Storage of Christmas (and other Holiday) Ornaments from Ann W.

 Q. While I have generally stored my old and new glass tree ornaments in regular white tissue paper inside boxes and have had relatively little problem...except perhaps for a few less expensive ornaments on which the paint may peel...more and more is being written about improved storage methods.  My ornaments are kept in a storage area on the second floor of our house...not in the attic or basement.  The only drawback of this storage area is that it is under the lower slope of the roof since the house is a slightly modified saltbox...however, I tend to keep the entrance door to this storage area cracked several inches in extreme summer heat so I feel this prevents damaging weather extremes and humidity....we seldom run central air as we are on a hill in a rural area.

Some say to put the ornaments in plastic bags in plastic containers...this seems to be a good transport method but for many years of storage?????  It would seem that plastic is more toxic than cardboard but I am only a collector...not a chemist.

As I begin to repack ornaments...will acid free tissue around each ornament in a cardboard container suffice or at least be a huge improvement?  I am talking about more than 2000 ornaments so repacking in special containers would be costly and probably more bulky since a significant number of my ornaments are large - 6" to 10" in length.  I currently keep most of the large ornaments in the individual gift box they were packed in at the store.

A. We have a great many customers who use our tissue for ornament protection and we are recommended on several large collector message boards.  Apparently our tissue is the perfect weight and pH for storage of glass and precious metal ornaments, and for those made of other materials as well.  The new smaller size may be even better suited, as the pieces are smaller and lighter-weight.

The original storage box is always a good thing to have.  A small bit of tissue inside will add more protection and guard against tarnishing.

I do have some collectors who use our archival sleeves in combination with tissue, but I have always thought that overdoing it a bit and I certainly could not suggest it for your storage area.  Tissue will be wonderful in your area, as it will act both as a buffer against environmental acid and as a buffer for changing temperature and humidity levels.

Rubbermaid and Sterilite are wonderful as they are made of 100% inert polypropylene and offer good protection against wetness (leaks, etc.) and pests and are more rigid than cardboard.  Since they are not airtight they allow some breathing.  Museums use them extensively. A balanced approach might be to wrap all in the tissue and then store the most precious ones in Rubbermaid or similar (look for the code 5 or PP in the recycle triangle) - and continue to use the sturdiest cardboard boxes for the rest.