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How to Preserve Newsprint

Because they reflect history almost the moment it happens, newspapers can preserve memories and help remind you of an earlier time. You may wish to preserve a newspaper with a story of particular interest to you, such as an article about a family member or a piece about an organization for which you volunteer. You may also wish to preserve a newspaper from a particularly important or special day in your life, such as the day your child was born or the day you got married. Preserving newsprint is a fairly easy process.

Things You'll Need

Newsprint
Box with a lid
Alkaline paper

Instructions

- 1
  Open your newspaper, so you can see the entire front page. It is not necessary to fully open the newspaper (it can still be bent on one side, like a book, as it would be while you were reading it), but it is also important not to store newsprint folded in quarters. If you do so, the fold across the front page will eventually become fragile and begin to crumble.
- 2
  Place a layer of alkaline paper in the bottom of your box. This will help preserve your newsprint.
- 3
  Gently lay your newspaper on top of the alkaline paper in the box.
- 4
  Place another layer of alkaline paper atop the newspaper, then tuck the edges of this layer around the bottom of the newspaper, so it is fully surrounded by alkaline paper.
- 5
  Repeat these steps for each newspaper you want to preserve. You can stack these papers atop each other in the same box as long as the lid can easily fit on top without pressing on the papers.
- 6
  Put the lid on the box, then store the box in a warm, dry room.

Collecting Memorabilia