Organization

Welcome! If this is your first time here, you might like to subscribe for FREE email updates or to my RSS feed! Thanks for visiting!

So you've found and clipped coupons, and now your thinking, How am I going to keep any of this straight? Well here are some ideas to help you organize your coupons and make your shopping trips easier.

What to do with your clipped coupons:

1.Coupon Binder- This is probably the most popular way to organize your coupons, and the one I recommend. It's great because you can flip through the pages and find your coupon quickly. The downside is that it is big. I recommend finding a nice big purse with a flat bottom and putting your binder inside so that you can flip through the pages while it's in your purse. It's a little more inconspicuous and it's like having your own portable coupon filing cabinet! Here is what you will need to make your coupon binder:

• Three ring binder- This can be a basic binder or a zippered one. The advantage of a zippered binder is none of your coupons will fall out. The downfall is, if you start collecting a lot of coupons it may get to full to close.

• Dividers - You will want to get dividers to help further organize your coupons. They are great for making different categories such as Grocery, Drinks, Snacks, Baby Items, Pet Items, Health and Beauty, Household Items, Frozen Foods, Refrigerated Foods, Produce, ect. Some people organize it by product items and some do it by the way their store is laid out. The list can be as big or small as you would like. The choice is yours. I can tell you that my coupon binder has 11 categories (Grocery, Breakfast, baking, snacks, drinks, frozen, fridge, baby, household, health and beauty, and other).

• Page Protectors - You will want to get a good size package of baseball card protector pages (about 50 to start) They have 9 different pockets to put coupons in. You should be able to find these anywhere that baseball cards or trading cards are sold (I found mine at Target, and on eBay). Also, I would recommend some regular page protectors to throw in the back. I use them for different store coupons or catalinas. I have one for Safeway, Walgreens, Target, Rite Aid, and one for FREE item coupons. Of course you can use the baseball card protectors, but I just find it easier to have a full size protector for these categories.

Now that you have all your supplies all you need are your coupons! This system will cost you some money out of pocket, but being organized will save you TONS of money down the road. Stores always have clearance items or unadvertised sales, and having your coupons with you will help you take advantage of all those savings!

2.Envelope Method - This is a pretty simple method. All you need to do is write down the category on the outside of the envelope, fill it with the corresponding coupons, slide them all into a cute small bag (such as a makeup bag) and put it in your purse! Some people love this because it is much smaller than the binder, but you will still need to thumb through the coupons to find the one you are looking for.

3.The Box Method - Some people like to file all their coupons in a box and then pull out the ones they want to take to the store with them.

There are many different ways to organize your coupons. Just find the one that works for you and go with it!



What to do with your Coupon Inserts

You will want to keep and organize your coupon inserts also. Whenever you get your Sunday paper, I recommend clipping the coupons that you know your family will use or can donate. There is always a need (in every community), so if you can get an item for free or cheap, why not pass it along!

Don't try to clip every coupon! It takes way to long, and you probably won't use them all. Once your done clipping, I recommend writing the date on the front of the insert and filing it away somewhere. You never now when a great deal (or moneymaker) will come along and you need an old coupon. Remember, sometimes you need to buy items you don't need, in order to get the ones you do need.



What to do with your Expired coupons

Once a month I go through my binder and pull out the expired coupons. It doesn't take much time, and I usually do it while I watch a TV show. Sometimes it feels like I have so many expired coupons, and I hate to through them away. Well, then I found out that overseas military families can use coupons for several months after the expiration date. If you would like to send your expired coupons, mail them to:

Overseas Coupon Program
c/o ArmyHousehold6
5804 Harr Ave Unit D
Colorado Springs, CO 80902

These coupons must be clipped and they can only be from newspapers or magazines. No internet coupons. Also, they must be within 3 months of the expiration date.