When you're done with your curriculum. . .

[Mommy to monkeys]

What do you do with curriculum when you're done with it. . .or if you're just not going to use it?

 

I'm getting ready to head into a massive declutter and disown session and I'm not sure what to do with all the stuff laying around here.  I found a thrift store within 30 minutes, so I can actually do this now, but do thrift stores want homeschool stuff?  

[Sneezyone]

I usually find other families or family members to pass it down. My kids' friends know we homeschool and happily take our old or unused things to afterschool.

[ScoutTN]

I sell it at our used book store or on Homeschool Classifieds. I need the money!

Sometimes pass along to friends or drop at thrift store, not often.

[maize]

Do you need to get money out of it and have time to deal with selling? Post on Ebay, classifieds here, or your local homeschool list.

 

Just want it gone but would like to see it go to another homeschool family? Post on your local list, in one big lot if you like, for free or for a small price--i.e., big box of K-3 materials, including x, y, and z, $15 to the first person who can pick it up.

 

Just want it gone without any extra hassle? Take it to the thrift store. I've done that at times, when I just don't have time or energy to do anything else. Have also found some great homeschool stuff at the thrift store, so I hope someone finds mine.

[Calm37]

I am planning to send a few boxes of curriculum to The Book Samaritan rather than take to a local thrift. Both of my youngest daughters are graduating in May. Time to move on!

 

http://www.thebooksamaritan.com/ 

 

[Peaceful Isle]

If they are still usable, I send them to Book Samaritan, give it to friends, or thrift stores.

Once in a while I have sold things on here or ebay. 

[Shellydon]

There are 10-15 homeschool book sales in my area each May and June.

[lllll]

..

[pitterpatter]

I have the most luck selling at Homeschool Classifieds. The WTM Classifieds are my second. I use the funds to offset new curriculum.

[Guest]

I donate to local thrift stores. I used to sell it online, but it became too much of a hassle.

[Guest onnianfage]

I sell it at our used book store or on Homeschool Classifieds. I need the money!

[Mommy to monkeys]

Oh man, I do like the "idea" of selling it. . .but part of the reason I want to do this big purge is because I'm really overwhelmed.  How hard is it to sell stuff? You have to figure out how much to charge so that it's actually worth the time you spend and to adequately cover the shipping and the gas it takes to take a trip to the post office. I'm having heart palpitations just thinking about it.

 

I'm ONLY getting rid of things that haven't really been a "fit" for us.  Everything else is being saved for those coming up. I still have an embarrassing amount of things to get rid of. :/ 

 

To sell or to take to the thrift store. . .that is the question. I hate the idea of it all sitting in the garage indefinitely because I can't make a decision.

[duckens]

--I plan to keep, for now, things that are irreplaceable.  (Curriculum that are oop or that I cannot find anywhere else).  I do not know if I will need them to teach other peoples' kids or my own grandkids one day.

--I donate for free to friends who may use them WITH THE CAVEAT that "when you are done with it, if it has any value left, you donate it FOR FREE to someone else who may need it."  Pay it forward!
 

--I donate to our local Homeschool program (supported financially through the state).  They have a bin for donations.  If it is not needed for the Homeschool library, it is put on a table outside the room for anyone to take, free of charge.  I have benefited greatly as both a donor and as a "taker" with this system, not to mention the resources available at the library.

[pitterpatter]

Selling is not that hard, but I've been doing it for years. You do have to have some basic knowledge and supplies, though.

 

Does anyone have a link to a blog page that lists the ins-and-outs of selling online?

 

I have good success with Homeschool Classifieds. I generally sell most of my stuff for half price, plus shipping/PayPal fees. I do check to see what the going rates seem to be, though, and try to be competitive. And, I try to get more out of more expensive, high-demand items. I can always reduce my price, if it doesn't sell in a reasonable time frame. If you have individual books that aren't worth much, you'll need to group those in logical bundles. For example, I group my Singapore Math books in bundles.

 

You need a reliable and accurate scale that will weigh up to about 8-10 pounds at a minimum (needs to weigh in ounces/pounds). You also need poly-mailers, bubble mailers, boxes, a home printer, and packaging tape. You want to use the smallest, lightest, best-protected form of packaging you have available. (Do not wrap in newspaper.) I save most boxes I receive my curriculum and books in from Amazon, CBD, etc. I've also saved bubble mailers in the past. (I've seen people ship in inside-out cereal boxes.) I bought poly-mailers in bulk from eBay several years ago (I used to sell DD's used clothes). When I use poly-mailers for books, I take four pieces of card stock and fold (and tape...not to the book) them around each side of the book to protect it.

 

Books/curriculum can be shipped Media Mail. Set your book/books on the scale with its shipping packaging. Use USPS's rate chart or calculator to figure up how much it would cost to mail it. Hop over to a PayPal fees calculator. Plug in the amount of how much you want for your books, plus how much it would cost to ship. The fees calculator will tell you how much more you need to add to make up for the fees. After that, list your book at Homeschool Classifieds or where ever.

 

After you make a sale, simply print postage from PayPal. Take the printed label and tape it on the envelope/box with packaging tape. Drop it off at the post office or a post office package drop-off location. Or, drop it in a blue box, if it's light enough. Or, schedule a carrier pick-up. I have my DH drop off most packages on his way to/from work. Or, there's a USPS package drop-off location near where we take DD to gymnastics.

 

Take your money and go buy more books!

[Hunter]

Oh man, I do like the "idea" of selling it. . .but part of the reason I want to do this big purge is because I'm really overwhelmed.  How hard is it to sell stuff? You have to figure out how much to charge so that it's actually worth the time you spend and to adequately cover the shipping and the gas it takes to take a trip to the post office. I'm having heart palpitations just thinking about it.

 

I'm ONLY getting rid of things that haven't really been a "fit" for us.  Everything else is being saved for those coming up. I still have an embarrassing amount of things to get rid of. :/ 

 

To sell or to take to the thrift store. . .that is the question. I hate the idea of it all sitting in the garage indefinitely because I can't make a decision.

 

I've never sold anything either. I just did a major purge, but still have some things here with no potential local home, and I can't afford the shipping to give them away free this month. I threw some things away that have left me feeling a bit guilty, but...it's paper. People, including me, are more important than paper, and I REALLY needed a quick purge.

 

How to get rid of stuff is majorly affecting what I purchase now. I'm almost exclusively buying trade books instead of curriculum, so I can donate it more easily. And I'm printing eBooks because I feel less guilty throwing away what I printed than a professionally printed book.

 

Books used to make up 9/10 of my possessions. Now they make up about 1/2. I'm hoping soon to get that down to 1/4.

 

I made myself the deal that I had the right to throw away some books if I promised to never get myself into a situation like this again. The problem started when I brought this stuff into my home in the first place.

[Mommy to monkeys]

Selling is not that hard, but I've been doing it for years. You do have to have some basic knowledge and supplies, though.

 

Does anyone have a link to a blog page that lists the ins-and-outs of selling online?

 

I have good success with Homeschool Classifieds. I generally sell most of my stuff for half price, plus shipping/PayPal fees. I do check to see what the going rates seem to be, though, and try to be competitive. And, I try to get more out of more expensive, high-demand items. I can always reduce my price, if it doesn't sell in a reasonable time frame. If you have individual books that aren't worth much, you'll need to group those in logical bundles. For example, I group my Singapore Math books in bundles.

 

You need a reliable and accurate scale that will weigh up to about 8-10 pounds at a minimum (needs to weigh in ounces/pounds). You also need poly-mailers, bubble mailers, boxes, a home printer, and packaging tape. You want to use the smallest, lightest, best-protected form of packaging you have available. (Do not wrap in newspaper.) I save most boxes I receive my curriculum and books in from Amazon, CBD, etc. I've also saved bubble mailers in the past. (I've seen people ship in inside-out cereal boxes.) I bought poly-mailers in bulk from eBay several years ago (I used to sell DD's used clothes). When I use poly-mailers for books, I take four pieces of card stock and fold (and tape...not to the book) them around each side of the book to protect it.

 

Books/curriculum can be shipped Media Mail. Set your book/books on the scale with its shipping packaging. Use USPS's rate chart or calculator to figure up how much it would cost to mail it. Hop over to a PayPal fees calculator. Plug in the amount of how much you want for your books, plus how much it would cost to ship. The fees calculator will tell you how much more you need to add to make up for the fees. After that, list your book at Homeschool Classifieds or where ever.

 

After you make a sale, simply print postage from PayPal. Take the printed label and tape it on the envelope/box with packaging tape. Drop it off at the post office or a post office package drop-off location. Or, drop it in a blue box, if it's light enough. Or, schedule a carrier pick-up. I have my DH drop off most packages on his way to/from work. Or, there's a USPS package drop-off location near where we take DD to gymnastics.

 

Take your money and go buy more books!

 

(sigh). . .I guess it's doable, but it involved buying a lot more STUFF and that's what's really weighing me down. 

I've never sold anything either. I just did a major purge, but still have some things here with no potential local home, and I can't afford the shipping to give them away free this month. I threw some things away that have left me feeling a bit guilty, but...it's paper. People, including me, are more important than paper, and I REALLY needed a quick purge.

 

How to get rid of stuff is majorly affecting what I purchase now. I'm almost exclusively buying trade books instead of curriculum, so I can donate it more easily. And I'm printing eBooks because I feel less guilty throwing away what I printed than a professionally printed book.

 

Books used to make up 9/10 of my possessions. Now they make up about 1/2. I'm hoping soon to get that down to 1/4.

 

I made myself the deal that I had the right to throw away some books if I promised to never get myself into a situation like this again. The problem started when I brought this stuff into my home in the first place.

I don't feel bad giving things away considering how many things have been freely given to me over the years. . .but I am definitely going to be more aware about how much curriculum I'm bringing in.  I'm trying to transition into owning less curriculum but more books. . .I have sorted through SOME of our regular books and set aside a couple small boxes to give up, but when you have such a wide age range of kids, it makes minimizing a bit tougher.  Books are nowhere near 9/10 of my possesions. . .if you don't count furniture, then it may be half. ;)

[Pen]

Our local library has taken some things...   This is especially helpful when it's something I think we are done with, but having trouble letting it go. It makes it easier to part with it if I think maybe I could check it out if we still turn out to want it again. So far we have not checked out anything I gave to the library, but another plus is I like seeing some things there and knowing they came from us and maybe will make home school easier for someone else.  We've given some games and child size guitar too, not just books/curriculum.  The library is on way to a thrift donation center, so if library does not want something, I take it on to the donation center (or home again if I was unsure about being totally done with it).  Already used workbooks (with pages written on) go in recycle, unless I feel we need to refer back to them or that I might need them to show what has been done--usually I keep ones from one year prior and recycle ones older than that.  Other than already used workbooks, our thrift store does take/want homeschool stuff.  

[Hunter]

 

I don't feel bad giving things away considering how many things have been freely given to me over the years. . .but I am definitely going to be more aware about how much curriculum I'm bringing in.  I'm trying to transition into owning less curriculum but more books. . .I have sorted through SOME of our regular books and set aside a couple small boxes to give up, but when you have such a wide age range of kids, it makes minimizing a bit tougher.  Books are nowhere near 9/10 of my possesions. . .if you don't count furniture, then it may be half. ;)

 

Mine was including furniture if I count the bookcases as books instead of furniture. All I own for furniture is a foam mattress, a few folding tables and chairs, and LOTS and LOTS of bookcases. For example, my bedroom is a foam mattress on the floor, a lap table, a folding table and chair as a desk, and 7 floor to ceiling bookcases. :lol: The bookcases were full and there were more books piled up on the floor in front of them.

 

I love giving books away, sometimes even more than getting things for myself, but the postage adds up when they are specialty books not welcome at my usual donation spots. Sometimes it truly seems like a higher power makes sure I have the postage to get the books to the new owner, and everything falls right into place.

 

Right now, I have books taking up room, with no postage to send them anywhere, but then...maybe they are supposed to sit here until the right person needs them and the postage will materialize as needed.

 

I needed the book hoarding stage, I guess. I was never allowed to have enough books as a child or when I was married. It was a 39 year hunger that was never quenched. I've experienced satiety, now. I trust the universe that I'll have access to all the books I need as long as I don't get myself into an abusive relationship where the abuser is limiting my access to books. I guess I was like a foster kid that needs to hoard food for awhile until they trust there will be enough.

 

Part of throwing the books away was also trust. Trust that others will have the books they need, too, even if I threw away a few. There are enough books. Sometimes bad stuff happens and person's access is limited, but often that means they spend more time on the books they are allowed, and something important sometimes comes of that. I know that happened with me as a kid. I might have been ravenous for books, but part of that hunger was sated with things I never would have read otherwise.

[Hunter]

I live in a high-rise building, and we have a library on the first floor. People can just help themselves and keep books as long as they want. Lots and lots of books just disappear  and are never returned. The library is always looking for quality books, so my stash was very welcome. For the future, knowing that one book will be welcomed over another by the library downstairs, will affect my purchasing choices. It was SO nice to be able to just unload the huge stash that I was able to donate just downstairs.

 

 

[Reefgazer]

I will resell it so that I can recoup some of my money, and if I can't resell it I will donate it to a local library or to homeschooling group or to someone else can use it.

[Reefgazer]

One thing I am having trouble with is finding a home for good solid hardcover books. I tried the local library, but they didn't want the ones I have, the local homeschool store didn't want the ones I have, so what do you do with those?

[Pen]

One thing I am having trouble with is finding a home for good solid hardcover books. I tried the local library, but they didn't want the ones I have, the local homeschool store didn't want the ones I have, so what do you do with those?

 

 

Hard to say for any particular place, since what is available differs place to place--here I've not been trying to sell at a used bookstore because it is a long ways away with no good parking usually, making taking things there difficult, but if I could do it, that would be the best bet for used hardcovers. I know someone who gets almost all of their family's homeschool books from the used bookstore, where there is a huge selection of used textbooks from K to college. And if they did not want them, then just a donation of them to GoodWill or something like that would at least probably eventually get them to a home better than a landfill.   ...  

 

Also we have some Coffee house type places where people leave books and other people can read them...   Mostly that would be for fiction, not a text book.

 

When I was in NYC people just left things (books, clothing) arranged on  the sidewalk and they'd be taken.

 

I also know someone who sells used books on Amazon, but that is beyond me to do.

[73349]

I resell locally (we have a local Yahoo Group just for that) or donate.

 

I do not sell if it requires shipping. I'd rather send it to the Book Samaritan.

[summerreading]

Do you have a freecycle group near you? You can list and have that stuff gone in half an hour, my favorite way to purge when I want something gone now.

[Stellalarella]

Giving someone a book that I've loved is one of my most favorite things in the world.  

[MiMi 4under3]

I give it away to a friend, or I bring it to a book drop-off location.

[vonfirmath]

I live in a high-rise building, and we have a library on the first floor. People can just help themselves and keep books as long as they want. Lots and lots of books just disappear  and are never returned. The library is always looking for quality books, so my stash was very welcome. For the future, knowing that one book will be welcomed over another by the library downstairs, will affect my purchasing choices. It was SO nice to be able to just unload the huge stash that I was able to donate just downstairs.

 

That sounds like a very special high-rise! I've never lived in a place that hosted a library like that.

 

[Mom22ns]

In the past I sold most of it on tWTM Classifieds. However, with the change in format, those classifieds just don't get the traffic they used to. I sell some locally through a FB Homeschool Classifieds page. I loan or give some things to friends that I know need it and don't have the resources to buy it. I still list things here, but I guess I really need to make the move to Homeschoolclassifieds.com. I have bought there, but I haven't sold yet.

[Guest]

Sell it, give it away free, donate it, or toss it. I don't keep anything I'm not using.

[Hunter]

That sounds like a very special high-rise! I've never lived in a place that hosted a library like that.

 

We have a media room, too, with a big screen TV, something like 300 channels, and a DVD player, and a bunch of chairs all facing it like it's a movie theater. People go down there every night and eat snacks and watch sports and I don't know what else.

 

I don't own a TV, so you would think I would go down there more often than I do.

 

I like the library, though. There are couches with pillows and chairs and tables. There are lamps instead of overhead lights. It's just so nice in there.

 

We are very lucky in our building. Our apartment manager has won all sorts of awards for all the stuff she has managed to set up for our building. I think we are something like 1/4 market rate, 1/2 elderly and 1/4 disabled for like 10 more years before we go all market rate. It's a weird set up with grandfather clauses and I don't know what else going on.

 

For now, though, I'm in a very cushy situation for someone who was literally homeless a few years ago. I'm not just warm and dry, but I have a balcony and I have access to a private library and a media room, and live in a neighborhood where I think the average rent is something like $5,000.00 a month.

 

Going to CVS is funny here. There will be all these rich rushed people waiting in line behind me and I'll be feeding pennies one by one into the self-check out register to buy a roll of toilet paper or a bag of chips, because that's all I have left for cash. I don't think some of them have touched a penny in years. They just swipe cards.

 

Big cities are funny places full of extremes and all kinds of people tossed in together. I like living in cities.

[PeacefulChaos]

I sell it online or at a used curriculum sale.

[luuknam]

Yes, thrift stores take that stuff. I've found several useful things there. I'd only bother selling something if it's worth a good chunk of money, e.g. if you have the entire Life of Fred series or something... I wouldn't give that away. But if it's a small amount of money I'd just chalk it up as a donation to help support Goodwill or w/e (though when they ask me if I want a receipt for tax purposes I say no... again, if it's not worth enough to sell, it's not worth enough to put on my taxes as a deduction for being donated). We're lower middle class, so we're not rich.

 

I've also given away something to someone at homeschool swim&gym (a Biscuit phonics boxed set), and to the Y's preschool program (BOB books). When I got 100-charts which came as a 10-pack or so I gave 7 of them to my son's K teacher (I did not give her an end-of-year present).

 

I'd just set a price point under which to give stuff away. That point would depend on how much you need the money and how overwhelmed you are, of course. But for example, any item/set that's worth less than roughly $20 (used, not new cost) gets donated. Obviously, you could also do $10 or $50 or w/e.