Where to donate books
- plus other options you will want to know about
If you want to know what to do with books after you have decluttered you will find the answers here.
Needless to say, throwing them into landfill is not an option! Well, at least not the first, second, or even 18th option on the table here!
If you want to know where to donate books, I have listed quite a number of options for you to consider, from local schools and women’s shelters to online groups and marketplaces. There are also a number of charities in Australia that rely on book donations – some of these may have an office close to you. I have included the locations of some of these below. There are of course options to sell books you no longer need. If you have books on hand that are in bad condition, there is the DIY route. But to be honest, holding onto the extra clutter for a DIY that you would never get around to doing isn’t helpful so you are best to dispose of the books responsibly. Thinking beyond what to do with books after decluttering, there are some sustainable living practices that can be adopted moving forward.
Here are some quick links to the areas covered in this blog post to expand on the points mentioned:
Where to donate books
| | Place | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Friends and family | if you can share amongst your inner circle, what a great way to contribute to the circular economy |
| 2 | Schools | contact them before donating |
| 3 | Daycares | contact them before donating |
| 4 | Street library | a great place to swap a book for another. Donations are also possible but that does depend on how much room the street library has. If you don't know what a street library is? Check out https://streetlibrary.org.au/. |
| 5 | Library | not all libraries accept books so contact them before donating |
| 6 | Medical offices | ask at reception before donating, this is a great place to donate old magazines |
| 7 | Retirement homes | contact them before donating |
| 8 | Freecycle | list items at https://www.freecycle.org/ I find that this is not so active in the Sydney metro area but perhaps you have a lot of active users where you live. |
| 9 | Buy nothing / swap groups | search for these on Facebook. Focus on groups in your local area of course. |
| 10 | Second hand book stores | many accept donations and will only pay for books if they are rare/ unique. If you are an avid book reader you probably already know the location of your closest second-hand book store. If not, Ecosia it (search "second-hand book store" and the area you are located). |
| 11 | Charity stores | all major charity/second-hand stores will accept books. If you don't know of any in your area, check Ecosia to see if the following charities have a shop near you: Salvation Army, Red Cross, Vinnies, Lifeline, Save the Children, Sacred Heart Mission |
| 12 | Womens shelter | search for your local Womens Shelter and contact them to see if they are in need of books. |
Charities that accept books
| Website |
|---|
The above options are for Australian residents, for the most part. However, it may spark ideas for you if you live elsewhere.
If you are in the US, I found the following two blog posts useful:
Places to sell your books
| | Place | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | Marketplace | post the items on Facebook marketplace and make sure you post to a lot of local groups and it is should be picked up |
| 21 | Ebay | if you have a set of books, eBay can work well to get a good price |
If you are lucky enough to have a second-hand book store near you, they would be a great place to check out. However, they are unlikely to give you a good price for your books compared to what you would get if you tried Marketplace or eBay but worthwhile to check and compare in case I am wrong there!
Options for books in a bad condition
The options mentioned above apply to books in good condition – perhaps family and friends won’t mind receiving books that are nearly falling apart, but for all the other options listed, you need to make sure the book is in good condition before passing it on. So no moldy books, books with broken spines, or missing or ripped pages.
If you have books that can not be donated or sold because they are in poor condition, then you could consider some DIY craft options.
The best list of ideas I came across can be found here: https://homebnc.com/best-diy-old-book-craft-ideas/
DIY isn’t exactly my thing.
In my opinion, when you are going through a declutter, the last thing you need is to hang onto something for a project you may get to one day.
So if the books are in poor condition, the next best thing you can do is ensure the paper is composted or recycled. However, the cover of the book may need to go into the trash. But that should be the only thing that ends up in landfill!
Moving forward...
Top tips to keep the clutter away when it comes to books:
- Ensure books have a designated home
- Adopt the one in one out principle
And some sustainable living principles to adopt going forward:
- Considering purchasing ebooks/ using a Kindle/ audiobooks
- Borrow from your library
- Borrow from friends and family
- Purchase second hand
And on that last point, here are my favorite second-hand books stores in Sydney:
- https://www.gertrudeandalice.com.au/ Bondi Beach
- https://www.sapphobooks.com.au/ Glebe
And two online books stores I am liking:
- https://www.brotherhoodbooks.org.au/donate based in Victoria
- https://www.pageandturner.com.au/ based in South Australia
Hope this helps you if you are a little lost on what to do with books you no longer need or love.
It helps to have different options up your sleeve because the different genres of books require different solutions You should be able to find a suitable solution here, to cover most scenarios.
Except what to do with rare valuable vintage books. I have no experience there so you are on your own!
xx Tahsin
