Week 6 - BOOKS & MAGAZINES EVERYWHERE!

I LOVE books and magazines! I mean, I get pretty excited about them. I grew up watching my Mom and others always with a book in hand and a few at the ready. I have to say reading is one of my favorite things to do. This love has caused me to become fairly anal-retentive when it comes to my reads. I like my books and magazines to look new - brand spanking new. I won't choose any that have the spine creased or any corners bent. I don't like it when I try to remove any store placed stickers and some of the stickiness remains. I don't even like the idea that someone has touched a book or mag I'm going to purchase, which always has me pulling from the back (to be honest this is true of anything I buy, I tell my kids, "don't pick the front one"!). Yeah, I'm pretty rigid about what comes home with me. So one can imagine my feelings about libraries and until pretty recently, even loaning books out!

A few years ago when my kids were very small, I knew it was in their best interest to teach them about the library process. You know, making a trip to the library to peruse and select our reads for the week, whipping out our library card (aah, when can I get one of my own Mom?) and returning them when finished. It's great, it's free (or at least cheap) and it encourages reading. But ugh, all those hands on those books. I'm happy to say I've gotten over it (kinda). I just try not to give it too much thought!

Today when I think of libraries, I think this is recycling at it's finest. The bottom line is, if you share you will not only save trees and energy, but money too.

Outside of texts, coffee table books, and the classics, most people purchase soft-covered books. Here are some ideas on what to do with them once they've been read:

1. There is a cool website called Paperbackswap.com. It is currently free and allows you to post "like new/gently used" books you are willing to part with. When someone requests a book you've posted and you send it to them, you earn a point (when you sign-up you are given 3 points as a welcome). You can then request a book and a person will send it to you. One book "costs" one point. There are wrappers you print off of the site for you to mail the book in. You then pay the postage, which is about $1.59 for one book and in turn someone will pay the postage to send you a book. This site is really worth checking out and they have books for all ages.
2. Second hand bookstores are another way to go. You can sell them your books or at least make a swap.
3. You can make a little money by selling your books on Amazon.com or BN.com (Barnes & Noble). The sites will walk you through the process.
4. Donate your books to the local library. They will let you know what they are looking for, or if they have a book sale coming up. Some libraries have a program where you purchase a book selection from the library's wish list, and once you've read it, you donate the book to them.
5. Donate your books to the Salvation Army or Goodwill.
6. Check with your school libraries and area preschools to see if they are in need of any of the titles you have.
7. Get together with friends and have a giant book swap.
8. RECYCLE them!

Did you know magazine production uses more than 2.2 million tons of paper per year? What about the fact that according to idealbite.com "2.9 billion magazines delivered to newsstands each year are never read; placed end to end they would encircle the earth 20 times." How many people do you know either subscribe to or purchase the same magazines you do? Here are some easy ways to make a difference:

1. Talk to your friends and see who gets what - maybe you can share the cost of ONE subscription.
2. If you must have your crisp, new copies of your favorite mags (or if you tend to tear out a lot of articles, etc.), at least see if anyone would like to read them after you.
3. Maybe doctors' offices, nursing homes or salons could use them.
4. Check your local library to see if they have a magazine exchange.
5. Consider if you really need to purchase a hard copy. Most magazines now have websites which contain a lot of the information included in their monthly issues.
6. RECYCLE them!

There are also a number of household and crafty uses for old magazines (some of these might be a stretch, but to each his/her own):

1. Use colorful pages as gift wrap.
2. Use crumpled pages to shape wet shoes/boots
3. Line small drawers with pages.
4. Use them for kids craft projects.
5. Make your own framed art.
6. Use them for scrap booking.

If you have any other ideas on what to do with our used books and magazines, let us know!