Chemical Storage

(Above, airtight chemical storage at the Oberlin College darkroom.)

While this might seem a bit elementary, storing your photographic chemicals the correct way plays a central part in ensuring your darkroom is functioning sustainably. Careless placement of chemicals could lead to early exhaustion and end up wasting the precious solutions you’ve spent your own money on, all the while making their production and environmental footprint a total waste. The point being, do the little things to make sure you are getting the most out of what you got! None of what we’re going to tell you is new, but with those sensitive photographic chemicals, be sure to store them in lightproof and airtight containers. This means dark colored, tightly sealed jugs that look a little like this:



Exposure to air and light are both big no-no’s when it comes to conserving these solutions! Also, make sure to reuse and reuse those same plastic jugs. Essentially, you should only have to buy storage containers once in a blue moon.