Summer may be right around the corner, but in New England where I live, Spring is still holding on tight! Sure, rain makes lovely cozy reading weather, but I’m starting to get antsy. I just want to sit outside in the sun and enjoy some iced tea while reading a nice book already!
Anyways, I don’t know about you, but I always feel a bit better after completing a nice sort before I dive into my Spring cleaning. I personally love one of the ideas from Marie KondΕ; I ask myself if owning a certain thing still sparks joy. If it does, great! But if it doesn’t, it’s probably time for that item to go.
Sorting books can be a difficult task, I know. But when the time comes for to “un-haul,” there are many options for you.
What To Do With Books You No Longer Want
Sell them back to a second hand store.
Need some pocket change? Bring the books to a second hand store that purchases used items. If you haven’t sold books back before, just be aware that the stores won’t offer you as much as you would hope. But hey, any little bit can help sometimes!
Sell them online.
There are many websites that allow you to create a sellers profile and list items for sale or for auction. Just a few include eBay, Half.com, and Amazon. Selling online can be a bit of a hassle, but you may get more more here than selling to a secondhand store.
Donate them to a library, hospital, retirement home, thrift shop, etc.
If you already know of an place near you, shoot them an email or give them a call and ask if they are looking for book donations. Or if you’re unsure, just Google “book donation near me” and all kinds of options will pop up.
Release your books “into the wild” using BookCrossing.
I’ve never tried this, but I would love to someday soon! For this, you simply label a book using the BookCrossing template, leave it in a place where someone would pick it up, and then check back on the website to see where the book has traveled. Sounds pretty neat, huh?
Give away to family or friends.
Always a great option! Before I donate or try to sell books, I always ask someone that I think may be interested.
Host a book swap.
This is another thing I have yet to do, but would absolutely love to someday! The closest I came to this was a Christmas party where we each purchased our favorite book, wrapped it, and then participated in a Yankee swap.
Set up a little free library.
I’m so happy to see these popping up all over the place! Especially in more rural areas where trips to libraries and bookstores are a bit out of range. You could also try Googling to see if someone has reported one that is already set up near you and leave all of your books there.
Do a book craft.
I know this is a touchy subject in the bookish world, so if “destroying” books makes you angry, just skip this bit!
There are so many lovely crafts you can do with unwanted or damaged books! Just check out Pinterest, searching for things like “Old Book Drafts” for dozens of incredible projects. One of my all time favorite projects are Paper Roses! One day I would also love to make bookish coasters (using ceramic tiles, book pages, and a few layers of decoupage glue and varnish!) and hollow out a book for secret storage.
Recycle them.
If all else fails, that probably means your books are in wicked rough shape… So if there is no hope for them, you can always bring them to a recycling center.
Thanks for reading!
What do you usually do when you no longer want a book?
Just today I checked on BookSwap.com to see if the 25 books I want to unload are worth anything to vendors. Unfortunately not enough to make it worth it so I'll be donating them to the local thrift store if they are accepting books or the local grocery store has a bookshelf where the proceeds go to a local charity.
Oh! I haven't heard of BookSwap.com before. I'll have to check it out!
The grocery store shelf sounds lovely! What a great idea.
I have some books that I'm planning to get rid of, and I think I'm going to see about donating them to the library. It's not something I've ever done before, but I've wanted to for quite a while. It seems like a good thing to do with them.
Wonderful! I hope your library is accepting donations π
I either sell them on fb groups, or donate them. οΏ½οΏ½
π
I really like BookCrossing. I learned about from a middle grade book I read last year – Book Scavenger.
Normally, I give books the the local detention center, take them to the neighborhood Little Library, or leave them at the local subway station "take a book, leave a book" bookshelf.
I can't wait to try BookCrossing! π
I love the idea of Book Crossing. I had wanted to do this on my next vacation and drop a book in the location I would be visiting. But I would do it totally bling. It's super neat that Book Crossing allows me to track it. Thanks for this and all the other wonderful ideas!!
π Thanks for stopping by!
Also, if you host a book swap, I would love to join!!
Definitely!! I will keep you posted if I ever do one!
I did not read them all. BUT, our public library sells books, both from their supply and donations. The local senior center also has a book rack where most items are 50 cents or a dollar. The Sr center proceeds go towards the Sr center activities I think
That's excellent! π
Thank you for the wonderful ideas! I usually take mine to Goodwill, but I like the idea of BookCrossing better!
Of course! Thanks for reading! π
These are all great ideas, Erica! I usually donate mine to the library, give them away to friends, or take them to the little library we've created in my office. I probably could sell them, but I'm too lazy to do that. Haha
Thank you! π Oh I love the little library in an office idea! I'll have to see if my boss would want to start one… We have a ton of shelf space there!
I usually donate mine to a thrift store or library, sell them to a used bookstore, or give them to friends and family.
π Thanks for stopping by!
I did some spring cleaning a few months ago and had to part with a lot of books. I took them to our local Half-Price Books. They give you a few bucks depending on the value and then either resell them or donate them.
That's awesome! π
I admit, I hardly ever get rid of books because #hoarder π But when I do, I almost always give them to charity shops or run giveaways on my blog.
Great suggestions, thanks!
haha! I hear ya! I usually only buy books I know I will read over and over again, so I hang on to those! The only exception is when I just can't pass up a great deal at a second hand shop! π Sometimes I end up loving the book, sometimes I don't. If I didn't love it, I will either donate it back or pass it on to a friend or family member.
I've got a stack of books ready to get rid of. I usually give them to charity shops but I'm not currently very happy with the charity shops where I live so I might have to give a few of your ideas a look into. Thanks for the suggestions!
Happy to help!! π Thanks for stopping by!
Great ideas! It's rare that I don't want a book anymore, but if that is the case I either give them to a family I know will enjoy it, or host a giveaway on my blog. There's so many eager readers out there who will probably want it more!
Oh! Hosting giveaways is a great idea! I need to do that more often! Especially because the books I have are usually in really great condition.
Good ideas! I have done most of these (though I hadn't really thought about it before – there are a lot of options for 'reusing' your unwanted books) but not a book swap. I usually take my books to a used bookstore, cos I love to trade them for a book I'd rather have π If nobody wants them there, then I send them to a charity shop.
Thank you! π I need to keep an eye out for more local book swaps!