Key facts
- The National Archives advises handling photographs with clean hands and keeping food and drink away; clean lint-free cotton gloves reduce fingerprints. 1
- The National Archives advises storing photographic materials somewhere cool, dry and well ventilated, and avoiding attics, basements and outside walls where conditions swing and condensation can occur. 1
- The National Archives advises avoiding self-adhesive tape, paper clips, rubber bands, PVC and acidic boards around photographs, and writing lightly in HB pencil on the back if you must mark one. 1
- For prints and drawings, the National Archives advises touching the paper as little as possible and not repairing tears with commercially produced tape. 2
- A 1968 written answer in Hansard, the UK Parliament record, set Decimal Day for Monday 15 February 1971. 3
What is a time capsule, and when do you open it?
A time capsule is a container of things chosen to say something to whoever opens it. It might be a family opening it in a year, a couple in a decade or children who have grown up. What makes it a capsule and not a box in the loft is the sealing and the date: you decide when it will be opened, and you write it down.
Pick the date before you pack anything. The opening date decides what is worth including. A note about this week’s weather means little in a month and a great deal in twenty years. A school report is interesting after a year, because it shows a child at a particular stage.
If you want to understand the people who will be around when it opens, our guide to questions to ask grandparents is a good source of letters and prompts to put inside.
What are good things to put in?
The best contents are personal, specific and tell the reader something they could not find elsewhere. Think about what will be unfamiliar when the capsule opens. Everyday things often turn out to be the most interesting.
- A letter from each person, written to themselves or to the person who will open it.
- A photograph of the house, the street and everyone who lives there, with names on a separate sheet.
- A handwritten page about an ordinary day: what you ate, who you saw, what you worried about.
- A newspaper from the day, or a printout of the headlines. Keep it in its own folder, away from photographs: this is the author’s suggestion, in line with the leaflet’s advice against acidic boards.
- A drawing from a child, with the age and date.
- A list of favourites: songs, books, programmes, foods.
- Some coins and notes. Currency changes. Decimal Day, when UK money went decimal, was set for Monday 15 February 1971,3 and a handful of today’s coins is a small reminder of how that works.
- A predictions page: what do you think will be different when it opens?
Avoid anything that depends on the reader having your equipment. A handwritten page will be readable for as long as the paper lasts. Other media may be harder to open later; this guide gives no advice on storing digital media or batteries, because no UK source for it was read.
A packing list by opening date
The same box looks different depending on when it is opened. The table suggests what suits each date, and why. It is editorial advice written for this guide, not a tested method.
| Opening in | Good to include | Why it works | Leave out |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Â year | Photographs of the year, a school report, a drawing, a list of favourites | Changes are small but touching, and children can see how they have grown | Anything that will be needed again before then |
| 5Â years | Letters to future selves, a newspaper, a list of predictions, coins | Enough time for opinions, prices and tastes to change | Items that spoil or leak |
| 20Â years | A longer letter to each person, photographs with names, a page about the home and street, family sayings | Readers will have forgotten the small details you take for granted | Anything that relies on equipment that may not be around |
An editorial comparison written for this guide. The opening dates of 1, 5 and 20Â years are examples, not recommendations.
For a family, a plan of ten items is easy to hold in your head: one letter and one object for each of four people is eight items, plus a group photograph and the register sheet makes ten.
What ideas work for kids, couples and families?
Children
Children can help decide what goes in. Let them choose a favourite toy or a drawing, and write the age and the date on the back of each. A letter to their future self can be as short as three lines. Ask them what they think they will be doing when the box is opened.
Couples
A couple’s capsule can hold a letter each, a ticket or a menu from a special evening, and a photograph. Agree a date such as an anniversary, and agree not to read each other’s letters beforehand.
Families
A family capsule works best when everyone contributes. Include grandparents, even if they are far away, by asking them for a page. A grandparent’s memory of when they were young, in their own writing, is the sort of thing a future reader may value. The memory book for grandma guide has ideas for gathering it.
Schools and groups
A class or club can make a capsule too. The practical sums are the same: a date, a container, a register sheet and a named person who will keep track of it.
What container, and where should it be stored?
The container matters less than where you keep it. Choose one that can be opened again without damage, so that the capsule can be checked and the register updated. Check that the contents fit before you seal it.
For paper and photographs, the National Archives advises a cool, dry and well-ventilated place, away from attics, basements and outside walls.1 It gives no temperature or humidity figures, so none are given here. Our family history book guide sets out the rest of its advice on photographs.
For prints and drawings, a separate National Archives leaflet advises touching the paper as little as possible, avoiding damp cellars and uninsulated attics, and not repairing tears with commercially produced tape.2
This guide does not cover burying a capsule on land, because no source on ownership or permission was read for it. If you are thinking of burying one, find out what applies where you live before you dig.
What should you not put in?
Some things do not belong in a sealed box. The National Archives advice on photographs translates directly to a capsule.
- Do not use self-adhesive tape, paper clips or rubber bands on photographs.1
- Do not put in your only copy of a precious photograph. Keep the original in an album and put a copy in the capsule.
- Leave out food and anything damp. Food and drink are best kept away from photographs.1
Add to that common sense: nothing that could leak or spoil, and nothing you cannot replace. A capsule is meant to be opened, so do not put in anything that will be sorely missed in the meantime.
How do you record what is inside, and keep track of it?
A capsule that nobody can find, or that nobody remembers the contents of, loses most of its value. The answer is a register sheet: a single page that stays in the family papers while the capsule is sealed.
| Field | What to write | Example of how it might look |
|---|---|---|
| Opening date | The day it is to be opened | An anniversary or birthday |
| Where it is kept | Place and who has access | Cupboard in the hall, held by one named person |
| Contents | One line per item | Letter from each person, group photograph |
| Who put in what | Name beside each item | Not stated until packed |
| Who holds the key | The person who will remind everyone | One adult in the family |
| Copies | Where a scan of the list is saved | Two places |
A template written for this guide. The example wordings are invented to show the style and describe no real person.
Photograph the items before you seal them, and keep the pictures with the register. If the capsule is damaged, you will still have a record. Put a reminder in your calendar and tell a second person where the register is kept.
Letters inside a capsule are your words, and GOV.UK says copyright in written work arises automatically in the UK, with no fee and no register of copyright works.4 You do not need to do anything to own what you write.
For a bigger project, a time capsule sits well beside a life story or a family history book, because the letters you write today may become source material for them.
Where Memory fits
Chutex offers Memory, a service in preparation in which Aria, an AI, helps a person tell their life story, keeps the memories they choose to share and can prepare a book they review together. The service has its own page on this site: Chutex Memory. Memory gives no diagnosis. It is not a health professional and does not replace one.
A time capsule is a light way to begin. Memory is one option for what comes after.
Frequently asked questions
What is a time capsule?
A sealed container of letters, objects and photographs that is kept to be opened on a set date.
When should you open a time capsule?
No standard is claimed here. One year, five years and twenty years are examples, and the date decides what is worth packing.
What should I put in a time capsule?
Letters, photographs with names, a page about an ordinary day, a newspaper, a child’s drawing, a list of favourites and some coins.
How do I store photographs in a capsule?
The National Archives advises handling with clean hands, avoiding tape, clips and rubber bands, and storing somewhere cool, dry and well ventilated.
What should I not put in?
Anything that could leak or spoil, food, damp items, your only copy of a precious photograph, and anything fixed with self-adhesive tape or paper clips.
Can I bury a time capsule?
This guide does not say, because no source was read on ownership or permission. Find out what applies where you live first.
Can I put in digital files?
No UK advice on storing digital media was read for this guide, so none is given. A handwritten page does not depend on equipment.
How do I keep track of a capsule for years?
Keep a register sheet with the opening date, where it is kept, the contents and who holds the key, and save a copy of the list in two places.
Sources
- The National Archives, Caring for your photographs, The National Archives. Retrieved 19 October 2026
- The National Archives, Caring for your prints, drawings and watercolours, The National Archives. Retrieved 19 October 2026
- UK Parliament (Hansard), Decimal Day, written answer, 15 February 1968, UK Parliament. Retrieved 19 October 2026
- GOV.UK, How copyright protects your work: Overview, GOV.UK (Intellectual Property Office). Retrieved 19 October 2026