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What's in My Toolbox?

I often get asked about what supplies I keep on hand at my own house for helping me organize and care for historical objects. I’ll confess I’ve not been the best at keeping them organized but I’ve recently been inspired to get my tools more organized. But I’ll share with you some of my top tools and you might be surprised at how many you might already have too.

  1. A #2 mechanical pencil - We try to do no harm to what we’re taking care of and that also means that the majority of things we do needs to be reversible. Hence pencil not ink. I prefer #2 pencils because they tend not to smudge.
  2. A gum eraser - Mistakes happen. I prefer gum erasers because they are softer and tend to cause less damage. The last thing you want to do is rub a whole in your photo or document while you are trying to erase something. But they are messy so be prepared for that with brushes, a trash can and a handy vac.
  3. pH testing pens - I’m constantly wanting to know if the paper around me is balanced or not. I need to know if I need to remove photos from an acidic album. If the backing for a fragile document is archival or needs to be replaced. I’m always reaching for one.
  4. Acid free tissue paper - I buy in a big roll, but odds are you don’t need as much as I do! I do prefer buffered. I have so many uses for this item as well - but the top uses are packing material to pad textiles and other objects and I cut it to size for interleaving in photo albums and scrapbooks.
  5. Magnifying glass with a light - you never know when you’re going to need help seeing something better.
  6. Ribbon tape measure without a metal end - I removed the metal end mine came with a long time ago. I don’t like them as they can snag things. Look for a ribbon that is easy for you to read - nice big numbers. I like a light background and dark number, but you might prefer the opposite.
So those are the basics that I use over and over. I'm sure I'll write some feature posts going more depth into other items that I often use. In the meantime, you can download a more comprehensive guide and shopping list:


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