Couponing 101: Get Organzied!

Now that you have your coupon stash (or at least the tools to start one) you'll need a way to organize them! I highly recommend a system that allows you to carry ALL of them at once! I know it sounds unnecessary, but I can not count the number of times I've looked through the clearance shelves and needed a coupon that I originally hadn't planned on using, which ended up making a product free!

I won't lie....it does cost money and time to get organized! So, you may not want to jump right into a 'professional' system at first. And I know that some of the following organizers may be a little....embarassing....to walk into a store with, but after you find yourself saving at least 50% of your total bill - every time - you won't leave your coupons at home ever again! :)

Now onto the coupon organizing systems!....

Notes:

I cut all my coupons out. Some people find that keeping them as the whole inserts is easier. But everyone's different, so you need to do what works best for you!

Categories I use are:
Bath & Body - cosmetics, soaps, hair care, shaving, etc.
Baby - if you don't have a baby, you won't need this one!
Household - cleaners, toilet paper, napkins, etc.
OTC (over the counter meds) - pain relief, bug spray, sun block, first aid, etc
Grocery - All food coupons go here....this could be in a system all it's own!


1. Envelopes - This is by far the quickest way to get organized! I started out using this. I kept all those envelopes that come with junk mail and bills, and wrote my category name on the outside, then threw in my coupons! I highly recommend using the full letter size envelopes (sorry, don't know the 'official' name for them!), since coupons come in all shapes and sizes!


2. Small Accordion File - I think most of these come with tabs for labeling. Otherwise, it's pretty self explanatory!

3. Shoe Box - I think most of us have a shoe box somewhere in the house. Therefore this method is free! Or you could spend the $2.00 and get a cute photo box! Either way, you'll want to make dividers so your coupons will be halfway organized....you decide what categories work best for you and in what order. Dividers can be as simple as a 3x5 index card or as complex as modifying those tab folders dividers to fit.


4. Binder - Here's my last binder system. I have since upgraded to what you see below. This cost approximately $35 total. $10 for the binder itself (they're at Walmart!), and then about $25 for all the baseball card and photo pockets.

zippered binder= coupons stay in place! No more picking piles of coupons up off the store floor!
The front has a mesh zippered pocket where I keep my calculator.


That same mesh pocket folds out to reveal more little pockets and the flap on the left zips open where there are two more pockets!



Inside the main part there is this handy accordion file - I have yet to get it organized.


And then the rest of the binder is the same as before.