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| Save Your Letters: Creating the Space To Do Your Preservation Work |
 4 of 12  |
Now that you're ready to work on your personal artifacts and your documents, what I want you to do is create the space for your work. It doesn't have to be the ideal space that I have here. My area is dedicated strictly to the preservation of material. But that doesn't mean that you can't create a similar environment in your home where you want to work. But there are dos and don'ts that I'll ask. One is, always start with a really clean surface; wipe it off, clean it off. I don't care if you've cleaned it off earlier in the morning. Before you start, clean the material off. Clear the table of any extraneous material. Don't leave the salt and pepper and the flower vase on the table if you're going to be working; clear the whole thing off.
It's not time for coffee. Don't put any coffee, no food on the table whatsoever while you're working, no babies. Don't try to do two or three different things at the same time. Don't keep pens, crayons, or paints on the table. If you're going to use those, use them later, or keep them on a side table off to the side. This is strictly for working. Once you've cleaned the surface, you can also put down a clean piece of paper, or blotter paper if you want to work on it, to really protect it.
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