Organize those taxes {Elmer's #XACTO}

Did anyone else spend their weekend working on taxes?

Either getting your documents together for your tax pro OR doing them yourself?

We did but.... I'm happy to say they're ALL DONE :)

Phew!

Let's take a peek at how I do my taxes.

But first, let me preface by admitting that I am a minimization freak. I think I am allergic to paper piles and clutter.  It's true.  I have a good system that works for me, starting with when the mail arrives.  Each piece ends up in 1 of 3 places:

1. Trash/Recycle bin {flyers, magazines, etc.}
2. The shredder {junk mail}
3. Filed {see my purple filing box below}

100% of my bills are paid through my bank's billpay so there's no paper bills to open, stamp with date paid and file.  I have folders in my e-mail labeled "Billpay" with sub-folders depending on the company, {cable, telephone, utilities, etc.} and after I pay the bill, they are filed in the right category. Easy peasy!

Alright, let's take a look-sie at how this whole process went down....

I have to work in a clutter-free station in order to stay focused at the task on hand so a cleared off dining room table is a must.  Fly away little birdies! 

Much better.

A nice sharp pencil with a good eraser is priority for all my notes, reminders and quick calculations.  What's that chic black pencil sharpener you spy with your little eye?  Oh, that's the X-ACTO Spira electric pencil sharpener I recently snagged at Walmart:

  That's right, folks, I sharpen in style ;) 

And you know the #XACTO pencil sharpener is good quality because it's made by Elmer's.  {Click here to snag a coupon off your own sharpener.}

  You can check out my shopping experience here... and yes, letting my 20-month old bring two blankey's, a toy and bag of popcorn to munch on IS how I get through a store lickity quick with no fuss ;) 

And how I get through doing my taxes without fussing is with an ice cold diet soda.  Mmm! 

My iPhone is also a must. I ♥ the calculator on it and use it for all my number crunching.  There's the purple filing box I mentioned earlier {also snagged at Walmart.}  All of my files are in alphabetical order for easy finding.  I'm sure one day I'll have them all match with the cute pattern files  :)

That's it. After a few days of sorting through the files for the correct data to enter into our fav online software, we happily discovered we are getting a return this year.  Momma needs a sectional and am looking forward to that money!

What are you buying with your return?

Any tips on how you organize for taxes?

:)

Note: This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias #CBias. Of course, all opinions are my very own :)