Deciding what to put in your time capsule
As well as leaving a letter and a view of today’s current affairs, have a think about the kind of items you’d want to find. Perhaps something which isn’t worth a lot now, but in mint condition would be valuable to find in the future such as a collectable stamp or coins. Don’t forget to make sure your time capsule is airtight. The smallest damp can make your time capsule illegible. Silca gel can be a good way of maintaining this.
- Coins
- Postage stamps
- A newspaper
- The brochure of your house
- House floorplans
- House & personal photos
- Badges
- A receipt of "essentials" such as bread and milk
- Restaurant menu
- Sports Statistics & Scores
- An unused credit or debit card
- Ticket stubs
With any time capsule should be a letter which tells the finder who you are. They’re going to have a lot of questions, ‘Who put this here?’ ‘Why did they hide it?’ ‘What was their situation?’. Telling someone about you will paint the picture of your background and give them more to research if they’d like to. We’ve created a free 2019 & 2020 ‘Year In Review’ printable at the bottom of this page
Your time capsule will have to stand the test of time- literally. It needs to be weatherproof, dust proof and ideally water tight. You can but some very solid purpose built ones like this time capsule on Amazon. But an old jam jar or other sealable container will work just as well. Glass is a very durable receptacle. Alternatively, if you’re only putting small items in, an A4 watertight wallet may be sufficient for you.
Have a think about how long you’d like it to be before someone finds your time capsule. Here are some ideas as a guide:
- Under carpet
- Behind kitchen cabinets
- Under a bath/ shower tray (make sure it’s water proof!)
- Within an unused chimney breast
- Between a stud wall
- Under floor boards
- Between steps under a staircase
- Within a building brick
- Buried under a house
- Placed under a tree being planted (watch out for growing roots)
- In an unused pipe
- Between wall cavities
