Like
@aftermidnight and
@Bluejay77 , I take advantage of dry winter air to dry my beans naturally to a proper moisture level for storage. Small index cards follow all lots of seed from harvest, to processing, to storage. After shelling, the beans (along with all my other saved seeds) remain on cross-stacked cafeteria trays until I start getting "sweater lightning", which has proven to be a pretty good non-scientific indicator of low humidity. At that point the beans get cleaned, sorted for culls, and weighed. The final tallies are written on large index cards for each variety, which record all grow outs... that is my master inventory. A separate descriptor form records all source information & observations taken throughout the year, such as dates to flower/snap/seed; flower color; descriptions of seed, pod, and plant; and response to insects, weather, and disease. What can I say, I'm a dinosaur that still loves paper.
I'm still in the process of adding digital photos for each variety, as I get around to growing them again.
When ready for storage, I place the beans in freezer bags, along with an index card which records the variety, source, year grown, weight, and location grown. I have 11 separate plots, and record the location so that if a cross appears, I can identify the other beans grown nearby. As a rule, my Phaseolus bean grow outs are usually a pound or more of seed; 8 ounces or so for soybeans or cowpeas. Most of those are stored in pint freezer bags... and don't use the cheap ones. Heavier mil weight bags, and heavy-duty zippers, are worth the cost. I've had the zipper seal fail more than once on one particular national brand, spilling beans everywhere... not sure if it is permissible here to warn others of the brand name?
I squeeze out as much air as possible before sealing, roll the bags up tightly, and pack them tightly into strong boxes to keep them from re-inflating. As
@Bluejay77 mentioned, oxidation is the enemy of long-term seed storage. Squeezing out as much air as possible (and quickly squeezing & resealing when removing seed) will reduce the amount of oxygen available, and extend storage life - even at room temperature. Most of my beans are stored in a climate-controlled room, with very steady temperature throughout the year, and I still have good germination even after 6-7 years or longer. The seed I planted for Emerite this year was last grown in 2009, and still had about 90% germination.
With few exceptions, I don't freeze seed... unless it is endangered, or irreplaceable. I'd like to freeze more, but don't yet have the electrical capacity to add a 3rd freezer just for seed. When I do freeze seed, I try to divide the seed into several portions, each in a small sealed plastic bag, within a larger sealed container. That way I can reach into the freezer to pull out a bag for planting, without warming all of the seed in the container.
Most of my seed grow outs (with the exception of breeding projects) are documented via SSE, of which I am also a member. For a long time I also kept a copy of my seed list on Gardenweb; but it appears that the functionality which allowed that (and which promoted a vibrant exchange community) is being eliminated under new management. I'll try to post my seed list as part of my profile, if that is possible.
