reduce

Welcome back!  All month we’ve been looking at the 4 R’s of “refuse, reduce, reuse and recycle”   Last week we talked about some ways to reuse items from our home we no longer wanted and ways to get free items that others no longer wanted.  This week we’re going to talk specifically about books.  Most of our “Waste Less and Be Green in 2015” posts have to do with the R- “reduce,” hopefully this post will help you reduce some clutter and dust in your home!

Raise your hand if you have a shelf full of book that you don’t look at regularly.  I’m sure lots of you just raised your hands.  Books are amazing- they fill us with knowledge, take us on exciting journeys, help us dream… and collect dust.  Let’s reduce the amount of books we have at home and help reuse them!

Books also tend to be something we collect and read once or twice and then leave to sit.  What to do with them??  The obvious answer is the library- get your books there and return them when you’re done.  I like to use Goodreads to keep track of what I’ve read so down the road when I’m telling a friend about a book and can’t remember the title it’s easy to look up.  There’s also used bookstores as a great way to swap out some books for new ones.

Here’s a couple lesser-known options for you- http://paperbackswap.com/ which is a database of books similar to an online used bookstore.  You earn credits for “selling” books which you mail to another member and can redeem the credits for new books.  This is a great option for books you want more time with than the library will allow.

My personal favorite book option is  “Little Free Library” These are bird-house looking stands that are popping up all over the country on street corners, neighbors yards, park paths and coffee shops.  They’re full of books free for the taking.  You can find all the locations on their website.  The thing I love about these is you can hold on the book as long as you want- forever if you love it!  And you can also contribute your books that you no longer want.  No worrying about store credit like used book stores, or due dates like a conventional library.  Plus you can build your own Little Free Library with your own personal flair and put it up in your yard!

Go ahead and hop out to your bookshelf and do a big purge- you’ll love having the extra space and others will love your books!

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Olivia lives in Boulder, Colorado with her husband and 4 year old son. She enjoys spending time in the mountains, studying about essential oils, natural remedies and herbs, as well as upcycling/ DIY projects. Olivia’s family made the move last year towards becoming a Zero Waste household. They have gotten down to one bathroom sized trashcan a month of garbage but hope to be totally Zero Waste by the end of 2015.

Like this? Check out the rest of our Waste Less and Be Green in 2015 series for more tips!

Have you ever used Little Free Library or anything similar?  What’s your favorite book you’ve read recently?  Let me know in the comments below or at blog@keeper.com!

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