I’m always look for new ways to organize my coupons. A few days on twitter, several of us were discussing our strategies. My new system was described as being an “overachiever” by some. Which I find it hilarious because it is normally an area in which I do not overachieve! My new system does look purty and it is giving me more space for all my inserts and I feel more organized.
Alicia over at the Discount Heroes and I have teamed up to give you some ideas to find a system that will work the best for you. If you are new to couponing, I don’t recommend going out and buying a ton of stuff at first. You need to play around and see what works best for you. You also don’t have to have a complicated system. However, in an effort to try to streamline my inserts, I came up with this method of sorting them.
First, I use the “insert” method, which means I don’t clip every coupon from my weekly inserts. I just clip as needed based on my weekly deal list. I will clip coupons for items I am always buying like toilet paper, frozen pizzas, etc. (Yes, these are the two most important items to have in our stockpile!) You can read more about the advantage and disadvantages of each method in one of my previous posts.
Let’s run down some of my past filing systems I’ve used:
None of these were sturdy enough for heavy duty coupon stash. So here’s what I’m using now:
Yep, a mega size box. The cost was $7.99 or so from Office Max.
Seriously, how hilarious would it be if I toted this to the grocery store? It would be a great hidden camera experiment! I already get enough looks for my black coupon organizer and clear coupon file I take with me.
I have these handy dandy file labels which I color coded using the free Avery Software.
Blue are Smart Source Inserts. Red are Red Plum Inserts. Other inserts such as P&G BrandSaver, General Mills, Unilver, etc. will be plain white. The tabs for the same week’s inserts are lined up on the same “cut”.
Each week’s inserts I mark with a Sharpie the date and then file them in the file. TIP: If you have inserts and don’t know which week, you can find the date on the spine of the insert.
Once I get my coupons clipped, I use a small black coupon organizer for my shopping trips.
I organize the coupons in envelopes inisde this organized labeled by the store. I also store loose coupons in envelopes with just a few categories. I also store printable coupons, other loose clipped coupons, receipts, and mail in rebates in a clear plastic file.
I then put the black coupon organizer and the clear coupon file in a tote. I use this one from Walmart because it is a light weight tote.
So head over to The Discount Heroes and see some other ways to organize your coupons. If you want, link up to your post and show us how your coupon organization system or your coupon disorganization system!
WOW! You are so organized! I’ve been couponing for about two years now. I’m also using the whole insert method. We use “milk crates” purchased at Staples and plain old manilla and file folders. I put the date on the file folders (with pen/pencil/crayon) and then the name of the insert on each manilla folder. It works for me and it’s quick. My only problem was when to pull out the expired ones. I found a site in a google search called Coupon Cleanout (www.CouponCleanout.com) and its been very helpful in that last respect. I select my state and it shows me what inserts are safe to pull out. Thought I’d pass it along for any other “whole insert” filers.
I am so glad I found this post! I had a reader of my blog ask about organization systems I gave her your link. You did such a great job with your post. I just use a binder so I had no experience with a filing system. :)
Here’s a link to a post on how I organize my coupons.
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WalletWise/~3/Pt8bTcehBEU/organizing-your-coupons.html
I store my inserts in a hanging file folder in my filing cabinent. Since I clip most of my coupons already (I like to have them ALL with me!), I rarely need to dig back into them.
Rachels last blog post..Hot Deals: Free Wings at Buffalo Wild Wings!
I started by clipping EVERY coupon and organizing in a binder alphabetically. Not anymore, I keep the whole insert. I bought $1 5 pocket file folder (1 pocket for each week of the month) from the $1 bins at Target and I have one of those for each month. I still use the binder for IP’s and coupons I receive in the mail. I also only have 3 file folders so after they are full I go through the oldest one and go through all those inserts, toss the expired ones and clip the current ones and file those in a binder. Probably confusing, but works for me ;-)
Shannons last blog post..Easter Sunday Deal Scenarios
I love my Coupon Binder method. And ~ Yes, I take that big baby in the stores with me!
Jennifers last blog post..I have my own .com – Yeppers, little ole me!
Oh, how I wish I were that organized! I never have time to get ready for my trips, so I have to take all of my coupons with me into the store. Yuck.
Tonyas last blog post..Freepeats is open in Jackson, MS!
Oh goodness. I am laughing now because I am the one that referred to you as the overachiever and looky there, my tweet made your blog post. AND I spelled hilarious incorrectly. gasp See, I told you I was no longer an overachiever. Time to pass on my crown. :)
Thrifty Mommys last blog post..Four Money Saving Tools for Summer
LOL! I usually one get 2 inserts a week but “special” weeks I will get 5 extras! I’ve even weeded out the weeks with mostly expired coupons! :)
That is a serious coupon collection.