Zac considers himself worthy of a tax deduction!
No, I’m not talking about paying lower taxes, nice as that would be. I’m a single empty nester now, so I’m no longer a “head of household” nor do I get deductions for the offspring (why can’t Zac the cat qualify?). It really hurt when my younger child became independent, but I just take a deep breath and remembered that I also don’t pay college tuition anymore.
The last few years I have filed later than usual–often just a week before the deadline. For years I had filed as early as possible in order to apply for financial aid for the kids’ education, but nowadays, well, I procrastinate. It’s not that I find plowing through the tax software especially difficult, tedious as it may be. It’s not that I get angry about doing taxes, either. I just know how long time it takes me to organize all my donations. My worldly possessions have gone through quite a lot of decluttering these last few years, and I am determined to capture as much as possible for itemized deductions.
Despite a recent big move across the country, I still had too much stuff. The decluttered piles would begin to overflow in my garage. Eventually, I would take photos to document the clothes, books, kitchenware, and other miscellaneous objects I was about to pack into my car. All year long, I would collect receipts and carefully file them away for tax day. Then I would start listing everything; I even have a spreadsheet with categories.
First, I sort through the photos and set aside the donation ones. Then I organize the photos by categories: clothing, kitchen, entertainment, furniture. Finally, when I can’t avoid it any longer, I examine each photo and list the items on my donation spreadsheet. Each photo reminds me of how far I’ve come over the last years, especially photos of all the children’s clothing that I finally, finally decluttered and donated. I know that I miss items because sometimes I have already packed the stuff in bins or bags and forget to take photos of everything all laid out. Oh well. Next year.
Off to the charity shop!
The first year of Florida decluttering was astonishing, especially as I thought I had done a good job of selling or donating my stuff before the move. I had 8 receipts from the charity shop (that’s 8 full carloads), 2 from a furniture charity shop (adios bookcases and china cabinet), and 5 from the public library (over 140 books, 40 CDs, and 15 DVDs)! It was like seeing a whole year of minimalism assembled in front of me. On the one hand, I felt pretty good about it. On the other, I was exhausted and determined not to accumulate so much stuff ever again. My refund, while smaller than my offspring-deduction years, was still a nice reward for the time and effort I put into decluttering my home.
The good news is that it gets easier over time. It’s been a couple of years since I began to minimize my possessions in a major way. I don’t have nearly as much excess stuff anymore. I’m also in a smaller house now, which naturally prevents me from acquiring too much. Where would I put it? I continue to re-evaluate my desire to hold onto certain possessions, so the decluttering continues, just at a slower pace. Now I usually make donations once a season. I won’t have much to itemize for deductions next year, but I’m not sorry. It’s a sign of progress for this minimalist. It also won’t take so much time to file next year’s taxes!
RESOURCES
Budgets are Sexy (J. Money)
Cait Flanders (Cait Flanders, formerly “Blonde on a Budget”)
Dave Ramsey (Dave Ramsey)
For more resources, go to this page: Resources
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Good going! I think I’d keep that beautiful cat!
Zac the cat rules the household!