This question stems from the article Maria posted on Closet organization back in April 2012.

I have a question on how to do a valuation of the items in your donation bag for tax purposes.

My greatest challenge is to create this valuation list for the bag(s) of donate-able items....
I have accumulated several bags, yet I don't drop them off at Goodwill or whatever charity BECAUSE I have not
created a list for tax purposes. My clutter is *almost* out the door, but stalled.

Can you help me find a painless way to create the list while I am filling the bag, and/or offer any suggestions
on how to make the process easier?

Thank you!

Jackie

Hi Gardengrrl!

When I start purging my clothes I take a piece of paper and list things like jeans, t-shirts, skirts. As I toss them I make a strike out list of how many items I'm tossing. (you know, four bars and a strike through equals 5 items) If something has tags on it still I note it next to the "count".

If you do a search for tax values for used clothing, you will find a lot of websites with guidelines for pricing.

Hope that helps! I'll be switching my clothes this weekend, and I'm sure I'll be donating a lot too.

Gardengrrl: Waterlady is right - if you do a search, you'll find tax values for used clothing. Also, if you go to the websites for places like Goodwill and Salvation Army, they too have suggested values listed.

My own "quick" method of setting a value is assume most of what I am donating have a value of $.50 to $1 (what I would price them at a yard sale if I were to have one) and fit at least 10 items per bag, so that each bag would be valued at either $5 or $10 depending on the items (a bag of 10 blouses will be valued at $5 and a bag of 10 dresses or 5 dresses and 5 jackets will be valued at $10).