Foundation is the soul of your flow.
Blueprint JOYS - A Creative Spark for Your Home Filing System
I am putting the final touches on a project I have been working on for months. The first component, a blueprint which is an inspiring outline of the much bigger and better things to come.
It provides insights for anyone trying to get a handle on their papers.
And, it’s for anyone who dares to think differently about paper and the decisions they represent.
It contains first steps and creative sparks.
It explores rules to break and things to consider.
It represents my philosophy on how the choices we make, the things we do and the responsibilities we have all relate to each other. And those choices, things and responsibilities influence our happiness and peace of mind.
It represents my approach to getting papers organized, which by-the-way is a creative and very visual right-brained method, with a huge lefty analytical influence. I walk the line, my brain is split right down the middle.
I can't wait to share it with you.
I was inspired to collect this information for you because Lorie Marrero @ Clutter Diet is really rocking her new position as Goodwill's national spokesperson and ambassador of the Donate Movement. Help support your local community and the environment, donate your good stuff.
But don't forget to keep good records if you taking that charitable donation deduction.
BTW, the clutterdiet link is an affiliate link, cause clutterdiet is pretty awesome too.
So here are three techie ways to keep track of your charitable donations.
There's an App for That
I love my iPhone, but I am still a total newbie in the app department. I was intrigued by iDonatedIt because I like smartphone apps better than web apps, for one reason, convenience. I pretty much always have my phone with me, I can't say that about my laptop.
iDonatedIt was created by BMG Certified Public Accountants, LLP. It's ok. It took me a minute to figure out how to use it and it is definitely lacking in the Fair Market Value department for many items. But I have a feeling everything is going to pale in comparison to the TurboTax ItsDeductable database. I would say most of the reviews for iDonatedIt are fair. So, judge for yourself.
Online with TurboTax ItsDeductable
Easily tracks thousands of donated items including volunteer expenses like mileage and cash donations. For FREE. ItsDeductable Online provides extensive Fair Market Values for your non-cash donations and you can import the information into TurboTax for easier tax prep. Love that, even though I don't use TurboTax. I just pay my accountant a whole lot of cash. :)
Online with Charitydeductions.com
Try if for free, then 19 bucks a year, but with 100,000+ fair market values backed by thousands of completed auction eBay® transactions this is very comprehensive. Pretty awesome actually, for determining a really solid Fair Market Value.
It also keeps track of cash contributions and volunteer expenses including milage. In addition, Chairydedcutions.com claims to comply with IRS approved valuation methods. So, for some of you this might totally be worth it, especially if you are donating higher quality stuff. But look at ItsDeductable Online first.
The receipt from the charity including the charity name and address.
Photos of the items donated.
A printed record of how you determined your FMV
If possible, the date of purchase, original price paid with original receipts.
Before you put that piece of cake in your mouth. Before you purchase the must have. Before you commit to a gathering. Before you take on another project. Before you do anything.
Ask yourself is it worth the calories?
The energy of my time. The energy of my hard earned dollar.
Will it bring me joy?
Joy in flavor, in people, in memories, in knowledge.
Does it make me smile?
Just something to think about. Cause some things are worth every bite! And others...
