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7 Things To Do With Your Textbooks After Classes End

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UWF chapter.

1. Make a Book Safe!

Need a place to store your valuable trinkets or extra cash from your suspicious roommate? A book safe is the perfect solution. It’s easy to cut a compartment in a book and make a little treasure box out of it. Just look up some simple DIY instructions, and you’ll be all set. Who’s ever going to think to look in your old textbooks?

2. Money, Money, Money!

You could go the simplest route of all and sell back your textbooks for a little bit of extra cash. And I mean a little bit – because you’ll never even get close to half of what you paid originally.  Still, it’s an option if you’re in a pinch for cash! You could sell them to the bookstore or you could even sell them on the internet (where you might be able to get a better price).

3. Need More Room in Your Dorm or Apartment?

Make some invisible shelves for your wall! Look up DIY instructions on how to make an invisible shelf out of an old book. You can use it to store your new textbooks or whatever else is taking up too much room. If you don’t like the way your textbook looks, you could always buy some materials and make a pretty cover for it. 

4. Potterhead?

I know I love Harry Potter and so does my friend, Scout. She decided to use her boring, old, muggle textbook to make her own Monster Book of Monsters – just like Harry had. Again, there are some good DIY instructions out there that you can use for this project! I think this idea is especially cute if you use a textbook from a class that gave you a lot of trouble. Bonus points if it’s a Biology or Zoology book.

5. Feeling Charitable?

Make somebody’s day and donate your old textbooks! You could give them to a freshman in need or donate them to a library. You’ll always be able to find someone in your department who needs your used textbooks. As expensive as books are, this could really make a difference for someone, so seriously consider this option!

6. Book lamp

Are you a bookworm? If you love books, then you just might be interested in a book lamp. This is another fun project that can enhance the atmosphere of your living quarters. Instead of buying an ordinary lamp, you can drill a hole in a stack of your old textbooks and use them for the base of your lamp. Just look for further instructions on the internet and don’t cut any fingers off.

7. For the Extremists

Now, if you’re an extremist like my friend Sam, then this one is for you. But I’m an English major and a lover of books and I do not approve of this method. Anyway, my best friend, after a grueling semester, decided to burn her books. She invited some of her friends over (myself included) and burned her books in a fire pit. She also danced around the fire while chanting, but I also don’t suggest that. It’s a safety hazard.

Thumbnail courtesy of alexkich/Shutterstock

Clara Laine is an English major, with a focus on creative writing, and a minor in psychology. Her passions include, but are not limited to, writing, adventuring, and tea drinking. She loves lying out on the beach, experimenting with new recipes, and people watching. Most importantly, her Hogwarts house is Ravenclaw.
Abigail is a Journalism and Political Science major minoring in Spanish. She has a penchant for puns and can't go a morning without listening to NPR's Up First podcast. You can usually find her dedicating time to class work, Her Campus, College to Congress, SGA or hammocking. Her dream job is working as a television broadcast journalist on a major news network. Down time includes TED talk binges, reading and writing. You can follow Abigail on instagram and Twitter @abi_meggs