One box might not seem like a lot to organize, but when it comes to stamps it can be overwhelming, especially if you have a lot. It does not have to be. There are many ways you can organize your stamp collection and here is some guidance for a step by step tutorial:
1. What is the goal? Make sure you have a vision for what you have in mind for your stamps. Do you want to display them in a special way? Do you want to have them in order so you can navigate and have easy access to them when you need to or are you planning on selling/auctioning them off? Once you have decided what type of “life” you want to have for your stamps you can move on to the next step.
2. Preparation To be able to effectively organize and store your stamps you do need a few things. First you need to make some time to organize and just that. No doing two or three things at the same time, you will get distracted from your goal and it will feel like you will never get done. The best time to organize is when you are by yourself and have no distractions (turn your phone on silent). Second, find a clear space that you can use for sorting. Once you gather all your belongings it can feel overwhelming to see how much you have and how much work you have to get done. Remember it will always seem worse before it gets better. It’s part of the process. If you don’t have a proper storage system for your assortment yet, I suggest to get a pocketbook and stamp storage sheets.
3. Gather all your stamps in one place Make sure to get your entire stamp collection from all the corners of your home, if they are scattered. Collect them on a flat, hard surface such as the dining table. You might have to do this in sections if you have a large amount of stamps. I suggest to work in blocks of 2-3 hours per session to not get too overwhelmed. Also keep an open mind abouthiring help if you feel like it is too much work or have a hard time doing this without guidance. A professional organizer can counsel you through the process and show you how to efficiently organize your belongings.
4. Sort Start anywhere you would like and sort into categories; keep, duplicate, discard. For the keepers, you can sub categorize these as well by collection, date or value. The duplicates can be stored in a separate pocketbook or stamp sheet protector. The ones that you don’t want to keep anymore you can either sell, trade or discard.
5. Storing your Stamps Once you have finished sorting and kept the ones that spark joy, it is time for proper storage. Like I mentioned in the introduction, Pocketbooks or stamp protector sheetsare best for Stamp storage. They come in different sizes and colors, so make sure you pick something that reflects your style. Put the pocket book somewhere where you have easy access to it. Collections are often sentimental items and should be displayed so they can give you joy every time you see them.
Now that you know the basics you can go to your favorite philatelic store and get some quality supplies and stock them with your beautiful collection. When you treat your items with respect you will get great pride and joy out of them and it makes collecting so much more fun when everything has a place.
