Right now they are in the spare bedroom in the long boxes. I feel comfortable with this. They aren’t bagged or boarded, but the will stay dry. In the next few years, my wife and I plan to have another child to use that room and I am wondering what I will do with those ten plus white boxes. The only thing I can think of is the attic. I just can’t bring myself to give them away/sell them as my son (or sons) may want them.
So I was wondering if there was a good way to protect them from the elements that will be present in an attic?
My fears:
Heat- Not sure if this has any impact.
Water- leaks, water blowing in from vents
Dust- My house is clean. My attic may not be.
Getting Crushed- Lotta junk in that attic.
I don’t really care if they stay mint (most are already a little dogeared). But I don’t want them destroyed.
I just need to get them out of the way. The wife demands it.
What you should do is rig Clayton and Child #2’s sleeping schedules so they can use the bedroom in shifts. If the Mrs. doesn’t like it, tough! She knew what you were like before she married you.
–Cliffy
P.S. As usual, I have nothing constructive to add – I keep mine safe in a bedroom closet. My comics, not my children.
Heat shouldn’t affect them too badly, as long as they are out of the light they won’t get faded
Bags and boards, my friend, bags and boards. Or at least bags. Most bags will have a flap you can fold over the top of the opening and tape down to seal it better from dust and water.
If you have them in comic book storage boxes and not just regular cardboard boxes, those things are pretty sturdy. But if something falls on it heavy enough to crush it, there’s not really anything to be done about that other than the obvious suggestion of don’t put them next to something that may fall on them.
I use plastic Rubbermaid boxes with lids that snap and seal, like Tupperware-type containers. The only problem is stacking your comics horizontally instead of standing them (as in long boxes) isn’t as good for them in the long run. But the Rubbermaid boxes will definitely keep them safe from the elements.
And bags (with one piece of tape) and boards are always a good investment.
I must beg to differ about heat. Dunno about your attic, but many attics have some pretty extreme shifts in temperature, and they can get deathly hot during the summer. This can and will accelerate the aging process, will cause newsprint to yellow, and in a decade or so, you will have a fine box of multicolored (mostly yellow) confetti. Bagging will retard this process somewhat, but I’d still avoid extremes of temperature.
If you have ANY kind of vermin problem – mice, cockroaches, and suchlike – don’t put any valuable paper goods in the attic. Mice love areas with low human traffic, and your comics, bagged or not, make peachy nesting material. Furthermore, roaches love to eat anything starchy, and this includes binding glue and some paper and inks.
