I think i just spend my WHOLE day doing this. ugg usually it isn't so bad but i had let it slide plus it's the end of the month and there also seem to be a TON of good deals this week.
I follow a couponing blog, As i get an insert from the newspaper, i usually go through it right way, clip the stuff i know we will use ( peter pan butter is the only kind the kids will eat), then save the insert because alot of times there are really good dealson things i might not normally buy ( and they have to be free for me to bother trying them) or things i know i wouldn't really need this month but again if it's free or close to free then it's worth it for me to go back to the insert and clip the coupon. ( colgate toothbrushes, mandmeaster candy)
So after i get my normal Q (coupons) out then i write the date on the front, staple the insert so the pages don't fall out and file it.
my normal q's i keep in envelops with headings that make sense to me, Dental for all the toothpaste, mouth wash etc, cereal, Snacks like chexmix or ritz crackers etc. I like the looks of the coupon organizer there was a link to but i don't feel like it's fluid enough for me. I like to make my own catagories and it would bug the heck out of me if there were 10 catagoris and i only needed 8 or if there were 10 and i needed 12. OCD i dunno.
Each sunday i go to the blog and see what things are worth stopping at rite aid, walgreens, and cvs on my way home from work on monday. Then i look through my envelops, what i don't have there, The lady that does the blog lists the inserts and the date they came out so i pull that insert and find the Q and clip it out. Then i put each Q with a list for each store and hope and pray they have everything i'm trying to get an no one is mean.
Hubby likes to do the regular grocery shop at Super Walmart once a month, so I try to pin him down and give him the regular coupons. Sometimes we shop together but then i'm usually sorry because he can zip in and out and i like to take my time, which is impossible to do when you are shopping for a whole month.
As for expired ones, i try to go through all the envelopes near the end of the month and think if i'll use them or not. otherwise I just toss it if i run across it.
oh and i've seen the baseball inserts but looks crazy hard for me, I don't have the most nimble fingers, the envelopes are faster for me to flip through.
HTH I think probably the key is just keeping on top of it, I learned lesson that today.
Happy couponing.