Guest kacifl Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 My kids are 14 and 12. My closets are busting at the seems. Yet it is hard to get rid of the books. It has been hard giving away or selling their curriculum. Now I need to give up some books. I have 41 Magic School Bus books, plus 10 of the special series. I also have ALL of their dvds, so I don't need both. I have 25 Magic Tree House books, and about 6 of their extra series. I have all of the Draw Write Now books, that they never used!! Yet, sniff...:crying: sniff, I don't know.... My 12 year old asked me to save them for his kids! Hah! Who knows what kind of reading format we'll have in 20 years! And videos... not dvds.... but years & years of kid . Gosh, I need to purge some of this stuff!!! None of this stuff was cheap, either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
readwithem Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 You just need to move!:lol: Okay I'm just kidding. Sort of. When we moved last summer, we gave away over 1000 books before the move, and close to that afterwards. It IS hard, isn't it? My method otherwise has been to purge every season, sort of like with your clothes. So something that makes the cut this season may get the ax next season. Personally I would purge as many videos as you can, that technology won't be supported in the future. That's not to say we have gotten rid of all our videos. We haven't - I've just been more brutal with the knife in that regard. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remudamom Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 I only saved super favorites. I'm old enough to remember Captain Kangaroo, and I have lots of the books he read on his show. Ping, Make Way for Ducklings, Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel, Ferdinand. And a few other favorites, Yummers and Monster Bed. I allowed myself one shelf. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca in VA Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 If you really love it, don't purge it. Time goes by really, really fast, and before you know it you *will* have grandkids who will want to read the books. I'm so glad I saved our best-loved books and other items. My son will be 18 this spring. It won't be too many years (not too soon, though, I hope) before he'll be married and on his own. I want my house to be one that the grandkids will really want to visit because of all the great things I've saved for them!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaKinVA Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 Oh, I'll probably keep them all, until the children are grown and have children of their own, at which point I'll let them claim what they want :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhonda in TX Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 She has a tall bookshelf full of books. I went through and pulled the ones I wanted to keep. I then had her go through them with the following criteria: - get rid of - keep in her room - keep, but put away (possibly for her kids) DS doesn't have as many books on his shelves. He also only has a few favorite authors, so I can figure out what he would want to keep. I would never ask him to go through them because he can't get rid of anything. If a book (like Draw Right Now - we haven't used these, either) has never been used, and they've outgrown it, we get rid of it. It's hard at first, but gets easier over time. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alice Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 I can imagine how hard it is to give them up..books are the one thing I'm sentimental about. On the other hand I've been the recipient of some great books from BookMooch and other places where I was so glad someone parted with that book. Especially if you know someone who would love them...it might make you feel better to know that they are being read and enjoyed. And we happen to love Magic School Bus books here. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereks mom Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 If you really love it, don't purge it. Time goes by really, really fast, and before you know it you *will* have grandkids who will want to read the books. I'm so glad I saved our best-loved books and other items. My son will be 18 this spring. It won't be too many years (not too soon, though, I hope) before he'll be married and on his own. I want my house to be one that the grandkids will really want to visit because of all the great things I've saved for them!! And my shelves are full of books that I want to read with them someday. ;) I picture myself on the couch with little children around me, listening as I read aloud to them. Of course, this would be after we've made cookies together and played with all those great old toys from the storage room. That's the kind of grandmother I want to be! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kacifl Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 I have donated over a thousand books to our local schools. We love books. I have saved my favorites, but we still need the room. I may do one of two things: Put them into the attic or find out if there is a needy family in our homeschool group and see if the mom wants them for Christmas presents. K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Rat Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 Well, I still have quite a few of MY childhood books and I'm so glad my parents hung on to them for me. But again, they were my very favorites. Another thing to consider is future availability of the books you're holding on to. Magic Tree House books are sure to survive for 20 years. Besides, they've printed so many of them it probably won't be too difficult to find them used. The books my parents saved for me were more picture books. My most favorite isn't even in print anymore and difficult to find. It's called Suzy Squirrel. I was so glad to see my "old friend" again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texascamps Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 You just need to move!:lol: Okay I'm just kidding. Sort of. When we moved last summer, we gave away over 1000 books before the move, and close to that afterwards. It IS hard, isn't it? My method otherwise has been to purge every season, sort of like with your clothes. So something that makes the cut this season may get the ax next season. Personally I would purge as many videos as you can, that technology won't be supported in the future. That's not to say we have gotten rid of all our videos. We haven't - I've just been more brutal with the knife in that regard. :) This sounds like me!!!! We are packing to move now and I've given hundreds if not close to a thousand books to Goodwill or DAV in the last few months. I take each book out and put them into piles. Books I must save at all costs, books we like a lot and books to get rid of, then I mark the boxes. So if I had to get rid of a few boxes I would know which box to get rid of without having to go through them. When we moved the last time, we move 37 boxes of books! I vowed I would never do that again. We had no couch but 37 boxes of books....My husband refuses to give up his Greek and Roman lit collection and his extensive boring History book collection..."because you never know when you might want a concise history of British battles." VHS Videos are also a problem, I've purged 50% or more and I still have a ton. Some I just love but not enough to buy the DVD. Plus, VHS movies are so easy for the kids to load themselves..... DVDs are so fragile. I purge throughout the year when we run out of containers. I don't worry too much about the cost because I buy most of our books at garage sales for $.25 each. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FO4UR Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 Bless another HS family with them by either giving or selling (and using the $ to buy stuff your dc will use now). Think of the wonderful books just sitting there when someone could use them........sending my addy.....j/k:tongue_smilie::lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texascamps Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 The books my parents saved for me were more picture books. My most favorite isn't even in print anymore and difficult to find. It's called Suzy Squirrel. I was so glad to see my "old friend" again! I love Suzy Squirrel and I was soooo excited when I found it at a garage sale last year!!!! My other favorite was "The Big Tidy up" by Norah Smaridge. My sister paid over $100 on Ebay for it for a present. They just started reprinting it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PiCO Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 I only saved super favorites. I'm old enough to remember Captain Kangaroo, and I have lots of the books he read on his show. Ping, Make Way for Ducklings, Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel, Ferdinand. And a few other favorites, Yummers and Monster Bed. I allowed myself one shelf. I still have most of these books from when I was little! I only keep super favorites also. I keep them for me. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kacifl Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 picture book Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 My kids are 14 and 12. My closets are busting at the seems. Yet it is hard to get rid of the books. It has been hard giving away or selling their curriculum. Now I need to give up some books. I have 41 Magic School Bus books, plus 10 of the special series. I also have ALL of their dvds, so I don't need both. I have 25 Magic Tree House books, and about 6 of their extra series. I have all of the Draw Write Now books, that they never used!! Yet, sniff...:crying: sniff, I don't know.... My 12 year old asked me to save them for his kids! Hah! Who knows what kind of reading format we'll have in 20 years! And videos... not dvds.... but years & years of kid . Gosh, I need to purge some of this stuff!!! None of this stuff was cheap, either. When to let go? Oh, NOW, honey, now! Videotape is about dead; give those away quickly. Your kids are too old for Magic School Bus and Magic Tree House; you might be able to sell these in lots, but I'd probably just give them away - - they're all over the place used. Keep a sentimental few if you must! And if they haven't used the Draw Right Now series YET, are they likely to use it now? I can't remember where this quote comes from, but it has helped me let go of many material things that I dont' need (and that can benefit someone else): Keep the memory, lose the clutter. Take a photo of your kids surrounded by these old favorites, maybe take a minute to jot down a note about them, and let them go. You'll free up space in your house and your mind! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie in Ma Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 I have actually begun packing the best of the best in boxes for my grandchildren. I purged anything resembling twaddle years ago and what is left I will never let go of. That said, I may have to start making furniture out of the books, I have no more room for shelves. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tibbyl Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 I sold complete sets of my kids' series books (Magic Tree House, Hank the Cowdog, and others) in excellent condition for gift giving. They fetched a handsome price on ebay around Christmas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tibbyl Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 I love Suzy Squirrel and I was soooo excited when I found it at a garage sale last year!!!! My other favorite was "The Big Tidy up" by Norah Smaridge. My sister paid over $100 on Ebay for it for a present. They just started reprinting it. Suzy Squirrel! That is one of our favorites. We still have it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jubilee Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 :grouphug:I just want to encourage you that you are not alone and it does get easier with time. The first step is always the hardest. I recently purged our books and ended up taking them to a local used bookstore that is still buying back books. I was credited with about $80 and came home with a few titles we have been looking for plus the remaining credit still available (no expiration). Our biggest problem is there are so many other books out there that I would rather have on my shelf vs. using the library. It comes down to wanting the best on our shelves, the timeless classics. This will look different in every home. Part of it also has to do with your mindset. I had to tell myself, the boxes of books in the attic have been enjoyed and it is time to share that same enjoyment with others. That is why we love books, right? Sorry for the rant, books are dear to our family and we are learning to set boundaries for what is to be added to our shevles and what can be viewed and passed on to share. Thanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caryn Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 I will only the the absolute favorites, not just any books. I still have a lot of books that my parents kept it for me and now my children were able to read and enjoy it too. Caryn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Rat Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 Brilliant idea! That's what I need to do. Make books into furniture. Why didn't I think of that! My husband just put up 2 more really long shelves for me and I don't have the heart to tell him that they are already filled. Wouldn't it be great if they made metal frames of chairs that held books too? Or a sofa size one? Ooh, the possibilites are endless! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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