Coupon Organization Methods....

Once you start accumulating a nice stash of coupons, you’ll quickly find you need to come up with some method of organization. There are all sorts of ways to go about this and the most important thing is that you do what works for you. I went from an accordian style that fit in my purse to a wipe box and now to a box...

If you use more than a few coupons each week, you’ll likely quickly outgrow the little coupon organizers many stores sell and need something more substantial. There are two "popular" methods serious savers use; a box and a binder. I currently use a box but I am leaning toward doing a binder because I like to do more of the bargain and clearance hunting than just the grocery shopping.

For those of you who have asked, here’s what it looks like and how it works:

The coupons are stored in categorical envelopes. The individual envelopes were made by using small letter
envelopes (No. 6 3/4 – 3 5/8 x 6 1/2 in.), cutting the flaps off, and stapling an index card standing up inside.
The envelopes are organized alphabetically with the main categories and then multiple envelopes for each main category. Something like this:

Baby

• diapers
•  products
•  wipes

 Bags

•  containers
• foil, plastic wrap

Here are all the rest of the categories I have in my box (the items in parentheses are each of the separate envelopes):

Baking (mixes, oil/sugar)

Batteries, film

Beverages

Bread

Candy

Canned (meat, soup, vegetables, fruit)

Cereal (envelopes for each brand)

Cleaner (all purpose, bathroom, dish detergent, disinfectant, laundry, furniture polish, floor, glass)

Condiments

Crackers

Dairy (beverage, cheese, sour cream/cream cheese/butter, snacks, yogurt)

Frozen (beverage, bread, ice cream, meat, snacks, vegetables/fruit/potatoes)

Health Food

Hygiene (band-aids, deodorant, face, feminine, hair, lotion, medicine/vitamins, shaving, soap)

Jelly, Peanut Butter

Meat

Mexican

Office Supplies

Paper Products (facial tissue, cups/plates, toilet tissue, towels/napkins)

Pasta

Rice

Salad Dressing

Sauce

Seasonings

Snacks

Syrup

Toothpaste

Toothbrushes

  

I sometimes put restaurant coupons, other coupons for non-grocery stores, rebate forms, and any receipts I need to hang onto on one side of the box. The front of the box is where I stash coupons which need to be organized into the categories. I stick envelopes for each of the stores I shop at the top of the box.

When I make out my grocery lists for each store, I put the coupons I’ll be using in these envelopes, along with the lists for the store. I always bring a calculator and a pen in my box, too. The size of the container fits into the front of the shopping cart (the child seat section), and if you don’t have a child sitting in there, this works well.

Before going up to the register, I always double-check to make sure I have all of the coupons together and ready to go, as shopping with young children means I’m sometimes distracted and not as organized as I’d like to be! It’s better to realize you misplaced a coupon before you’ve already checked out!

I usually only take my whole box into the store when I go to Dillon’s, since I often find extra deals and reduced items that I have coupons for which were not advertised in the sale flier. At Walgreens, Target, Walmart or the health food store, I just pull out the envelope in the front of the box which is for that store and head in. If I find some special deal that I know I have coupons for, I can always run back out to the car and get them.

Binder

So here's what I think of the method...separated into Pros and Cons...

 Advantages of the Binder Method:

•It's a lot easier to find coupons for unadvertised deals. It's just a lot easier to find coupons, period.

•Once you have it all organized, it's very easy to put your coupons in each week. Although I do spend more time trimming them all neatly so they fit in the slots, the whole process only takes me about 30-45 minutes each week, which isn't bad considering all the coupons I have!

•It's so very easy to see when coupons have expired and to pull them out. That is a huge plus!

•It's a gazillion times easier to shop with my kids now. Outings are less stressful. I am a happier mom while shopping with my kids, which just makes life better. My coupons sit safe and secure either in the cart or on the top of the car cart and I flip through them as needed. As I decide to use coupons, I transfer them to the front 4x6 page so I can easily hand them all to the checker.

• You can more easily carry all the different items I need while shopping. My calculator, scissors and pens all are in the pouch in front. I don't have to clip every coupon in every coupon booklet if I don't want to- I just file it in the accordion file on the front and I have it in case I need it. I can also easily carry around individual store coupon policies. It's nice to have all those items so accessible!
Disadvantages of the Binder Method:


•It takes several hours (about 10!) to transfer my coupons over. It is horribly tedious, boring job that I never want to do again.

•Not all coupons fit in those little slots. I have to fold many, including all printable coupons. That makes it hard to see all the details of the coupon- description and expiration date, at a glance.

•Most coupons do fit, but you have to trim them really well. I spend a little more time carefully cutting each coupon I want in my binder.

•I shopped around to find a good price on the materials needed and I still paid $27! In addition, the baseball card sheets are flimsy and I can see myself having to replace sheets continually.

•Visually, the sheets are busy. I've seen some that are all neat and clean and all coupons are the same size- some are not like that. You have so many coupons that are many shapes and sizes, the one-size-fits-all look just isn't happening. It took me a couple weeks to get used to that. A friend of mine put a solid colored sheet behind each category and while that helps a ton, sometimes you just don't have the space for them.  
 
  I’d love to hear what method you use for organizing your coupons. Is it working well for you? If you have blogged about it, leave the link in the comments — I just might use your link in my post next week!