Dear   ,    

It just started snowing here in Mashpee - AGAIN!  For you skiers, snowboarders and lovers of natural beauty out there, this may be good news, but for many of us, it has started to feel a little overwhelming.

Sometimes it can feel like that when we're dealing with all our "stuff" - it can be beautiful (and important and memory-laden), but when it piles up too much, it can get in the way of other activities you really want to do.  Sometimes you just finish shoveling out from one pile when another one comes in to take its place!  Sadly, unlike the snow, if you just wait for your stuff to melt away, it never does.  At some point you need to get out the shovel, enlist a few friends or hire a professional to help you take it away, or at least organize it into fun and practical shapes.

So this month, we'll be talking about ways to get rid of items that can be returned instead of trashed, and a few thoughts on digging out from under your piles of paper.  The snow may have stuck us inside, but we can still clear a nice, neat path!

- Maryann Murphy, MSW

Putting Paper in its Place - Receipts

Got paper?  Too much paper?  Whether you've gotten help before and just need a refresher, or you're trying to do it on your own but are having trouble keeping motivated, couldn't you use some daily words of encouragement, guidance and advice? 

Starting on April 1st (no joke!) I will be offering a 28-day success program called "Putting Paper in its Place" to help you get control of all that paper clogging your tabletops, desktops, chairs, beds and floors!  This will be an action oriented, 28-day email program to help you manage the paper that threatens to overrun your life!  Look for more details next month on how you can sign up.  In the meantime, here is a preview of one topic we will cover, with specific suggestions for dealing with receipts.

Tax time is coming 'round again, and many people are scrambling to find receipts for items they want to deduct, or are handing over cartons of receipts to their accountants and bookkeepers, and looking for them to make sense of it all.  How can we keep better track of receipts as they come in, and create a system that makes sense to the IRS and is easy for us to maintain?

• Now is a great time to create a list of categories for receipts you need to save, beginning with your tax expense and deduction categories.  Create and label a separate folder for each category, and dedicate a separate file box or section of a file drawer to your packet of folders for the year.  Some possible categories:
• Utilities
• Home improvements
• Medical
• As you bring receipts home, drop them in the appropriate folder, placing the newest ones in the back according to the date purchased. Any receipts that are NOT from this year should go into the appropriate year's folder or be tossed if no longer relevant.
• To make the information easier to find at tax time, I circle the date and the total amount on each receipt as I process them. Since different vendors put the date in different places, it saves time and a lot of frustration later.  
• For major appliances, equipment, and any items with a warranty you intend to use, keep the receipt with the warranty and instruction manuals.  You may want to put a copy of the receipt in the relevant folder.
• At the end of the year, start a new set of folders and pull out the old ones for your tax preparation.  You will save time and money (paying your accountant to sort through a disorganized box of receipts), and make your accountant very happy.

Digital organization. There are multiple electronic systems that will scan your receipts and automatically create reports of what you've purchased.  Although they attempt to "read" the receipt and place the information into the correct categories, you do have to check to be sure they do this accurately.  They are great for reducing the amount of paper you have to keep, and the IRS does accept scanned receipts in place of paper ones as long as they follow certain guidelines. Check out http://www.neat.com for a DIY scanner, or www.shoeboxed.com for a receipt-scanning service.

A final note:  Remember that you don't need to save ALL your receipts! Get rid of receipts for any personal expenses that are: 

• Not tax-related 
• Not required for some other legal reason or for the future sale of your home
• Not going to be returned.

Don't forget: 

Look for info on my new 28-day paper management success program, coming soon.