Back to the beginning - Couponning 101 - pt 2 (Getting organized)

Getting organized:

Okay, you know where to use your coupons, but how do you get them to the store and into the cashier's hand without melting down?  Coupons that sit in an envelope in the kitchen don't do you any favors... and if you can't find the coupon you need at any given time, then you won't be able to use it...

So we need to get organized... and here is the handout I gave last night... followed by what I do

Where to keep your coupons

1.       Binder

a.       Pros: easy to maintain and view coupons at a glance

b.      Cons: large and bulky in store (especially with kids)

2.       Accordion organizer

a.       Pros: smaller ‘wallet’ size, tabs

b.      Cons: need to clip and sort

3.       Two pocket folder &envelope

a.       Pros: for label and match or judicious clipper, keeps all coupons together before  clipping, allows you to take just the coupons you need to the store on any given trip

b.      Cons: requires planning for each store trip

Other helpful tools

1.       Scissors

2.       Paper clips

3.       Envelopes

4.       Calculator

5.       Pen/pencil


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What do I do?

I have a 2 part, 2 inch zipper binder with several binder pockets that velcro shut.  I keep a pair of scissors, some paperclips and an extra envelope in my binder.

It is divided this way: 

One binder pocket  for each of the following type of insert:

Smartsource

Red Plum

Proctor and Gamble / General Mills etc

Store hand-outs

Extras and trades (coupons that don't have a home)

I then use the other part of the binder for my printables... if I can, I print grocery coupons seperately then go back and print household coupons, then go back and print personal/drug coupons, then baby coupons, then my specialty coupons so that they print on different pages and finally I have a section for $ off $$ coupons

I then have dividers for these sections.

I don't cut any coupons until I have my shopping list made - I print my shopping list and then clip the coupons I want and put them all together in a final   .

I take my whole binder with me to the store on most occasions in case I find an unadvertised special or I just happen to find myself in need of a store...

I pull my expired coupons every few weeks and save them for the military program (more on that in a future installment)

How do you organize your coupons?  What do you like about it, dislike?