You know what drives me crazy?

Searching through file cabinets, drawers, dusty cardboard boxes and glove compartments every January to locate 12 months of tax records. It’s just not my idea of a good time.

If you look forward to starting each New Year with an Uncle Sam-sponsored scavenger hunt, stop reading and proceed as usual.

Everyone else, consider cutting down on your holiday hassle by doing a quick, mid-year tax check. You’ve heard of Christmas in July. Well, call this an IRS party in July.

This doesn’t have to take a lot of time. Simply grab a folder (or a scanner) and scour your home for any tax-related documents.

In addition to tracking down receipts, medical bills, pay stubs, property tax paperwork and anything involving major life changes (such as marriage, adoption or childbirth), take inventory of any other potential tax breaks.

For example, if you volunteer at church or a local nonprofit, make a quick spreadsheet that tracks your mileage to and from the location. You should be able to deduct it later.

Also take stock of any charitable contributions, including clothing (dig those Goodwill receipts out of your wallet) and mileage to and from the donation site.

This may not be the most fun hour of your summer, but trust me—it’s a lot easier to take care of it now. Come January, are you really going to remember how many bags of clothes you donated the previous March?

Once you’ve tracked everything down, stuff it into a folder, stash it away and you’re done—at least until next year—when you’ll thank yourself for making the usually dreadful tax season so effortless.