How to Organize Baseball Cards: The Definitive Guide

Don’t let the legacy disappea. Here’s how to organize and store your baseball cards.
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If you’re curious about how to organize baseball cards, you have definitely landed in the right spot. Maybe you inherited a card collection, maybe you’ve been saving them for years in a box or bin, or maybe you’re just trying to get ahead of mounting card chaos – whatever the reason, protecting your cards is always the right move. Here’s are some tips for
organizing baseball cards and storing baseball cards.

Organizing Baseball Cards

When it comes to organizing baseball cards, the first step is figuring out how you want to categorize them. There are many methods to choose from. It truly depends on what you’re collecting, why you’re collecting them, and whether you’ve got a small, medium, or large collection.

Some of the most common ways to categorize baseball cards include, by:

Individual player
Team
Year
Full sets
League
Stadium
Rookie cards
Autographed sets

If you’re stuck at this stage and not sure how to move forward, check out this article on Metro League for a number of suggestions about organizing baseball cards. Once you’ve decided how you want to organize them, the next step is sorting them.

Pick a secure, clean and large surface (like a dining room table) and make sure to keep any liquids, pets, or curious children away from the area while you work. Consider investing in a low-cost sorting tray, which is a type of card organizer that makes sorting and categorizing them much more pleasant than the alternative: creating stacks all over your table.

Once you’ve got them categorized the way you want them, the next task is determining how – and how often – you want to access them. Some collectors want to be able to access them at a moment’s notice, while some are intent on saving them as an investment and are much less likely to want to examine them or show them off until the time comes to sell. Figuring out what level of availability you want is key to the next order of business: storing your cards.

Storing Baseball Cards

Storing baseball cards properly is, of course, critical to retaining their value over years to come. At the very least, you’ll want to make sure they’re in a cool, dry and secure environment – no cellars, attics, or unheated garages. While they may not seem particularly fragile, especially if you’ve got them in penny sleeves, climate-controlled storage is truly the only option for your collection – whether you’ve got valuable cards or just cards that are personally meaningful.

Now that we’ve covered where to store your card collection, let’s discuss the various storage options on the market.

Binders

Baseball card binders are a classic storage type often used by children or other casual collectors. Binders typically have plastic sleeves with room for nine cards per page. They can be stored vertically on shelves and are oftentimes a great option for someone without a lot of space to spare who wants an easy way to admire their card collection. One of the main cons of binders, however, is that they often require you to move cards in and out of the sleeves to keep up with organization. The more you handle your cards, the more damage you risk so be cautious about this method if you plan on continuously adding to your collection. Binders also can get pretty costly if you’ve got a large collection.

Top Loaders

These rigid, plastic sleeves are typically made by a company called Ultra Pro and are considered one of the top ways to store trading cards. Essentially a bigger, sturdier version of penny sleeves, top loaders protect your collection from dust and damage, while still providing easy access. (Serious card collectors prefer to add extra protection by first putting their cards in penny sleeves and then into top loaders.) Keep in mind, however, that if you’re submitting a collection to Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) to get graded cards, it is advised that you don’t use top loaders. PSA prefers “protective, flexible pouches” such as card savers.

Acid-Free Storage Boxes

Card boxes are a simple and very straightforward way to store your card collection, especially if it is expansive. Storage boxes come in various sizes and shapes, can hold thousands of cards, and are stackable. These cardboard card holders are available at a relatively low cost from several online providers, so shop around to find the best size and price for your collection – and make sure they’re acid-free. Baseball card storage pros recommend using penny sleeves to protect your cards within the boxes.

Cataloguing Baseball Cards

Once you’ve decided which type of storage best fits your card collection, you’ll want to consider how to label them and file them.

Most folks wondering how to organize baseball cards, also want to know about how to catalog them. We’re here to tell you: Google Sheets or Excel is your friend in this regard. Make a comprehensive spreadsheet of your entire collection, including details on their condition, place of purchase, or anything else you think is important to notate. This way, you’ll always have a quick and easy reference to your entire collection.

Labeling Baseball Cards

As for the actual physical labeling, you can purchase specialized stickers to place on the penny sleeves (never on the cards themselves). You can also come up with your own system, like using red dot stickers for rookie cards or green dot stickers for valuable cards.

Filing and Storing Baseball Cards

When it comes to filing, you can purchase plastic dividers for your storage boxes and then label them with stickers indicating which team is in which section. Of course, if you’re not sorting the cards by team, you can create your own with a label maker or simply by using a sharpie to write on blank labels from a stationary store.

There is definitely not a “one size fits all” solution to organizing and storing baseball cards. Learn more by visiting your local sports card shop, researching similar topics in online communities like Reddit, and by visiting the following blogs: