Coupon Organizing Question

[kellyr]

Hi- I am new to this and am having a really hard time organizing all my coupons!

I had bought a little file organizer at the dollar store... but it's still hard to organize and find coupons! Also, I find it hard to keep track of coupons that are expiring! How do you pros on here do it?!!!

Any advise is greatly appreciated... thank you!

[Chantel]

Everybody says coupon binders, but I can't find pages that I like for them yet! I just sort mine into envelopes for now. Food stuff in one, household in another.

[ILUVMYPUGTOADIE]

I would still like to organize mine a little better.....but I got
a recipe box and bought dividers... at first I had them in food, dairy etc...Then when I started to get more I put them into manufacturer's names alphabetically, except for the ones I don't use alot of like medicine or Hair color etc

[ILUVMYPUGTOADIE]

Another little trick I started was to highlight the different months of expiry in a different color ! Helps when sorting and tossing

[xchryses]

I organize my little filofax by the categories in the store - particularly LD as I like their set-up. For example, House&Hardwares, Cleaning Supplies, Foods, Cosmetics etc. HBA I kind of divided into hair supplies and face/body since there are a lot of coupons for that usually.

I like that idea of highlighting different expiry dates! I might have to steal that one

[Kayjay]

I use a binder (that zips up) and I use the hockey card holder pages. I also use dividers to separate all my categories. So easy to flip through and see what I have. My binder also has a pocket I can put a calculator in. You will get the hang of it and eventually you will figure out what works best for you

[ILUVMYPUGTOADIE]

I like that idea of highlighting different expiry dates! I might have to steal that one [/QUOTE]

YES you can put a key on the front of your coupons and leave it there so as you are filing color highlight for that month... You will always be tossing out the same mont's colors... Really does save time Glad you liked it!!

[lady_arianna]

i picked these up at walmart for about $8 each if you are just starting out you probably don't need 2 of these, but i am drowning in coupons, so i also have another one (standard size) for overflow the ones pictured are a 5in x 7in in size approx


in one it has health, beauty and diapers, in the other it has food, cleaners, laundry, misc, HV/ FPC and ct $

i find this so much easier for me (and a cheaper set up) than a binder... i tried the binder for a while, and i hated it...

the binder set up can be costly if you can find things second hand (like in my case) all of the binders at the second hand shops i went to weren't zipper binders (easiest) or the ones that were zippered were broken also for the baseball cards i couldn't find them second hand... and i found them at walmart for $3.99 for a pack of 10 (90 slots) and b.c of how many coupons i have it added up very quickly... i also found that i could only hold my binder upright or have it on a flat surface, otherwise the coupons would fall out of the top, and i would have to put them all back (very annoying) and that it was very time consuming cutting the save.ca/ brandsaver/ websaver to fit the pockets and to fold every other coupon out there, or spend more $ on picture size pockets, only for them to have an opening to the side (open binder and have to put the coupons back in their slot) i didn't have any luck finding picture sized ones that opened at the top, and even if i did some coupons would still have to be folded...

in short i hated my coupon binder

i organize my shops completely before i go... and only bring in the coupons i plan on using in with me to the store... the rest are left in my vehicle... i often write out a list of what i am getting, and so its really quick in the shopping end of it, and there is no flipping thru a stack of coupons instore... i also write on my list how much i have off of an item and if it is pm'd and if so where to... the flyers i pm to will have the item i am pming circled (usually in black sharpie marker, its easy to spot) my coupons are clipped together beforehand... and i have often called my local LD ahead of time to see who was working (some cashiers like the coupons a different way at the till) and when was the best time for them (so breaks could be had and i wasn't waiting around, and they had enough people on staff to make sure other customers weren't waiting too long)

as for finding expires, u can highlight or you can just circle it with a pen (in my experience cashiers love either)

when i first started organizing my coupons and had very simple categories, pet, smellies, baby, food, meds, mens, and beauty... now its broken down a lot more, but start small and find a system that works for you...

[blessedmommy]

I have a zippered binder and I used the hockey card slots (from dollar store). It was an investment for the binder but well worth it! Previously I used envelopes but I had too much coupons as time goes by. Lol! For bigger size coupons I put them in sheet protectors in my binder. Each week when my flyer arrives, I match up the sale items to my coupons, and just quickly scan through for expired/close to expiry coupons.

[Dayanara]

I have two coupon expandable folders, one is smaller for my purse and for coupons I will be using within the next couple months (sorted by snack foods, staple foods, meh's health/beauty, women's health/beauty, general health/beauty, kids, laundry, kitchen, cleaners, general household, misc, store specific).

I then have a larger expandable folder for coupons that will not be expiring for a while, that I have a large surplus of, and that I will be trading/giving away. These ones are only sorted by Food, Health/Beauty, and Household.

[tammatha]

I use the binder myself with the baseball card and picture sheets, an accordian file (from dollarama) in my purse for my CT$ and FPC's and now a special "coupon wallet" my SIL gave me for Christmas two years ago. I sort my binder by type of product (baby, food, HB&A's, cleaning, etc) and take out what I need when I view the flyers each week and use my wallet for storage. Every week I make a list (by store for pm'ing purposes), highlight the dates of the expiry on the coupon that I'm using, and record the value of the coupon on my list. That's about it, and away I shop!

[nscouponchick]

I love my coupon binder, it's great- it's so easy just to flick to a section, and open up! I do intend to start highlighting expiration dates- make it easier to sort through!

[kellyr]

Thanks all for the GREAT tips!! Looks like I'm gonna try a binder.. just need to get it all organized! Does everyone bring their binder/organizer to the store when shopping?.. or prepare coupons before going shopping and put in wallet? Just wondering....
It's just finding the time to get organized..... with my 2 little guys I am finding it very hard to keep everything up!

[SmackUTwice]

I don't drive so I can't carry around anything big.. so for now, I use an accordian file thing... fits right in my purse. gets very full towards the end of a month, but then i go thru trhem on the 1st and take out the expired, and down it goes until it gets fuller and fuller, lol.

AT HOME......... I use the bottom of a briefcase thing.. divided in half.... then use tabs to divide that itno sections.. same as my accordian file... baby/pet, frozen, etc...

[i_love_to_save]

I would love to see some pictures, as i am getting more and more coupons, and the envelope thingy just doesn't do it anymore.