You have to wear the gloves

In the last post I mentioned that getting closer to your ideal preservation conditions and processes involves one step at a time and suggested buying white gloves as a first inexpensive step to dealing with your items, such as photographs or slides. The second step is, obviously enough, that you have to wear the gloves.

This may seem to simple, but it's often the harder part of taking that first step. Not wearing the gloves is like starting an exercise program by buying the gym membership and then never going. It's easy to do, but not very effective and won't get you any closer to your goals. Get into the habit. Set an example for your staff by wearing the gloves when you work with the items. Create a habit. Let's say working with the photographs is something you only do once a week. Instead, try to make a schedule to work with the photographs every day for an hour (if you don't already) and make sure you wear the gloves as part of your ritual.

Still resisting? Perhaps there is something else going on. The gloves aren't the right size. Or you need to use lotion after wearing them for a while. See if there are other problems that can be resolved so that you can master this step. Maybe white gloves were not the place to start. The whole point of the previous post was to start somewhere, not to boost glove sales; the whole point of this post is that once you do start, follow through. Wear your gloves - whatever form they take.