The 10 Minute Tidy. Shannon McGinnis

is of great value for you to itemize your donations because you may be able accumulate a wonderful tax deduction by the end of the year. Check with your tax advisor to determine whether an itemized list of donations would qualify you for a tax benefit. It is a good idea to itemize your donations anyway, because your situation might change mid-year so even though you don’t qualify now, you may later in the year.

       If you decide to itemize your donations, make a list of all of the items in each load of donations that you take to the donation center. Your family can even help you create this list if you have a clipboard, pen and paper next to your bag of donations. Every time you have a full bag be sure that you have listed the items you are donating before you drop it off. Be sure to get and keep the receipt from the donation center.

      Using your list of donations, you can hand write an estimated value next to each item. The donation values are approximately 25% of the original cost of the item. Your list should also include how many of each item (i.e. 6 pairs of women’s dress pants) and the condition they are in (new, good or fair). The Salvation Army website also has a general valuation chart, www.salvationarmyusa.org(Donate-Receipts-Valuation Guide).

      It is also very easy to use the It’s Deductible™ program in Turbo Tax™ for inputting this data, www.turbotax.com. You select the items donated, insert the quantity and quality, and the It’s Deductible™ program gives you a list of the tax-deductible value of each category for that donation. Attach your receipt from the donation center, the printout from It’s Deductible and file it with your other tax return items.

       For donations of over $600, it is also advisable to take a photo of the items (in piles, bags, or boxes) to substantiate your contributions if you ever need to prove it for tax purposes. Print the donation photos and keep the printouts with the receipt and itemized list from It’s Deductible™. Enjoy saving money while getting rid of the stuff you no longer want!

      Tip 12 Take a Load to the Donation Center

      Now that you have the full bag, box or carload ready to be donated, be sure to get a receipt when you drop it off. To find the nearest donation center to your home, it’s easiest to look up ‘Thrift Shops’ in your local phone book’s yellow pages.

       So many people will benefit from the clothes, books, housewares, electronics, and sporting goods that you and your family no longer need. Enjoy offering all of your unwanted possessions to others as an abundance of generosity.

       Homeless shelters and women’s centers are wonderful places to donate where the recipients get to choose what they need for free. I feel truly blessed that we live in a country of such abundance that we can offer our possessions to others freely. Hopefully you, too, will feel this blessing the next time you take a load to the donation center.

      Tip 13 Look Up Freecycle.org for Your Local Area

      Freecycle.org is an amazing website resource for you to either get what you need for free or offer what you have to someone else for free. Freecycle.org has local groups that anyone can join. There are always amazing items being given away for free. You usually have to arrange pick up as there is no delivery service.

      I encourage you to use the freecycle.org network to offer others whatever you do not want and/or cannot take to a donation center.

      However, I caution you to be aware of taking in too many items from freecycle.org. Remember the goal is to stay organized and to only keep the things you love and the items you use. This is not an opportunity to acquire more junk. If you can’t resist the temptation to get a piece of exercise equipment for Uncle Bob, just be sure to freecycle it back into the community if he hasn’t used the new acquisition in three months!

      Check out this amazing resource, www.freecycle.org!

      Tip 14 Gather Items to Be Returned

      Do you have something that needs to be returned to someone? Whether it is a library book, serving bowl, or DVD, there is probably something that needs to get out of your house and be returned to the proper owner. It feels great to return an item to the store for a refund. Credit on your credit card or cash back in your pocket for returns is instant gratification.

      During this 10-Minute Tidy, gather the items that need to be returned and take them out to your car. You may also want to schedule a time to run these errands. Or, you may be able to incorporate a return while on another errand. For instance, you may be able to give a serving bowl back when you pick up your kids at school. Books for the library can be stored in a particular book bag so that they are easy to identify. Videos can be returned on the way to or from the grocery store.

      Stores appreciate it when you bring a return or exchange item in their store bag. They also often require a receipt. Don’t despair if you can’t find the receipt; stores will often offer an exchange rather than a refund if you can not find the receipt.

      You may also have things that need to be “Returned to Sender.”

       For example, Netflix DVDs, impulsive Internet purchases, or something in the wrong size are all “Return to Sender” items. It is important to schedule a time when you can ship these parcels back to their sender. Many large department, grocery, or drug stores also have Mailing Centers, which are open much later than the post office so you have more options for late night returns.

      It feels great to be able to get several of these mundane tasks accomplished. You have freed up both physical and psychic space by completing all your returns. Now you might even have more money in your pocket or have reduced your credit card bill! Congratulations!

      Tip 15 Purchase Organizing Containers

      Sometimes you need just the right container to deal with the stacks of stuff to be sorted. If you know where you want to store the items you are sorting, measure the shelves or space so that you buy the perfectly sized containers that will best fit in that area.

      There are thousands of containers to choose from. Rubbermaid™ makes some of the best, www.rubbermaid.com, in my opinion. The Container Store™, www.containerstore. com and Space Savers™, www.spacesavers.com have a wide variety of organizing supplies that can be purchased online.

      Your larger hardware stores will also have a variety of containers that you can buy locally. Plus, department stores such as Target and Wal-Mart™ have storage containers in the housewares department.

      Don’t buy too many containers before you have sorted your clutter or at least measured the area where you want the containers to be stored. Measure the depth of the closet, the height of the drawer and the length of the shelves to be sure that each container fits in that particular area.

      You can then calculate exactly how many of the same container can be stacked and stored in that space. Budget Closet™ actually designs their cabinets specifically so that the most common containers will fit side by side and easily slide onto the shelves without bumping the hinges. Fantastic!

      Tip 16 Gather Items for the Dry Cleaner and Put Them in Your Car

      Does your dry cleaning end up draped over the back of a chair or heaped in the corner of your closet for months? Create a designated bag for dry cleaning and always have that bag hanging in one specific place. Perhaps you keep the dry cleaning bag in the master bedroom closet so that the shirts and blouses that get taken off can go right into this bag. You could also keep your dry cleaning bag in the laundry room so that certain pieces of clothing go into the bag when the laundry is sorted. Pick one place and have your dry cleaning always go into the same bag.

      Once the bag is full, take the items to be dry cleaned and put them in your car for immediate drop-off. If you have a regular weekly routine, it saves you lots of time and energy to quickly grab the bag to drop off at the dry cleaners.

      Consider supporting a dry cleaner that is conveniently located for you or one that is environmentally-friendly. Yes, there actually are dry cleaners that are conscious about how their products affect