How does everyone keep their decks in proper condition?

[APT]

I almost feel like when I purchase a new deck, I should buy two of the same because the cards will get bent and all of that in no time. Maybe I'm just sloppy. Lol I do readings in my car sometimes, haha.

I just feel like I have difficulty preserving each deck.

 

[celticnoodle]

I do readings in my car--on my lap, on the airplane, in airport waiting areas, in the hospital - again, on my lap, and sheesh--pretty much everywhere! I don't worry too much about my cards getting bent--as long as they are still in fairly good condition to read with. I'm very much a visual reader, so I want to be able to see the whole card- and image. In fact, I think its nice when I have a well broken in deck to read with.

As for storing them--I have quite a lot of them stacked on a shelf under my side table next to where I sit in the Living Room. I also have a small bookcase where more are stacked and then I keep a great many of them in a small 'treasure' chest like basket. It truly looks like a chest with the rounded top and all. I am not too picky about how they are stored.

 

[APT]

Thanks for the reply!

You have helped me not feel so panicked about the cards getting too bent. I think my issue is storage. Sometimes I put them on the floor, get up and step on one by accident. I also have two little nieces who constantly want me to do readings and I have difficulty not letting them touch them sometimes. Lol

I am being paranoid. I love your treasure chest storage spot! I need one of those!

 

[Padma]

I would think that to keep the decks in prime condition, storing them in a bag or a box, and then putting that bag or box away on a shelf or in a basket or other storage system would work best

For me, I make sure that I shuffle slowly and thoughtfully, and I never riffle the deck. And I put my cards away after use. They are all in good condition, and remain so for many years. I think shuffling and storage methods have a lot to do with it. That's been my experience.

(and I also take my decks with me on airplanes and to people's houses, and read them pretty much anywhere - even on car trips...)

 

[Chronata]

I keep my well loved reading decks wrapped in a short cloth inside a pouch or bag.

But then...they aren't really "proper condition" anymore.
They are well loved, with smudges on the edges, coffee, wax and wine stains, a few browned edges from getting too close to the fire, an occasional bent corner, bowed from repeated rifle shuffles...

When people see my Hanson Roberts, for instance...I always hear..."wow, those cards look like they have been through a lot!"

Yes. Yes they have.

 

[gregory]

The only time my cards have SUFFERED was when I sat on one. NOT something that happens too often. Don't stress about it.

 

[Riceball]

I collect tin boxes as well as decks, so many of my decks are stored inside the tins and if I take them out of the home I use one of tins to transport them. Some are stored in large shoe boxes. I try to keep them on shelves or on top of my dresser if I have enough room.

I have a thing about wanting my decks to stay in near mint condition (other than trimming some of them). I only use my cards when my hands are clean and not covered in too much lotion or sunscreen. I don't leave them in places that are too hot or leave them out in the sun too much, to prevent warping.

Some decks just naturally start to warp even in the best environment, or they come that way from the printing process. So I'll flip every other card before putting the deck in its tuck box if I won't be using it again in a while. This way warping can be reduced a bit because the cards are warping in opposite directions from the ones next to them in the box. Or I'll put the deck between some nice sturdy books and place my big obsidian sphere on top to weigh it down and push them more flat.

If I'll be doing readings outdoors or somewhere where they could get messy, I avoid using decks made of paper. The Transparent Tarot can be good for this, because you can clean it gently with some damp towels if it gets sticky stuff on it. I also have "decks" that I made by drawing little pictures, numbers, and roman numerals on colored glass gems with waterproof inc. These don't warp or blow away in the wind and if you lose one you can just make another one from the leftover gems. They can be rinsed in water to clean them. They also don't take up much space. This was ideal when I was asked to read for someone while at the restaurant where I work and only had a little corner of a soy sauce soaked table to work on. I was able to fit the whole grand tableau there with my glass gem lenormand.

 

[RaaD]

Well, there is a lot of discussion about it and here is what i think.

Same as the religion, tarot has some traditions kept from the time being like - cleansing the cards, storing them in silk, shuffling and sort. So far in the forum i found that very little people are keeping this traditions. So i do believe that if you respect your cards the cards will respect you. If you honor your cards they will be accurate. How to honor them ? Honor their traditions.

Every time when i cleans them i am founding the reading so much easier, its like they are making perfect sense and talking to me. Every reading afterwords without cleansing them becomes harder and harder.

This is at least my experience.

 

[ivanna]

And can I know how oft do you clean then and how?

I have never cleaned, just received it and started to use. It may be usefull.

 

[Le Fanu]

How to keep decks in proper condition?

Buy two or more of the ones you use the most if you're worried about it. That's the main thing. Most people are not worried about decks getting damaged but regularly used decks reach a point where the sides get so grimy they're a bit disgusting.

I have a grimy, filthy Greenwood which I'm not sure everyone would be comfortable about touching. I also have a pristine, untouched one. I never do any "spiritual" cleansing.

I also make sure that, when transporting them, I have good protective cases, bag, reading cloth etc so they're well protected.

But if they're back ups, I'm a lot more relaxed about what happens to them. Having two or more copies changes the way you think about a deck. At least it does with me.

I actually very rarely use decks I only have one copy of!