Well, here we are, already 1/3 of the way into February, and I finally got around to cleaning out my coupon binder (Debbie, the Queen of Clutter-Free would be proud!) Who knew that I had so many expired coupons stuck in there?? Since many of you are probably cleaning house as well, I thought it might be a good time to talk about coupon organization! We all have a method to our madness - and what works for one might not work for another. Here's your chance to share what works best for you and get some ideas from others.
First, I'd like to share what works best for me (Jamie).
This is a picture of me at Bi-Lo, with my coupon binder and my little store divider. This happens to be the system that works for me:
1) I use the large coupon binder, with baseball-card holder pages, to organize my coupons. The baseball-card holders are perfect for keeping blinkies, clipped coupons, and printables all tidily divided up into convenient categories. I divide my binder into THREE main categories (based on the layout of my favorite grocery)-
- Health & Beauty
- Produce/Meat/Packaged Foods
- Frozen/Dairy
I then divide those categories into more specific sub-categories (i.e. Teeth, Shampoo, Cereals, Pasta, Canned Goods, etc…) If you've attended a workshop, you might have purchased a binder with an organization list already included. If so, Yay for you!
2) After I research the weekly ads & matchups, I pull out the coupons I’d like to use for each store and put them in my little purse-sized divider. I then throw it into my purse so that whenever I have time to stop at a store, I have my favorite coupon-matchups ready to go! My little store divider is categorized like this:
- Publix,
- Bi-Lo
- Food Lion
- CVS
- Walgreens
- Rite-Aid
- Target
- and “Other”(which is where I keep high-value coupons that will work well just about anywhere)
I like to bring my big binder with me, in case I find an unadvertised deal or something that has been clearanced - but the little divider keeps me focused on the deals I came for.
3) And now, I will humbly admit to you that I do not always find the time to actually clip my inserts or printables (GASP!!). That is why I actually have a THIRD system for keeping printables and newspaper inserts organized until I get to them! I have a cheap expanding file that I drop the inserts into, according to the week they came out. (TIP: If you aren’t sure what week they’re from, you can find the date on the spine in tiny print.)
Despite all the pains I take to keep my coupons “ready for action”- there are some, in reality, that are still hanging out in my minivan, on top the breadbox, and under stacks of mail. I’m an unorganized procrastinator at heart, and yet, I still manage to save 50%-90% per shopping trip. I hope this not only gives you a couple storage ideas for starting out, but also encourages you to “soldier on” in your efforts to save money for your family with couponing (Even IF you are organizationally-challenged like I am!)
Okay, enough about me! What organization system do YOU use to help corral all those valuable coupons? Post a link to your own blog post touting your method below!
