How to Recycle Your Books

I try not to be a pack rat; in fact, I'm pretty good at recycling and getting rid of things that tend to accumulate. However, I do have one weakness; my books. It's almost impossible for me to resist buying them, and I hate parting with them.

Some of them are references which I use frequently; others are old friends which I turn to when I'm bored; and many are books which I might never read again, but I love the covers, or they were gifts, or they hold special memories. I couldn't possibly part with them, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels that way. So I thought up some creative ways to keep them and use them around the house.

The first thing to do was to sit down and weed out the books that I thought I would not miss. These, in turn, were sorted into three piles; recent books which might be of use to local school libraries; older books which might be donated and sold at local library book sales; and paperback books, which went to a local used book store.

There are plenty of websites which offer swap deals on paperbacks, but to be honest, I didn't have enough to bother. I did check prices on one or two hardbound books, but I thought they would be of more use to school libraries, which are often a little sparsely stocked these days.

Now for some more original ideas.

Books of similar size can be stacked, tied with twine (rustic look) or ribbon, and used as legs for a coffee table; I just used the back of an old wooden bookcase which I had taken apart, and laid it across the top of the stacks.

Many older hardbound books had torn or dirty jackets. When I removed these protectors, I found that some of the cloth covers looked quite nice, with silver or gilt lettering. Books like these can be displayed on a mantel, on their own small shelf, or placed haphazardly in a decorated basket.

If you particularly like the cover of a book, you can always remove the cover and frame it as a piece of artwork. Thin books, particularly children's books, can be framed in their entirety. In fact, these make nice gifts for family members.

I have one book that I think would be unappealing to most people; I hollowed that one out, and use it for keeping personal items when I go to the pool or beach. It's an easy way for me to keep track of things like my watch and cell phone, and it's certainly far less alluring to a thief than a purse or bag.

One last idea to use as a gift for a loved one; choose a book, go through it, and highlight words on various pages that will spell out a message, a letter, or a memory. Paste a special picture, or photograph, at the very end, inside the back cover. It's a unique and personal way to say I love you.