Book disposal

[Michy]

[quote=""Margaret""]
It's hard for me to get rid of stuff, because I always think I might find a use for it sometime. [/quote]

WARNING -- it gets worse as you get older! My mom wasn't so bad when I was growing up, but after I left home...... yikes. And now she's 83, so there's no changing her or persuading her to get rid of anything -- way too emotional and traumatic and stressful. It does make it really, really difficult to stay at her house, though.
[quote=""Margaret"]
Now I have caught the downsizing bug, and more will go. I'm really enjoying my apartment. [/quote]

I am definitely not a hoarder -- I'm not a minimalist, either, although I'm probably closer to that end of the spectrum. I keep a tub out in my garage that I continually fill with unwanted items -- when it gets full I make a trip to Goodwill. In the last couple of years I essentially moved twice -- I moved out of my house when it sold and put everything I owned in storage (I rented a bedroom from a friend while my new house was being built). So that was a great incentive to get rid of stuff, because of the limited space in the mini-storage unit. Then, when I unpacked in my new house I got rid of even more. An absence of 8 months gave me a different perspective on some stuff. I would open a box and say, "Why did I keep this?!" So to Goodwill it would go! (actually, I prefer to donate to Amvets since the proceeds benefit veterans).

[quote="Miss Moppet""]
If you take the books to a charity, can you get a receipt to claim against tax? That way the books would save you money even if they don't make you money. You can't do this in the UK but I've heard you can in other countries.[/quote]

Yes, in the US you can -- if you itemize deductions, that is.

[Misfit]

My local UBS will take paperbacks only (and his doesn't quibble about the age of them) for credit towards purchases. He won't take hardbacks, but he's sure nice enough about it.

Margaret, I did not know about the ARC's not being recyclable. Does anyone know if that's standard or just for your region? I'll have to go and look closer at the what is acceptable and not acceptable on the recycle bin here, but I don't recall ARC's being mentioned

[Margaret]

Margaret, I did not know about the ARC's not being recyclable. Does anyone know if that's standard or just for your region?

I'm in the Portland, Oregon metro area. I suspect it's different in different areas, since they will recycle them (just not out of the bins with the rest of the paper).

Michy, I can see why you would be more on the minimalist end, if your mom's a hoarder. It's pretty awful having too much stuff. My house never looked like a real hoarder's house, but the clutter was depressing. Ash, I checked out the link to that A&E show, and it's compulsively fascinating! Apparently, there's a really large number of hoarders these days. I'm sure some of it must have to do with our consumer culture, in which we're constantly barraged by advertising for stuff we supposedly need (but which is really pretty useless), plus a lot of people in what seems to be the hoarder age group were raised by parents who lived through the Depression. Not a good combination - obsessive shopping and the fear of discarding anything that might someday be useful. I can definitely identify with the feeling of not wanting to get rid of something because there is an emotional tie to it.

Has anyone read E.L. Doctorow's novel Homer & Langley, about the New York brothers who were hoarders?

[Vanessa]

[quote=""laktor""]Well, got rid of a few hardbacks and paperbacks today. Unfortunately, not a pleasant experience. Took them to a used bookstore I'd only been in once before. I didn't expect to get much cash for them, maybe $5 or $10 bucks...pocket change. But the owner/clerk was extremely rude.......................![/quote]

That was very rude! Why didn't he just say we don't buy hardbacks as they're not financially viable and leave it at that? There's no need to be venomous as he sounds to have been. Have they a website where you can leave any comments?

[Misfit]

[quote=""Vanessa""]That was very rude! Why didn't he just say we don't buy hardbacks as they're not financially viable and leave it at that? There's no need to be venomous as he sounds to have been. Have they a website where you can leave any comments?[/quote]

That is a good idea if it's a larger corporation - even sending something to the info@ address might get you somewhere. It sure has helped me when I've had trouble getting anyone in the account payable department of a couple of companies to respond and then I try the info email. Amazing luck sometimes, and very quick I might add

[wendy]

Scholarly books I always keep. HF I pass on to my mother who is another avid fan. Certain novels I may pass on to friends. Everything else I donate to the AMVETS.

[Ash]

Our used bookstores take paperbacks but they have to be in good shape. As far as ARCs- one store will not take them, the other one does without batting an eye.

I haven't moved in 20 years. We try to weed out stuff like old clothing and such now and then, but we do have a ton of stuff and I suspect if and when we move (probably when we retire) we'll be getting rid of about half of what we own.

My MIL is moving into assisted living center in the next few months; we'll have to go through her apt but Im not too worried - she wasn't much into keeping stuff. But my mother's move was a nightmare. Her house of 30 years was clean and uncluttered, but open up a cabinet or drawer and it was an eye opener. We found heals of soap bars, in one cabinet, a bunch of used pantyhose in another, boxes and boxes of recipes cut out, magazines a decade old. She had greeting cards people sent to her stuffed in a piano bench. Then there was the clothing that she never got rid of; fortunately we could give most of that to a vintage shop, coz it was mostly from the 60s, but it took us forever to go through things. Then later we learned she went back after the move to the alley and removed things from the bins!

[Ash]

[quote=""Michy""]I think maybe you just had a bad experience with a bad bookseller. they typically don't pay much for books. Back when I used to frequent these stores, the normal practice was they buy the books for 1/4 of the cover price and sell them for 1/2 of the cover price. So you're not going to get a lot for your books, but it's something. And don't be surprised if they won't buy all of your books, even if you go to a better bookstore next time. They know what types of books their customers buy, and if what you have isn't that type then they probably won't buy it[/quote]

Thats pretty much the case with our bookstore, they give you trade credit of 1/4 price (even less for cash), and sell it for 1/2 the cover. They are picky, because they can afford to be -they know what they have in stock and they know what people will buy. They really have to be near new, or much wanted. Also remember that books by author like Ken Follet, James Patterson, or Danielle Steele are a dime a dozen no matter what shape they are in, and likely won't be picked up. I also found that what they won't take one day, they'll take another day.

[N. Gemini Sasson]

First, I'll pass them along to my daughter or a friend, if they're interested in the book. If the book is in good shape and relatively new still, I donate it to the library. I figure they can always use the money from the sale. I've also donated to Goodwill or sold them at garage sales.

All the talk about hoarders reminds me it's about time I purged again. I'm about to put up another set of bookshelves - I suppose that's a sign I need to thin down on the collection.

[Sharz]

Hoarding ... The first 10 years of our marriage we lived in 7 difference apartments, so there was no accumulation issue. We didn't have TIME to. But now we've been in a 2800 sq ft house for 7 years, and it's starting to build. Stuff gets shoved in the storage room and extra bedroom and downstairs office. Volume wise, it's mostly dead TVs, obsolete computers, and old, cheap, worn-out furniture we brought with us to this house (much of it used to begin with, and then dragged through seven moves). We've gradually replaced almost everything we brought with us. I'm taking off the first week of Nov to go through it all and have 1-800-Got-Junk or someone similar take away all the ... junk. I'm a little intimidated by the task. I can't believe how much junk we have in just 7 years.

Edit: I was interrupted several times while drafting the above post, and ended up not saying the most relevant thing: that part of why we're going through everything is to re-arrange the large rec room/family room for more bookcases. I don't hoard other things, but I do books!