If you are an avid reader, there is a good chance your book stash has grown exponentially over the years. But, unless you have enough space to index your collection, chances are you will need to slim down from time to time. But before you get rid, you should think about the many different ways of disposing of old books. 

What To Do With Old Books You Don’t Want 

If you want to earn money from your book collection, Amazon, eBay, and Facebook Marketplace are all excellent ways to sell your book collection to earn some money. Amazon makes it simple, you just need to scan the 13-digit ISBN to get a selling price. Of course, it might be time-consuming if you have a lot of books, but at least you’ll earn a little money back. 

If you have vintage, rare, or wanted books, then you may be able to list them at an auction house. Sydney Rare Book Auctions specialise in books. But other auction houses deal with a variety of items that may be interested in auctioning your items. They will take a commission.   

Reach out to local independent book stores. They may be interested in purchasing some of your old books. Be sure to contact them in advance and set up an appointment so you don’t waste your time or theirs. 

For the books in particularly good condition, you can ask your family and friends. Take a photo of your collection and ask if anyone is interested. Or, you can find a FreeCycle group online and let the locals have at the collection. 

You can, of course, throw some books away, but you need to know how to throw away books. First, check the condition of the book. If it is heavily damaged to the point it’s unreadable, then there’s a good chance you can get rid without guilt. However, consider taking it to a recycling centre so it can at least go back into the world as something else. Alternatively, consider whether it can be used in craft projects. This is a particularly useful hack for old magazines. The internet can provide you with plenty of ideas on what you can do – including blackout poetry. 

Where To Donate Second Hand Books 

If you don’t know where to take books you don’t want, you’re in the right place. You may be able to donate books to your local library. Your local library is likely full of donated books. It expands the available selection in the library and they don’t need to spend on new books. 

Or donate to your local schools, daycares, community centres or churches. Many organisations accept books and magazines. If you have children, there’s a good chance your book collection is teeming with children’s books. There’s no better way to shrink your collection than by donating them to your local school. 

Reach out to your local charity to see if they are accepting books donated. Charities rely heavily on donations and those donations go to good use. If your books are in decent condition, a charity organisation will be able to sell them. You don’t just get the books out of your home, but you also help people in need. 

Why not check with your local community boards for book swap programs? You can ditch the old books you’ve read and swap them for other books or something else. Alternatively, you can visit a street library. If there’s no street library in your area, you can build one! 

A street library is a simple waterproof box or shelf that everyone can access. When someone takes a book, they should leave a different book. You can populate yours regularly with your book stash until there are loads of books in circulation around your neighbourhood. You can also add a note or sign to it to let people know they can leave it in a different street library or even keep it if they really enjoy it. 

You can also look into local detention centres or prisons if you have a lot of adult fiction or educational books. Look into local literacy programs. They can often make use of donated books, whether it’s for children or adults. 

The National Library of Australia offers many options when it comes to how to give books away. 

How Cheapest Load of Rubbish Can Help 

We’ve covered plenty of ways for you to dispose of your old book collection, but we know how daunting it can be. If you’re still not sure what to do with your stacks of books, you can call in the professionals who will know exactly where to take your old collection. 

If you need rubbish removal in Sydney, then Cheapest Load of Rubbish can help. We don’t just handle Sydney rubbish removal, our greatest aim is to recycle as much of your rubbish as possible. We operate an 80/20 rule – up to 80% of what we uplift is recycled, and the rest goes to landfills.Â