I read a statistic the other day that made me shudder,

“15.8 million tons of reading material (books, magazines) and other paper products were trashed in 2010.\” Oprah

Many people are at a loss as to what to do with books once their kids have outgrown them or books them themselves no longer have a use for. Books have immense value and should be put to good use instead of filling up our landfills. The following are some creative ideas to achieve just that:

1. Donate to your local women\’s shelter or soup kitchen.

2. Organize a book swap: Ask friends, families, neighbors, or fellow parents to round up their un-unsed books for a good \’ol fashioned swap. OR BETTER YET…have a Book Swap Treasure Hunt!

For rules and directions, go HERE.

3. Save for International Book Giving Day. This day is conveniently on the same day as Valentines Day so it opens up the perfectly opportunity to give books to your grade school child\’s class. Have your child include books along with their Valentine’s day festivities at school by giving a book with their Valentines Cards.

4. Donate to Books for Africa: Knowledge is power-Compassion is giving. Books For Africa appreciates all book donations. BFA\’s mission is to end the book famine in Africa. They hope to create a culture of literacy and provide the tools of empowerment to the next generation of parents, teachers, and leaders in Africa. It costs 50 cents to ship each book to Africa. Consider making a financial donation to cover the costs of shipping the books you donate. For more details on how you can donate, go HERE.

5. Book Or Treat! This Audrey Press-originated event was a wild success in Tennessee friends as far away as Minnesota and Wales participated in this Halloween activity of giving book AND treats to the little goblins that came to the door. To read more about Book Or Treat, go HERE.

What do you do with your unwanted books?