I've bought two inexpensive aids that I found at Walmart in the craft section. One is a bead sorting tray (similar to something like a pharmacist's pill sorting tray) for about $4 and also some 4" circles of plastic canvas for about $3. They make a pretty good sieve for separating most of the big chaff from the smaller seeds.
The tray can get a bit staticky so I wipe it down occasionally with a dryer sheet.

I'm still learning how to collect seeds but everyday it gets a bit easier and they get a bit cleaner.

I'm also watching out for other types of screens or mesh that will be useful. I'm thinking of door screen, small sieves, sifters, etc.

Shauna

I too, find it time consuming. I will follow up on your idea for sure. Meanwhile, back to the tweezers!

When I'm out in the garden colecting, I have a kit I take along. Its a big basket with paper bags (lunch sacks,) envelopes, scissors, markers, pens, twist ties, a note pad, gloves, and other small garden tools. I use the paper sacks for large seed heads and the envelopes for small pods. I write the contents on the outside (of course) and reuse the bags and envelopes until they wear out =) I use the twist ties to mark plants that are still flowering so I can remember color and variety, and the note pad for notes =)
To dry them, I dump the seeds into coffee filters (after writing the name of the plant in the bottom,) and stack them loosely to dry. I keep them in one of those hanging wire baskets too keep them out of harms way and for a little more air circulation.
As far as chaff goes, I have a big tray that I use to sort bigger seeds. I basicly just spread them out and blow off most of the chaff. For tiny seeds I have a couple of old flour sifters. These work great for things like mints, snapdragons, petunias, yarrow, foxglove, etc., anything with little seeds and big pods or seed heads. I don't worry too much about any chaff that gets through the sifters, I just bag them up with the seeds =)

I use a plastic drainage disk from the bottom of a plastic hanging basket. The kind that just sits in the bottom of the basket and looks like a small pie plate with slits on the bottom.
I put an alumium pie plate under it to catch the chaff and shake it gently like I was panning for gold. Which to us, seeds are!
The chaff falls through and seeds are separated. With smaller seeds, the seeds fall through and the chaff stays on top.
I don't know if this is a good way for all seeds....but I have had good results so far.

These are some great ideas keep them coming......

I have a large stainless steel jelly roll pan. The kind that is about 11"X15"X1" or so. I am not realy sure of the dimensions. But I crush the seed pods on one end of the pan and prop it up at a slight angle. Then I take a credit card or similar small stiff object and lift the seeds and chaff slightly off the pan, then slowly drop them back to the pan. The viable seeds are heavier than the chaff (Usually), and the seeds will roll to the other end of the jelly roll pan.

This method does not work for all seeds, but it compliments the suggestions already provided.

Kathy

Good tips here. I just put the seeds in a paper plate, let them dry for a few days, then pick out the really large debris and pour all of the rest into tiny plastic ziploc bags (from a bead store). You don't have to separate the seeds from the chaff. I read once that it's good to store them together...forgot why. So just enjoy. I've been doing it this way forever and always have success. I'm a seed saver addict.