When you take a lot of pictures, both in black and white and color, the end result is a pile of photo prints to file in your photo albums or scrapbooks and a large assortment of negative prints that have no use unless you want to make another print someday. Those negatives can be frustrating, because they take a considerable amount of time to organize, and often you will never need them again. However, it is a rule of the universe that as soon as you throw those negatives away, the original print will become damaged or lost. To take the unpleasentness out of filing your negatives, have a positive attitude and follow the simple procedures.
Number one, don't let your photo negatives file up that empty shoe box. Those negatives touch and rub against one another which can cause scratches, and new prints from these negatives won't be as good as the first photo prints you made. Instead, buy what is called a "negative sleeve" for storage. Negative sleeves can be purchased in paper or plastic, and both have their own advantages and disadvantages. Plastic negative sleeves are generally 100% photo safe if they are listed as such, and sometimes the company that develops your pictures gives you free plastic negative sleeves. The downfall to these is that they create static when rubbed against negatives, which attracts dust. Dust can scratch and damage your negatives. Paper photo sleeves are not always photo safe, and even if they are, acid can move through the paper if they are touching non-safe items. The paper options available do not attract the dust plastic sleeves do, so they will not scratch your negatives as easily.
In any case, photo negative sleeves are usually best stored in binders, and should be stored in a controlled environment where the temperature does not get too hot or cold and there is very little humidity. Some people like to keep the negatives stored outside of their home, so that if fire or water damages the prints, the negatives are safe in another location. If you want you can rent a safety deposit box for this, but a more practical option is to trade negatives with a friend so that you each can keep your photographs safe.
Once you decide on how you want to keep you negatives safe, the last step of the process is to try and organize them. This is not as difficult as it sounds, and after you get all the preliminary work done from previous piles of negatives, it is will be easy to stay on top of the task every time you develop a roll of film. The key is to come up with a system that will work for you. One way is to keep your negatives in chronological order. If you also scrapbook, another negative organization method is to keep them in order according to their order in you scrapbook. And yet another way to organize is by subject matter. However you decide to do it, you probably want to get rid of any negative for pictures that are not up to your level of quality control - ones that were to dark for example - to keep your negative photo album as small as possible. Mark your negatives clearly, store them safely, and you will no longer have to worry about digging though multiple strips to find the one you need.
