Paperback Swap

My life has some craziness in it right now. Well, I meant besides my three munchkins. We are still waiting for a final answer on whether or not we star or go, and I feel like so many things in my life are on hold for the big decision. So, I started looking at things I would do if we moved that maybe I would do anyway, such as parting with my beloved Combi Twin Savvy via Craigslist. I have been going through my house, physically and mentally making lists of things to post on Craigslist. I have one list to post even if we don't move, and one list of things that I will probably post if we do move. Big things are already posted so I have time to work down the price.

But then, I hit a snag. The bookshelf. Some people do not have bookshelves. We are NOT those people. My father-in-law very sweetly made us a bookshelf as a birthday present our first year of marriage. We needed it. This was a floor to ceiling, two rows shelf. BIG. Gabe and I, married only six months, filled it up! So now, one house, three kids, and some additional shelving later, it is really time to weed out. All of those books cannot be worth the shelf space, right? And, indeed, many were not. But, posting on craigslist could work, amazon seemed unlikely except for maybe one or two. So where to go?

Our brother has been telling us about paperback swap for a while. I was surprised how easy it was and how many people wanted books that I had. And now, the best part, I get books too! How does it work? I post my books, wait for someone to request them, ship the books (I pay for the shipping) and then I get credits. Then, I get to use my credits to request books for me and my family. Why does that matter when the point was to clear space? Well, there are still books out there I would like to own, or books I cannot find at the library that I want to read. And, if I do not want to keep it, I just turn around and post it again.

Another completely almost hassle free way to get rid of books is to take them to the library. They use them in their booksales to raise funds for the library. A way for me to support my local library without actually donating money. (Um, yes, this is E sitting on the potty reading a book with her sunglasses on just under two years ago. Believe it or not, it was the only picture on my computer of any of my kids with a book.)