Many of you may become a few thousand dollars richer, because the average tax refund this year is about $3,000, according to IRS agency chief Douglas H. Shulman. Although I've been seeing a few Facebook statuses about using the money to buy a new pair of shoes or bags, there are more financially savvy ways to spend your tax windfall. Here's what you can do with it:

• Pay off high-interest debt. Make a dent in your debt by using your refund check to pay it off. Lowering the amount you owe, whether it be credit card debt or car loans, means reducing the interest you'll be paying. Paying less interest will equate to more savings down the road. Be smart when choosing to pay off debt and keep in mind that paying down debt might result in a lower credit limit.
• Emergency fund. If you're living paycheck to paycheck, this might be a good time to save some money for a rainy day. Anything can happen these days — you may have to pay for unexpected fixes on your car or you might even lose your job (knock on wood) — so you really need to have some extra financial padding to get you through the tough times. If you have a lot of high-interest debt to pay off, you may want to use most of your refund to pay off the debt, then squirrel away a portion of it toward your emergency fund. It's good to have at least six months to a year of emergency savings.
• Green your home. Make your home more eco-friendly by purchasing Energy Star appliances that will save you money on utilities. Figure out if your home can improve on insulation by using your refund to pay for a paid inspection by a professional energy auditor. Save energy and money by figuring out what works best for your house, from installing windows and doors that fit better to plugging and caulking cracks and holes.

Read on for more.

Getting dressed is a much more enjoyable process when you have a neat, organized closet to rummage through each morning. Stray belts, mismatched shoes, and a pole lined with tangled, broken hangers makes for extra, unnecessary stress. Sure, cleaning out your closet may be an elaborate process, but the results will have a major, time-saving payoff. Not sure where to begin? Follow this step-by-step guide for a smooth closet-cleaning experience:

Remove and Classify

• The first step is to take out everything — yes, absolutely everything. It's the only way to know exactly what you have and exactly what you need.
• As you remove your items, sort them into different categories: things to keep, things to store, things to give away, and things to toss. This applies to everything, from clothing and shoes to jewelry and handbags.
• Bag up the to-give and to-toss piles, then box up the seasonal items you'd like to stow away for a while. Sweaters, puffy jackets, and Winter boots take up lots of space, so keep them in a different closet or attic until the Fall.

Do a Thorough Cleanse

• Once your closet is completely cleared out, it's time to start dusting, wiping, and washing. Clean every shelf and drawer, then sweep and mop the floor.
• Consider adding an air freshener that's specifically designed for closets, like the Ornascent by Compac Closet Freshener ($12), to maintain a clean scent.

Keep reading for more closet-cleaning tips.

• How to ditch these 7 mindsets that cause you stress — HuffPost Women
• Is your salary or title more important? — Corporette
• What we can learn from the women of the Hunger Games — TrésSugar
• How to tell whether the IRS might audit you — The Jane Dough
• 15 alternative uses for nail polish — Wise Bread
• Meet America's 6 richest women — LearnVest
• Stop networking and start building better business relationships — The Grindstone
• Kiss low mortgage rates goodbye — Bankrate