[Synopsis: Here are some cool ideas for recycling and redistributing a customer’s unwanted books.]

We hear a lot about moving companies donating unwanted food to Move 4 Hunger. This is a great thing, and sadly necessary here in this wealthy nation where millions go to bed hungry every night.

But some customers want to empty more than their fridge by the time they move. It’s quite common for customers to want to clear off their bookshelves too. Is this another area where movers can help? You bet.

Earlier this year Mastodon Movers of Massachusetts teamed up with a few local schools to conduct a book drive, with over 3,500 books donated to More Than Words, a non-profit whose aim is to assist and empower disadvantaged young people.

Mastodon Movers’ plan was simple: distribute boxes to schools, pick them up when they were full and pass them on to More Than Words. (There was probably a little more to it than that, but really, providing a service for a good cause really can be that simple.)

These books were apparently collected from people who were not preparing to move. Nevertheless, this made us think: Why not collect books and magazines our customers don’t want – or don’t want to have to move – and pass them on? Using just an ounce of discretion (some books really are too old!), bring them to the library, to an organization like More Than Words, or to one of the places listed in this helpful piece by HomeStorageSolutions101. 

This should be common practice for all movers who come across unwanted books.

If you have a bit of space, you could even set up a small bookcase in your workspace to collect all the extra books. When you amass enough, clear the bookshelves and start anew after a nice, fresh donation. Neat, huh?

Moving almost always means trash, but remember that trash is often just a matter of perspective.