Donations: on Parting with Belongings

Since beginning to pack, most of my belongings have physically or mindfully been categorized as Pack, Sell, or Donate. Some fall into other categories, such as Give to Brother or Save for Later, but most are put in the first three. I've written about this before, but its so difficult to decide what to part ways with.

Books are items of sentiment to me. I love devouring them, holding them reminds me of the experience of reading them, and I love looking at the titles on my bookcase. However, its impractical to keep them all. Books are heavy, expensive to ship, and will take up more room to pack than what I can afford. Thus, I've decided to part ways with all but my very very favorite. But, still, how do I part with sentiment? I found a new teacher that is looking for donated supplies, including books to build a classroom library. While browsing my bookshelf, I realized that I have so many books that I love that would fit perfectly into a high school classroom library. It feels easier to part with books I love knowing that they will be read (and hopefully love!) by students.

Ideally, I'd love to give away more items to people and causes that will really value these things. While I ADORE Goodwill (I donate and shop there frequently), it feels so purposeful and meaningful to satisfy a mutual need. I'm thinking about using Freecycle to help pair up things that I don't need with someone that does. Does anyone have experience using a site like that?