tabs that show the different months and years. For a smart storage idea, keep the complete binder together with the corresponding photo boxes. Remember to label the binder on the outside cover and spine with the appropriate dates.
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Step 5
Plan for future negative organization when developing your film by asking for an index print. A tiny image of each picture taken will show on a photo-size print which can be placed into sleeves designed to keep your photos safe. The negatives will fit nicely behind the index picture inside the sleeve. Label the sleeve with the appropriate dates and snap it inside a 3-ring binder.
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Step 6
Keep all envelopes or binders in chronological order. Put them in an easily accessible location in your home.
