If you have inherited artifacts, you should attempt to preserve them as best you can. One of the best methods is to buy acid-free or archival storage boxes. Light Impressions is my favorite spot for purchasing any type of archival storage container. You can ask the company to ship you its catalog, which offers many more products than are listed on its Web site, including the variety of storage box sizes available. For example, if you have a postcard collection, you might consider purchasing the Postcard Storage Kit. Light Impressions also sells storage boxes that can protect clothing items, newspaper collections, family Bibles, or just about any object that will fit in a box. For more information on preserving your collectibles, check out Barbara Sagrave’s book A Preservation Guide: Saving the Past and Present for the Future, available from Ancestry.com.

What else can you containerize? Well, look around you. What looks disheveled or unorganized? How about your magazines? There are a variety of magazine holders on the market today, from the basic plastic or cardboard magazine holders to fancy holders that disguise the collection to look like antique books. If you have a lot of magazines to organize, I recommend that first you go through the collection and ask yourself honestly why you are saving the magazines. If the magazines are collectors’ items, by all means, keep them. But if your local library gets the same subscription, you can lighten your load by recycling the magazines or donating them to an organization that might be able to use them. If you use the magazines in your research, then purchase magazine holders that will accommodate your collection.

I like to devote several shelves on one of my bookcases to my magazine collection. To keep them neat, I have purchased a number of magazine holders, most of which are Oxford Decoracks. I like these because they’re three times the size of average magazine holders and because they have moveable dividers. Additionally, I can store them on their side so I can use the space on my bookshelves more efficiently. Look for these containers at your office supply store.

What about your collection of CDs, tapes, or microforms? There are containers available for storing all of these types of media and more. I purchased a three-drawer microfiche container from Reliable Office Solutions. It neatly holds my rather large collection of microfiche, right underneath my microfilm reader. Then I purchased a similar three-drawer container for my audiotape collection and a shelf unit to house my CDs. Those items can be found in a number of places, including office supply catalogues and Web sites.

So, the next time you look around your office and get frustrated about a mess here and there, think containers! Then go shopping . . .