12 Things You Can Do with Old Books

Some of us still read paperbacks. Some of us still have to buy textbooks. Some of us still have a library of books we read a decade (or likely more) ago before we went completely digital with our reading material. Whatever reasons that might explain those piles of pages lined along the shelves, stacked in the corner or tucked in a heavy box in the bottom of the closet, eventually a time arrives to do something with them.

Books, though enlightening, can become a burden. Ask anyone who has moved apartments a little too regularly. A box of books is always the worst box to lug around, and the fact of the matter is…they’ve already been read or, after all this time, they’re likely never to be read. So, why are we lugging them around? Even with those books we just loved and feel the need to keep, we have to ask: how many books do we actually read multiple times?

There are better ways to deal with old books than moving them from place to place, stuffing them on some forgotten shelf or quarantining them in storage.

First Ask Yourself…

Before slicing, dicing, gluing and misconstruing a book, it’s worth asking yourself if the old clump of pages still has some value.

1. Could it be donated to a thrift shop because it’s worthy of giving someone else a chance to read it?
2. Is there a book swap that might let you turn this old book into a brand new-to-you book?
3. Does the book have some potential monetary value, say by being a first edition or signed or collectable, that could make selling it worthwhile?
4. Might a friend enjoy reading it such that it could be passed on as a gift, perhaps with a craftily wordy note on the inside cover to express some heartfelt sentiment about the book evoking thoughts of him, her, or them?

If the book still has life left in it, then by all means that life ought to be lived. However, if it’s ripped and ravaged, if its contents are garbage, if throwing out an old favorite just seems too heartbreaking, well, there are things that can be done. Creative things. Fun stuff.

Repurposing Books

5. Fancy envelopes are fun to make and, aside from being notably highbrow for an envelope, they do have a practical use, something that always makes crafting feel more worthwhile.
6. Paper logs for the fireplace are always useful, and making them from old books is a little less offensive than burning the books outright. Nevertheless, a paper log made from an old book could provide ambience whilst you curl up with a new one.
7. Secret safes in old books are super cool because they seem legit spy. If there is an old hardcover book hanging around, glue its pages together and use a draw knife to hollow out a cavity for stashing cash, valuables, extra tea bags, whatever.
8. Origami is artful and meditative, and it’s something many people enjoy doing and/or are interested in. Rather than someone rushing out to by special paper for it, an old book has plenty of pages that are prime for folding.
9. Literary pumpkins are one of the more popular ways of repurposing old books. The crux of what happens here is that the two-dimensional shape of a pumpkin drawn onto a book, with the binding at the center. When it is cut out, it opens into a 3D pumpkin.
10. Compostable seed starters are great for gardeners. As opposed to buying compostable seed starters, it’s easy to use old pages from books (or newspapers) to roll up some tiny compostable planters for getting the veggies growing.
11. Decoupage is yet another arts-and-crafts undertaking that can make creative use of old books, particularly those with nice sketches or pictures in them. This is a great way to spruce up boring cabinets, a nicked-up table or just for art’s sake.

Recycle Them

12. Books are vulnerable to being damaged. Their spines bust and leave pages floating errantly in place or, worse yet, out of place. Their covers get torn off, loosely taped back on or ripped in half. For the persnickety but not necessarily crafty amongst us, this kind of thing simply ruins the reading and/or repurposing experience. Furthermore, it disqualifies books from being donated, swapped or sold. Luckily, they are made of paper, which is also totally recyclable if that’s what it comes down to.

In the end, the last thing we should do is throw old books away, even if those books were from a different phase in life and something we’d never read now. The world can use them for some purpose, and the landfills already have enough junk to contend with.

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