When preparing to safari through your household in search of the pale pachyderm, bear the following guidelines in mind:

• We feel a responsibility to sell only usable items. Puzzles should have all their pieces; toys with small pieces (such as Legos) should have those pieces secure in plastic bags; pots and pans should have handles; battery-powered items should have batteries, and should work; air mattresses shouldn’t leak; lamps, appliances, cameras, and electronic equipment should function. Bed linens and drapes should be decent condition, in sets (or if not matched, labled as single items so we don’t hunt for their mates), and labeled as to size. Example: «one top sheet, queen,» or «five 24″x 60″ curtains.» Masking tape is useful for affixing such notes to enlighten those who sort the items.
• Similar advice applies to used clothing: it should all be clean; coats, suits and dresses are best on hangers, in separate bags or bundles (men’s, women’s, children’s), with the bags or bundles labeled as to approximate size. There should be no holes or unsightly stains. Newish shoes and purses are welcome. Items that look worn out will be discarded, so it would be a kindness to those who sort the clothes if you’d do the discarding at home. The test: Imagine having you or someone in your family wear it to a public event. If that makes you uncomfortable, don’t donate it.
• The book sellers do not accept magazines, nor do they accept textbooks, or books that are missing pages or afflicted with mold or mildew. Putting grown-up books in one bag or box, and children’s books in another would be helpful.
• When to drop off items: The Meeting House is open to receive donations (elephants, clothing and books) during the week preceding the Strawberry Festival, Monday through Thursday from noon through 8:00 p.m. Anyone bringing things on Friday from noon to 6:00 should be prepared to price everything brought, and help place it in the appropriate place in the meeting house. Please, [insert the plaintive pleading sound of violins here] bring your donations as early in the week as possible. Under no circumstances can we accept elephant donations late Friday after 6:00 or (Horrors!) on Saturday morning, unless you are willing to arrive before 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, price all items yourself, and set them out in the appropriate place on the Meeting House benches with their elephantine brethren.
• No large furniture items. Alas, we do not have sufficient resources to deal with donations of large furniture items (sofas, large upholstered pieces, armoires, large headboards, etc.). It has been our experience that purchasers of such a thing expect us either to deliver the piece or allow them to leave it in the Meeting House until they can come later in the week and pick it up. We can’t do that. Also, we are not able to accept mattresses for re-sale, and we will not accept large computer monitors — no one wants them now that flat monitors are reasonably priced.
• Nice items go into Silent Auction: Really nice items sometimes are plucked from the herd of elephants and added to the Silent Auction. If you suspect you are donating such an item, you might mention it to the person on duty at the Meeting House, and/or to the coordinator of Silent Auction. It is your responsibility, however, to refrain from becoming offended if the Silent Auction folks decide that what you’re offering is not, after all, an auction item, but an elephant.
• Pricing and sorting can be fun: Sorting and pricing elephants, books, and clothing is fun and a great way to get to know people in Meeting. Sign up for time during the week, even if you plan to be working elsewhere on the day of the Festival, because you get a good idea of what you (or your designated shopper) might want to search out on Saturday morning. Bear in mind, though, that policy for White Elephants has long been that early purchases are not permitted. We recommend that if, in the course of pricing and sorting, you see something that speaks to you, that you price it sufficiently high that it will still be there when you look for it on Saturday. Coordinators for books and clothing set their own policies, which may differ.