Are you a bookworm? Or are you enrolled in a course that requires a lot of books? Or are you a comics fan? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you must have stored books that are taking a lot of space in your household. And with Netflix’s rise of Marie Kondo, you might be asking yourself “does this still spark joy?”. Recycling old books is definitely a good idea and we’ll help you sort out where to start.
Donating Books to Public Libraries or Private Organizations
Donating your books may be the top-of-the-mind-solution but the question is where do you go? Great for you many organizations accept donated books - most of which are for a good cause.
National Library Board
You may opt to donate books, Singapore National Library Board has dedicated shelves, they call Book Exchange Corners, where you may drop off your donated books. Imagine somebody else enriching himself with knowledge from your previously read book that happens to be just sitting around in your corner.
Donate your books in the library near you. Take note that the public libraries in malls don’t have a Book Exchange Corner.
Salvation Army
For the underprivileged, books are luxuries along with most of the basic items. Thanks to the Salvation Army, they arrange programmes that would benefit the needy. Your donated books would definitely go a long way here. They also have a Family Thrift Store where they source their funds for the programmes’ budget.
They also accept toys, clothing, household goods, and furniture, and electronics. Alternatively, they offer to collect the items for you with an optional contribution of $60 for transportation expenses. All details including drop-off sites may be found here.
Help a Child, Donate a Book
A literal way of recycling old books is to donate them here. This organisation goes to developing Asian countries and targets schools and orphanages. They create a reading environment where they can discuss your donated book. Best to give them storybooks and workbooks suitable for ages 3 to 10.
They also accept storybooks and educational flash cards.
Trading or Selling Old Books
You may use platforms like Facebook Marketplace, Carousell, and Thryft. Facebook Marketplace and Carousell are pretty similar although Marketplace uses the location near me technique. You may even offer trading books at Marketplace and Carousell. Thryft sells faster according to reviews because they only focus on books and give you an efficient way of selling by adding categories to their website.
Other popular options are selling through Amazon, BookByte.
Recycling Old Books
You must prepare the books to be recycled. The first step is to separate hardbound books from paperback books. The next thing to do is to remove the cover of hard-bound books since they contain non-paper materials. According to experts, a ton of recycled paper saves about 17 trees. Make sure to join recycling efforts.
Storing Books in a Storage Space
Some books may not spark joy anymore but you are feeling sentimental because it’s given by a close relative or a close friend. Some books may be something you think you will re-read in the future.
To make sure your books don’t get damaged, inspect your book. Check for water spills, mould, and mildew. If there are affected pages, make sure to clean and dry your books. After doing so, cover them with paper towels or anything similar. Place them inside a plastic bin or container. Ensure that they are stored standing up i.e., paper edges facing upward. Use a climate-controlled storage space or a dark and cool one to prevent mould and mildew build-up.
Space Next Door: Your Self Storage Solutions
If you’ve decided to store your books, Space Next Door offers a whole lot of storage space of all sizes. May you be storing just about 5 books or as many as 100 books, we have units specially designed for any size.
We carefully selected the storage facilities as well to keep your pieces as well-maintained as they should’ve been. Book your space with us today!
