Eager for Treasure, Not Trash

Some charities have rules that prevent them from accepting certain types of donations. For example, some cannot accept donations containing alcohol, which could include mouthwash.

A few simple rules can help donors ensure that their contributions will be of value to the people they hope to help.

The first thing donors can do is pitch the hole-filled jeans and the couch with the stuffing pulled out, items that could end up at the dump anyway, Garnette said.

"I used to think you shouldn't throw anything away," she said. But after spending three days sifting through donations in the thrift shop run by SERVE Inc., she came to realize that "sometimes the trash is a really appropriate place."

For salvageable items, it helps to make sure they are clean and in good repair so that the nonprofit does not have to spend extra time or money fumigating or fixing anything, she said.

The next thing people can do is call the shelters or nonprofits in advance to see if they have space or use for the items. Many organizations have wish lists for the items they most need or guidelines for things they do not accept.

"We try to be as selective as possible," said Michele Booth Cole, executive director of the D.C. Children's Advocacy Center, which serves children who have been physically or sexually abused.

In addition to the practical limitations on space and resources in the small office, Cole said the center prefers gifts that further its mission.

"We help children who have been abused. People have lied to them, treated them badly. . . . We want to give items to the children to boost their self-esteem and make them feel good about themselves," she said.

The nonprofit's online wish list asks for brand-new clothes and specific kinds of lotion or soap.

Miriam's Kitchen, a soup kitchen based in Washington, sets similar standards.

"We want high-quality, nutritious food" for the 200 homeless people the kitchen feeds every morning, said executive director Scott Schenkelberg. "This may be the only hot meal that they get throughout the day," he said.

Menus are carefully planned and feature fresh produce and meats rather than the leftover holiday cookies from someone's office party "or the sodium-laden canned foods that may have been in the back of someone's pantry for a long time."

"If you wouldn't eat it, don't assume because someone's hungry or homeless, they would eat it," Schenkelberg said, spelling out the golden rule of giving that can be applied to toys, clothes or any other gift.

"If you would not use it or wear it, probably our folks won't, either," Garnette echoed.

As for the mountains of clothes and toys and furniture and appliances that pass that test, "we'd love to have them," she said.