You can do much to preserve valuables without going to extreme efforts and expenses, just by keeping some basic things in mind. We’ve gathered up some resources for you in our series. If you have other sources and links to share, thoughts to add, stories to tell, comment below. We LOVE to get conversations going, so chime in!

Our Rosie thinks history is riveting!

Antiques and inherited furniture

This is the topic that got us started on this series. A Facebook friend posted a photo of a graceful cherry dining table with multiple leaves, asking whether it was worth keeping since “the kids tell me it’s firewood.”

After we got over the cheekiness of youngsters who know no better, we started finding resources that would allow us to cherish the past, not toss it in the dumpster. So:

If you still love and use your family furniture because, darn it, they’re good and sturdy and eco-virtuous, keep them happy with this checklist.

You might even have a few pieces that might be cherished by the great-greats in 2121 so here’s some tips from the Smithsonian.

Tune in tomorrow for more resources to help you preserve the past.

Where to get archival supplies: Gaylord, Talas, and University Products.

And, as always, we can count on the Library of Congress to guide us to deeper knowledge.

(The “real” Rosie the Riveter: Who was she? And the well-preserved model for our meme? She’s real too.)