the years.  Are the closets and storage areas filled with toddler toys and your kids are just entering high school?  Are the bathroom and kitchen cabinets overstuffed with contents? And what about the garage? Can you fit the number of vehicles it was design for?

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For many people the act of sorting through and organizing items cluttering up their home is tantamount to an IRS audit. But if an organized approach it taken, it can be as easy as eating a sandwich, “one bite at a time.”

 

When you start to evaluate your home for clutter, begin in a single area such as a basement storage area or garage storage room. Sort through the items with the mindset of “when was the last time I actually used this?” Anything that makes it past the “no brainer” decision to toss it into the trash can be grouped into the following categories:

 

Items for Online Sales: for items of quality and marketable value, you may want to consider posting them on social media sites. Facebook has local selling groups that are a wonderful way to sell or dispose of items you no longer want. You will be amazed at how quickly you can dispose of an unwanted item when you post it for free.

 

Items for Garage Sale: depending of the quantity of and quality of the items you want to dispose of, hosting a garage sale could be a relatively profitable endeavor. Box up these items and put them in the garage or prominent area of the house that will motivate you to hold the sale. When the day comes for the sale, keep in mind that you are not running a retail store and that the main goal is to get rid of the items. Then you do your preparation and pricing, value the items to sell. At the end of the day, any unsold items can be donated to a local charity.  

 

Items for Donation: if the thought of hosting a garage sale and having strangers rummaging through your personal items isn’t that appealing, a quick call to your local Charity may be a logical next step. In addition to doing a good service, you’ll able to deduct the value of these items on your income taxes.

You will also be surprised at how quickly the values of donated items add up.  There is a great online service (www.itsdeductableonline.com) that can help you organize, document and assign a value to the items.  Once you create an account, it allows you to record your donations into preconfigured categories. It also has suggested donation values. They couldn’t have made it easier for you!

 

Items for Long-Term Storage: this would include anything that you will not immediately need at your new home but needs to be saved. Items include childhood memorable for the kids, family heirlooms, pictures, etc. Seasonal clothes are also items that fit into this category. Pack everything up in boxes and don’t forget to mark the side of the box with the contents.