Kim Kubsch

Are you busy decluttering documents as you prepare your income tax return? Or trying to find time for spring cleaning? Or maybe feeling your countertops, dressers, and flat surfaces are cluttered? These practical purging practices may ease some stress.

Concerned about protecting your identity? You should be! To avoid constantly tearing off your address from incoming paper mail, purchase a privacy stamp or ID guard stamp roller to roll black ink over your identity.

Set up a system to organize your documents. Use it all year long to assure that tax documents for annual preparation can be easily found. Whether it is paper docs in file folders or electronic docs in email folders, in folders on a desktop, or Google Docs accessible anywhere, be consistent. My book Getting Your Life Together Organizer is an ideal method to keep all important documents in one place for use now and in the afterlife. The print version, available on Amazon, can be easily converted into a binder with insert pages, and the downloadable and editable eBook format is easy to share with loved ones. Both are available on www.JoyfulDownsizing.com.

If you do not itemize, it doesn’t pay to scurry around to find receipts for every little expense. Keep in mind that you are not getting a dollar-for-dollar reduction. Depending on your tax bracket, for every $1 in additional deduction you find, you save 12 to 36 cents. Be practical—don’t sweat the small stuff.

Receipts are only necessary for charitable contributions of $250 or more. For those worth more than $5,000, a professional appraisal of your items is necessary. Always confirm tax practices with your tax preparer in your state.

Are paperclips on your desktop or desk drawers difficult to keep tidy? Stop wasting time and buy magnetic desk accessories to corral clips.

A practical storage solution for narrow silverware drawers is a compact cutlery organizer by Joseph Joseph. This four-inch-wide holder stacks a full set of flatware. Should you prefer to keep two sets of cutlery, this narrow configuration may be the best space saver!

Bathrooms often seem to be short of easy-access storage. Try a decorative medicine cabinet framed in wood with an open shelf below the mirrored cabinet doors. While the traditional shallow medicine cabinet is inexpensive, the decorative type can make a room shine. Plus, it will be far more functional.

Before you dump extra pillboxes, consider storing rings, earrings, and delicate bracelets in them. Use a Sharpie to label an address label and adhere to cover the pillbox label.

Practical storage containers ideally are clear, stackable, and have a latch to secure items. The exception to this tip is for wool clothing. Breathable boxes are better than plastic bins for storing clothes that need airflow, such as wool sweaters. Keep in mind that they are not moth-proof.

By putting these purging tips into practice, time will be saved, frustration will be reduced, and appearances will be tidy rather than cluttered!

To propel your downsizing efforts prior to your transition, contact me for a FREE 30-minute consultation. Contact me at 480-720-8566 or [email protected].

Check back monthly for more ideas about organizing, decluttering, and downsizing! Visit www.JoyfulDownsizing.com to order my book Getting Your Life Together Organizer, available in printed paperback or downloadable and editable eBook.