Organize Coupons

You can buy a "coupon organizer", but you can make one easily. Go to Office Max and they have these little coupon size plastic pendaflex type file folders. Make a tab for coupon groups: snacks, non-food, soups, condiments, frozen, etc.

A., Yes, I believe I have a solution for you. I am a working mom of two daughters and rely on every spare second to stay organized and on top of things. What I do to keep my coupons organized is this: I keep a skinny binder in my car. I keep current coupons in that binder so that when I am out and about and ready to shop I do not have to experience the frustration of knowing that the coupon is at home. Now I keep my car totally cleared out on a daily basis. My kids are trained to take all personal items, including trash, out of the car the minute they leave the car. So I never need to clean out my car. (except to vacuum it). Two other things to keep in mind: don't over collect coupons. Truly only keep the ones that you are 90 percent sure you will use or that you know are items that you habitually buy. Second, use time in your car...like while you are waiting for someone to get out of school, etcetera, to periodically weed through the binder and remove and toss the expired coupons. This keeps your binder uncluttered and then it is so easy to find the ones you need when you need them. Also, when I collect a small stack of coupons on my kitchen desk, I just run them out to my binder in the car. I never take the binder out of the car for anything. That way it always stays organized. This system works great for me, I hope it works for you, too. Good luck! K. T.

Hi A.!

I am a "creature of habit" so this may sound a little "over-the-top" for organization :o) But that's just me!

I shop at the same grocery store, and go the exact same "route" each time I go. This includes going up and down every aisle. My coupon organizer is organized by aisle, and not by food category. My grocery store had/still has a flyer of the aisle and which products are on each aisle, so it was easy for me to organize this way. Any simple plastic divider wallet (that expands) can work for organizing coupons. I even saw them at the $1 Store the other day.

Another thing I organize are all my "cards". You know, like ALL the extra credit card sized cards we have for dining out, or discounts or the Library. Well, I punch a hole in the same corner of each of them, and put them on a key chain so they are always together, and always in my van to grab. I finally remember to use them regularly :O)

Happy organizing!

~N. :o)

Hello A.:
I WAS SHOPPING A FEW WEEKS AGO AND TALKED WITH A WOMAN THAT HAD CREATED THE MOST INVENTIVE BINDER. SHE HAD DIFFERENT SECTIONS FOR TYPES OF CUPONS. SHE HAS THEM MARKED ACCORDING TO EXPERATION DATES. THEY WERE IN THE LITTLE POCKETS THAT BASEBALL CARDS GO IN. IT DIDN'T SEEM TO HARD TO MAKE AND IT MADE IT VERY EASY TO SHOP WITH.
IN FACT THEY CHECKED FOR THE ITEMS I WAS BUYING SO IT WAS A NICE WAY TO SHARE.
HOPE THIS HELPS YOU; NANAGLENDA

I wrote a post all about organizing your coupons. Here is the link:
http://mmkmoney.blogspot.com/2008/10/coupon-organizing.html

J.

I use three envelopes. I marked one paper products, one household and one for food. The envelopes keep the coupons together. When I leave the house to shop, I usually take out the coupons I think I will use. If it were easier for you, you could bring the envelopes.

I scanned a few of the posts - I keep coupons in one of those coupon organizers, that I got from the dollar store. My trick is to put the organizer in with my reusable bags. Now that I am doing both the reusable bags and the coupon organizer, I actually remember the darn things when I shop!

I used to alphabetize all my coupons, but it was really time consuming. Here's what I do now: I do use a small accordion file and keep it in my purse- otherwise, it's never around when I need it. I have the file split into 7 areas:

1) "FREE" (coupons that get me free stuff - I have a separate section for them so I don't forget to use them :)
2) FOOD (food that goes in a cupboard/cabinet that doesn't need refrigeration once it's open)
3) COLD FOOD (food that needs refrigeration or freezing)
4) NON-FOOD (TP, Napkins, Pet Food)
5) TOILETRIES AND MEDICATIONS (I tend to have a lot of coupons for these items)
6) MISC. (Coupons for pizza, restaurants, JO-Ann's, etc.)
7) GIFT CARDS (So I always have any gift cards I've been given when I'm actually at the stores!)

I always file new coupons I clip in the back of each section, so each month or so when I go through the coupons to get rid of the expired ones, most of the expired ones are at the front of each section. Also, I never clip any coupon for less than 50 cents off something-it's just not worth the hassle to me :). If this is all confusing and you have questions, feel free to email me off line :).

There are coupon organizers that go in your purse, I have found them at our local dollar store and even at our local Staples and wal mart. I am sure you can google them, they are really inexpensive, and already have the dividers for different types of coupons!

you can buy wallet like coupon organizers. I used to have one and it worked GREAT. Most of them have tabbed dividers and category stickers for them. And they are really cheap. I think they still run only about 5 dollars.

Here's a link to what I had for mine.

http://www.lillianvernon.com/catalog/product_display.jsp?...

I use an accordian coupon file. I think I got it from the dollar store. Label each section and then after I make my shopping list I pull coupns for the items I need. Hope this helps.

I got this idea from a customer that came into my store and just started using it year. I keep them in a plastic zipper pocket (the kind found in Franklin organizers) in my purse and sort them by expiration date.