It's really a 'cardboard or plastic' question, but I couldn't resist the thread topic.

We recently finished thinning out some things that we didn't need/want. Among that group was a set of Mirage Omnisat speakers that I had used very briefly and put back into the closet. I took great care of them, and the speakers went back into the original boxes with the original foam and factory plastic.

Fast forward a few years (let's say two) and I pull the speakers out to find that the plastic bags have basically melted/merged with the plastic bases of the speakers. The speakers were stored in a climate-controlled environment, no humidity, no smoke, etc.

This got me thinking about how I store my toys. Currently, most of my collection is in storage (a closet). They're in their separate bags in larger boxes. With the exception of a single Marmit figure that experienced some 'vinyl sweating', I haven't had any problems with figures I've stored this way.

Seeing what happened with the speakers, though, got me wondering if they'd be better off in small separate boxes, out of their bags. I realize a cardboard box isn't necessarily an acid-free environment, but I was thinking it might be better than leaving them in their bags.

Thoughts? How do you guys deal with things that need to stay in storage for long periods? Cardboard or plastic?

Comics book shops used to sell those acid free mylar bags.... They used to have those thin krinkley ones... I don't even know if they still make them but something like that would be perfect.... Dust and finger oils can be corrosive... I swear a couple of my figures look dull after I let them get too dusty for a few months, then cleaned them off... Its like the dust ate away at the plastic a little. But maybe thats my OCD acting up again....

For a while I had 90% of my stuff in storage (aka my closet.) They were all in the bags they came in, wrapped in bubble wrap or newspaper or whatever I could find on the outside of the bags and put in a big rubbermaid bin. They were fine after about a year and a half like that. Now on display for glory.

did you by any chance clean your speakers with windex or some other alcohol-based/caustic cleaning chemicals, and then immediately wrap them in that plastic sheeting? i can't remember a single piece of old electronic or toys fusing with the plastic bag or wrap in all these years. maybe the speaker bags were biodegradable rather than your basic hdpe?

Never touched the speakers with anything beyond a Swiffer. I had two sets of the speakers, one of which was still factory sealed and the plastic had 'melted' on those as well. Definitely could have been something specific to the bags.