Dealing With Space Problems - Any Tips?

[paleoflor]

Hi all,

When it comes to storage and space requirements, a fossil collection poses more of a challenge than, for instance, a stamp collection does. Limited storage and display space is becoming more and more of a problem for me, which is probably is a phenomenon familiar to many of you. Perhaps you have found very creative ways (I hope!) to tackle this problem. Therefore, do you have any tips on how to store fossils effectively in a limited space? I have many of the smaller specimens stored quite efficiently in drawers already, and I am especially interested in how to deal with larger (several decimeters) and heavy (several kilograms) specimens? At the moment, they occupy (too) much of my floor space...

Thanks for your input!

Tim

Edited September 25, 2013 by paleoflor

[Uncle Siphuncle]

go vertical. i need to have some floor to ceiling shelves built to alleviate the same problem.

[paleoflor]

go vertical. i need to have some floor to ceiling shelves built to alleviate the same problem.

Good suggestion. The fossils will have to compete with many books (occupy most of my wall space) for available room on the shelves though.

[ecleland]

make wall hangings. my mother lightly glued some large staples at an angle on some shell fossils and then hang them on some fishnetting. This method can scratch plaster/paint but you can put wax on the end of the staples and once you are finished then you have a mural of shells!

[Uncle Siphuncle]

spill fossils into every available window sill, flower bed, fireplace, and the office. hope for spousal approval. wall hangings are a good call, and a splendid way to showcase ma nature's artistic touch. i have them in every room. high grade constantly, donating to non profit organizations and taking the tax writeoff.

[Regg Cato]

Give em all to me

but seriously what I've done is buy some drawer chests like these

you can fit several of these into a decently-sized bookshelf. I put smaller specimens in jewelry boxes and store them in this; as a result, i've fit almost 300 specimens in a 3X2 foot space.

If you're dealing with larger ungainly specimens....then yeah your only option is to donate them to me lol

another thing I do with larger things is buy clear plastic display boxes meant for sports memorabilia and display them in there...but again from the sounds of it even that might not be big enough; what kind/size of specimens are you dealing with specifically?

Edited September 25, 2013 by Regg Cato

[paleoflor]

make wall hangings. my mother lightly glued some large staples at an angle on some shell fossils and then hang them on some fishnetting. This method can scratch plaster/paint but you can put wax on the end of the staples and once you are finished then you have a mural of shells!

Very creative! Shells in a net do make much more sense than fern fragments in a net, though... but it is a very nice and displayable solution.

spill fossils into every available window sill, flower bed, fireplace, and the office. hope for spousal approval. wall hangings are a good call, and a splendid way to showcase ma nature's artistic touch. i have them in every room. high grade constantly, donating to non profit organizations and taking the tax writeoff.

The office! Good suggestion. My colleagues bring living plants to the office all the time, so why can't I put some fossil ones there too. Besides, it is not as if they will even notice the extra rocks, given that I work in a university geology department.

[...]

If you're dealing with larger ungainly specimens....then yeah your only option is to donate them to me lol

another thing I do with larger things is buy clear plastic display boxes meant for sports memorabilia and display them in there...but again from the sounds of it even that might not be big enough; what kind/size of specimens are you dealing with specifically?

He he, I give away fossils from time to time, but the point of these specific specimens is that I would really like to keep them in my collection... Besides, any idea what the shipping costs would be?!!

There are roughly two groups of large specimens. For the first group, think "tree trunk section". Diameters mostly around 20 cm, length of the sections varies considerably, up to nearly half a meter. The second group consists of large plates of more than 5cm thickness (I don't dare splitting them further and risk damaging the fossils). Plate dimensions up to 45x60 cm, many are around 30x40 cm. I currently have most of them on the floor because the combined weight is considerable (single plates range 5-20 kg), however, I am running out of floor space.

Does anyone have experience with applying the "sets of drawers approach" to specimens this size? If I get bigger drawers, would this work for the plates or is the total weight too much for the bars on which the drawers move to open and close? I have the nasty habit of damaging cabinets by overloading them.

[Sacha]

I've had good success with this set of shelves that I purchased in Lowes in the US. I don't know if these exact shelves are available in Europe, but something similar must be. They are quite attractive, come in different finishes, each shelf is adjustable and additional shelves can be purchased to close up the space between them. That helps with the storage of large flat plates. They are not overly expensive, but can be purchased and expanded on over time. They also support a lot of weight on each shelf. I probably have almost 75 pounds of coral on a several shelves.

I have mine in the garage so I don't have to organize them too neatly.

[paleoflor]

I've had good success with this set of shelves that I purchased in Lowes in the US. I don't know if these exact shelves are available in Europe, but something similar must be. They are quite attractive, come in different finishes, each shelf is adjustable and additional shelves can be purchased to close up the space between them. That helps with the storage of large flat plates. They are not overly expensive, but can be purchased and expanded on over time. They also support a lot of weight on each shelf. I probably have almost 75 pounds of coral on a several shelves.

Something like this might actually work for me! Probably, you can easily assemble/disassemble them, right? I will have a look around here for something similar...

How is your experience with dust, since they are open shelves?

[old dead things]

When the garage got filled up I moved some to the basement. When both of those were full and I hesitated to leave them outside, I started a business (Old Dead Things,LLC) this way I could keep the ones that I wanted in my personal collection and gave others the opportunity to get some of what I was collecting. Then I bought a new house and a couple of acres, but that is going to extremes, but I find myself with piles of rocks and fossils.

I really don't think the problem of collecting is one or two of each item as much as it is far too many of each specimen. When I go to my tackle box and see literally hundreds of lures still in the original boxes, I realize, yes you can have too much of a good thing. It might become a necessity to limit yourself to one or two species of fossils (say ammonites and nautiloids) rather than trying to collect them all. My point, again using the fishing lure analogy, really in Wyoming (central US) I have no need for a tackle box full of salt water fishing lures.

Just food for thought.

Jim

Old Dead Things

[Sacha]

Even I can assemble and disassemble them very easily. Dust and dirt don't seem to be much of a problem for me. The shelves are wire or rod construction so everything falls through so there is no dusting of the shelves themselves and I guess Florida's air is moist enough to keep dust down. Inside, I think you would really like them and additionally you can get wheels for the legs to make moving easier if you chose to redecorate.

I think these come in chrome, black or white and varying widths.

[Regg Cato]

large flat plates are good for framing and wall mounting as well.

[siteseer]

I like that kind of shelving too but went with the wheeled option so I can move them around. The shelves are the right size if you have beer/soda flats or the ones you can buy at mineral shows. My brother gave me a set one time when I was moving and I think he got it at Costco.

[paleoflor]

When the garage got filled up I moved some to the basement. When both of those were full and I hesitated to leave them outside, I started a business (Old Dead Things,LLC) this way I could keep the ones that I wanted in my personal collection and gave others the opportunity to get some of what I was collecting. Then I bought a new house and a couple of acres, but that is going to extremes, but I find myself with piles of rocks and fossils.

I really don't think the problem of collecting is one or two of each item as much as it is far too many of each specimen. When I go to my tackle box and see literally hundreds of lures still in the original boxes, I realize, yes you can have too much of a good thing. It might become a necessity to limit yourself to one or two species of fossils (say ammonites and nautiloids) rather than trying to collect them all. My point, again using the fishing lure analogy, really in Wyoming (central US) I have no need for a tackle box full of salt water fishing lures.

Just food for thought.

Jim

Old Dead Things

Thanks for the input. All very valid points. However, unfortunately, I already have limited myself to one group of fossils (plants) and am actively phasing out all non-plant material, save a handful of specimens with sentimental value. So there is not much to be gained there. Of course I have some plant species "double", but then these specimens show different parts of a large frond, for example. Currently, I live small (less than 25 m² of personal space), which is the main limitation. I have no garage, nor a basement, not even a garden. Therefore, I want to store (and ideally, also display) my collection in a space effective way, at least until my partner and I find a place to live together (probably not before I finish my dissertation).

Even I can assemble and disassemble them very easily. Dust and dirt don't seem to be much of a problem for me. The shelves are wire or rod construction so everything falls through so there is no dusting of the shelves themselves and I guess Florida's air is moist enough to keep dust down. Inside, I think you would really like them and additionally you can get wheels for the legs to make moving easier if you chose to redecorate.

I think these come in chrome, black or white and varying widths.

Thanks, I'll have a look around here, on this side of the Atlantic.

All others, thanks for the suggestions.

[tooth_claw]

Google up images of 'stone slab display rack'. These are the racks that are used in commercial showrooms. You might find some inspiration there....

Your fossil wood sounds like it might fit in a wine rack style display.

Good hunting!

[Herb]

switch to microfossils

[Plantguy]

Hi Tim, you've gotten many good ideas for storage here....

Herb's idea switching to micros makes a lot of sense over the long haul. Perhaps Diatoms. I think personally though, that change would probably cause me severe withdrawal symptoms. I tried limiting collecting to only near perfect material when out with Jeff over the past couple months and I subsequently fell off the addiction wagon and now come home with stinking bags of stuff... and the storage problem got worse! Garages here used to be for cars, but no more.

I did donate one fossil to Univ of Florida Museum of Nat History last week so I'm actually down one for the month! Hang in there I feel some of your pain! Good luck!

Regards, Chris

[erose]

switch to microfossils

Hi Tim, you've gotten many good ideas for storage here....

Herb's idea switching to micros makes a lot of sense over the long haul. Perhaps Diatoms. I think personally though, that change would probably cause me severe withdrawal symptoms. I tried limiting collecting to only near perfect material when out with Jeff over the past couple months and I subsequently fell off the addiction wagon and now come home with stinking bags of stuff... and the storage problem got worse! Garages here used to be for cars, but no more.

I did donate one fossil to Univ of Florida Museum of Nat History last week so I'm actually down one for the month! Hang in there I feel some of your pain! Good luck!

Regards, Chris

Years back I lived in some small apartments in New York. I think I subconciously collected things on the small size out of self defense. Now I'm in big old Texas but space is still at a premium. Like Dan W. said the garden is often a nice spot to display some of the bigger pieces.

[grampa dino]

Just get use to the idea that it will only get worse

I'm a fossil Hoarder so what

[Plantguy]

Just get use to the idea that it will only get worse

I'm a fossil Hoarder so what

Now the truth is stated! Yep I'm in hoarding denial and I need more room! The kids and/or wife just got to move out!

[Uncle Siphuncle]

In prime display areas, I'm beginning to lean toward pulling something down if I feel the need to display something else. No point in cluttering to the point that top grade individual specimens can't be appreciated.