Seasonal Residents · Snowbirds · New Mexico
Heading Home for the Season? Let Me Take the Books.
Every spring, thousands of seasonal residents close up their New Mexico place and drive north — and the books rarely make the trip. They’re heavy, they’re cheap to replace, and nobody wants to haul a winter’s worth of paperbacks across three states. I’ll take them off your hands free, anywhere from Albuquerque to Santa Fe to Las Cruces to Truth or Consequences. One text, one pickup, one less thing before you lock up.
Request Your Free Pickup
Tell me what you have and where it is. I’m the only person who shows up — I do the lifting, any condition, no sorting. Tell me your timeline and I’ll do my best to work with it. Texts go straight to my phone at 702-496-4214.
The spring exodus, and the books left behind
New Mexico fills up every winter with seasonal residents — retirees escaping northern cold, snowbirds wintering in the Rio Grande valley and the southern towns, part-year residents who keep a casita in Santa Fe or a place near the Las Cruces sun. And every spring, when the weather turns and it’s time to head back, the same quiet problem repeats itself: what to do with everything accumulated over a season that isn’t coming home in the car.
Books are almost always the first thing to go. A season of reading on the patio adds up fast, and books are the worst thing to move — pound for pound the heaviest belongings most people own, and the cheapest to re-buy on the other end. So they get left in the rental, boxed up in a closet for a landlord to deal with, or worse, dropped in a dumpster on the way out of town.
They don’t have to. I’m Josh Eldred, and I run the New Mexico Literacy Project — free book pickup, any condition, anywhere in the metro and out across the central corridor. Before you lock up and leave, text me, and the books become my problem instead of yours.
Frequently asked questions
I'm a snowbird heading back north for the summer — can you pick up my books before I leave?
Yes — this is one of my most common spring calls. Seasonal residents across New Mexico lighten their load before the drive home, and books are heavy, low-value to move, and easy to leave behind. Text or call 702-496-4214 with your address and rough quantity, and I'll do my best to schedule a pickup before your departure date. I do all the lifting; you don't sort or box anything.
I'm giving up my New Mexico place entirely — can you clear the whole library?
Absolutely. Whether you're not renewing the winter rental or selling the second home, I'll clear the full collection — any condition, any size — free, anywhere in the metro and out to Santa Fe, Las Cruces, Truth or Consequences, and the central corridor. If there's more than books (clothing, household items), I can take those in the same trip too.
What if I'm leaving on short notice?
Tell me your timeline and I'll work with it. If your departure is sooner than I can schedule a pickup, the 24/7 drop box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE in Albuquerque is always open — drop the books any hour, no appointment. There's always a path that isn't a dumpster.
Do you take books in any condition?
Every condition. Sun-faded paperbacks from the patio, water-spotted books from a casita, old magazines, encyclopedias — all welcome. Most are resold to fund the free service or routed to readers; what can't be reused goes to the paper recycler, never the landfill.
Lock up with one less thing on the list
Text me before you head north and I’ll do my best to clear the books before your departure — free, any condition. Or drop them at the 24/7 box anytime; it never closes.
24/7 Drop Box: 5445 Edith Blvd NE, Unit A, Albuquerque, NM 87107