How to get rid of books when you face a storage problem

Few people like to throw books away, even if they have been read just once, never to be read again. There is something about getting rid of knowledge in book form - it just isn't the done thing. However, if books are beginning to take over your home, particularly if you are short on storage space anyway, then there are a number of ways that you can thin out your collection, without losing your most precious books, and benefit other people at the same time.

First of all, look through all your books, shelf by shelf, and decide which ones you can bring yourself to get rid of. If there are books that you had forgotten about, perhaps because they were hidden away, then the chances are you aren't really going to miss them if you throw them out. Put the books to get rid of in accessible boxes, but don't put them somewhere out of the way, otherwise you will end up forgetting about them and keeping them, which defeats the object. You may want to separate fiction from non-fiction, making another pile for text books - read on to find out why.

If you just want to free up some space and aren't too bothered about giving books away, then there are a number of options. Don't, whatever you do, put books out for the bin men. Just because you don't want the books doesn't mean that no-one else should benefit from them. Charity shops are an obvious choice for books. Most charity shops are crying out for second-hand books that they can sell for profit and you can be safe in the knowledge that your spare books are going towards a good cause. You may also consider local fetes and jumble sales - again, they are usually for a good cause and will welcome your cast-offs.

If you have a number of children's books that you have decided to get rid of, then you are likely to have your hand snatched off by a number of people. If you know anyone with children, then ask them if they would like a selection of books. Most children love books, especially well-illustrated ones, and they can be very expensive, so second-hand ones will be welcomed. You could also enquire at your local schools and libraries - again, they are likely to be glad of any spare books that you have. Likewise, hospitals, prisons and care homes will be glad of any adult's books that you have - reading is a form of escapism and people in institutions of one kind or another can usually do with some distraction.

If, like many people, you could do with some extra money, then you also have a number of options. Probably the quickest way to get rid of your books is to have a stall at a car boot sale, or sell the books from your front garden. You probably won't be able to ask an awful lot of money for the books - around 50p to 1 GBP seems to be the going rate in the UK, but anything counts towards your profits. If you don't want to have to go to the trouble of arranging to sell them, you could put an advert in your local paper asking for a set sum for so many books - a number of people who regularly sell books at car boot sales may be interested in buying them. You could also try selling them to market stall holders or second-hand book shops - the latter is a good move if you have specialist books - a collection about gardening or another hobby, for example.

Choosing to sell your books online can be a lucrative way of selling books, although it can also be incredibly time-consuming. Ebay, or similar auction sites, are popular, although you will need to consider how much you can charge, bearing delivery charges in mind - sometimes it is just not worth the effort for what you can charge for a small paperback. The seller's section of sites like Amazon and Play.com are also worth investigating - you can easily see what other sellers are charging before you decide whether to add your books or not. If you have a number of text books, then I would advise trying Amazon first - provided the text books are not too out of date, they can sell very well to students. Aiming to have the books for sale during the summer and early autumn is a good move, because this is when most students are looking for text books.

There are a number of other sites worth investigating, and it is definitely worth using Google to search for selling sites that operate in your country. In the UK, for example, there is a site called http://www.greenmetropolis.com, which supports the Woodland Trust - you can add your books to the site using the ISBN number so that you don't have to fill out all the details, and you receive 3 GBP per sale. Of course, you need to take delivery charges into consideration, but as fiction books in particular sell for as little as 1p on Amazon and Ebay, you will at least make some money. And should you decide that you want to swap books, there are swap sites such as http://www.readitswapit.co.uk, where you can send off books you don't want and have them replaced by those you do. This will probably not, of course, help with your storage issues!

Finally, of course, if you really cannot bear to get rid of your books, but are short on storage space, then you could box them up and store them in the loft or basement, ensuring that they are protected from damp by lining the box with plastic. You could swap them round on a regular basis so that you do get to read the stored books eventually. Alternatively, you could ask family members if they have room to store your books until such a time that you move house or have more space. And, if you are prepared to pay, there are storage facilities where you can store books for as long as you need.

Books are a precious commodity and should be looked after - whether by you or someone else. Rest assured that any books you don't want will be gratefully received and enjoyed by the receiver.