Coupon Organization

Below you will see how I organize my coupons at home and what I bring to the store. What works for me might not work for you, so I have added some pictures of some other ways of organizing your coupons and you can decide what will work best for you.


BIN METHOD:


This is my big bin. I label my bin folders by Sunday date. I do not clip anything until I need it, so I file the entire insert. I put all inserts into the same dated slot. Before I file it, I corrolate it. Check out my post about how to do that HERE. You will see on my blog that I put a date and either SS(smartsource), RP(redplum, P&G (P&G saver), this helps you find the insert the coupon is in.

I clip the coupons that I need for each store. I then file them in the box below:

This is my take in the store file. (but usually it stays in the car and I take only the preclipped coupons for that particular store) I labeled each tab in the front with a different store. After clipping my coupons I just slip them into the store slot that I will be using them at and when I get to the store I take my file and my shopping list into the store.

Here are the stores I have in my file: Safeway, Fry's, Albertson's, Bashas', Target, Walmart, CVS, Walgreens.

Sometimes I will clip a coupon and not use it. I know that this happens to a lot of us and where do they end up? At the bottom of our purses! So I made tabs for each category so I can file these unused coupons.

Here are the categories that I use:

Produce, Bread, Dairy, Canned Soup, Canned Tuna, Canned Veg., Canned Fruits, Pasta, Side Dishes, Condiments, Baking Mixes, Baking products, Breakfast, Refrigerated, Meats, Granola Bars, Chips, Cookies, Crackers, Candy, Juice/Soda/Coffee, Alcohol, Freezer-Meals, Freezer-Desserts, Freezer-Fruits/Veg., Hair, Lotion, Facial, Deodorant, Soaps, Shaving, Dental, Feminine, Plastics/Aluminum, Paper Products, Cleaning, Laundry, Room deodorizers, Office, Medicine, Vitamines, Toys, Baby

I also made slots for retail store coupons, services coupons, travel coupons.

PENCIL CASE METHOD: (use with bin method)
A friend of mine came up with a cheap and easy file to bring into the store. She went to Walmart and picked up a package of business sized envelopes and she bought a large zippered fabric pencil case (or a banking envelope, you know the kind businesses use to take cash to the bank to make a deposit....yeah that kind) She then cut the flap off the envelops and made a tab that sticks up using envelope labels. She then labeled her stores and store Q's like I did. She also made envelopes with categories I listed above.

OTHER ORGANIZATIONAL METHODS: (These methods require you to clip ALL coupons out and file them by category. These methods allow you to bring ALL of your coupons on your shopping trip so you won't miss unadvertised sales or clearance deals)

COUPONIZER:

This very durable book hads different categories and slots to store your coupons.

BOX METHOD:
This box is a clippers dream! This is the Deluxe Coupon Organizer II. It is sold on Amazon HERE. It comes with cards that you can organize by any category way you want to.(see categories above) Clip and file and bring the box with you to the stores, it fits perfectly in the front kid seat.

BINDER METHOD:
For a full discription of how to follow this method go HERE.



ENVELOPE METHOD:
Pretty self explainatory, get a shoe box, envelopes and label the categories as you see fit (examples above) You could also take this with you to the stores and put in the front kid seat.

**My guess is that you still make a shopping list and pull out the coupons to use and separate them in a slot or a designated envelope and the rest are just brought on the trip for unadvertised deals.