Fall is here.... now what?
If the calendar didn't say so the weather today sure did.... it's Fall.
September 22 is the first official day of fall this year. What better time to begin going through all your fall and winter clothes from last year to see what is no longer your style or what doesn't fit just right.
Clothing re-sale shops (such as Spanky's in Vancouver, Here We Go Again in Portland or just about any other consignment shop) take in clothes based on the season that they are worn. Right now they are taking winter clothing. If you wait until November or December it will be too late to get your winter clothes into consignment shops. However donation locations, such as Goodwill or Salvation Army will gladly take these and offer you a tax write-off.
Speaking of which, most people underestimate the value of their donated items. There are great tools available to help you determine the value of your donations. My personal favorite is 'It's Deductible' by TurboTax (http://turbotax.intuit.com/personal-taxes/itsdeductible/index.jsp). This program is available online (link above) and best of all it's FREE!
Once you have gathered all your items together that you plan to donate take a few minutes before running off and do the following steps... I promise in the event of an audit you will thank me.
1) Lay out every item so that you can see it through the lens of a camera (if it's clothes it doesn't have to show the whole shirt, but enough to be able to verify the condition/style.
2) Take photos of everything (I lay o
ut clothes- folded- so that you can see each piece) You can get several items in each picture. Digital photos are great because you can download and save them as well as print several on a single piece of paper.
3) While items are laid out, write down how many of each type of item you are donating (i.e. (3) turtlenecks, (4) ceramic mugs, ...)
4) Now gather everything up in a box or bag and load them up. If you're not ready to take everything to the donation center, assign a place in your garage/basement where you can continue to add items as you wish.
5) Load everything up once you're ready to go to the donation center. When you drop them off be sure to get a tax deduction receipt. When you get home take the list of items you wrote up, the photos of the items and the tax receipt and staple them together. Now they are ready to place in your tax file for the year.
It sounds like a lot of work but when you get ready to complete your taxes for the year you'll find this not only saves you a lot of time, but also rewards you with a hefty deduction!
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