On Coupon Organization

|
I began using coupons about a year ago. As I've changed my shopping habits, I've also had to change the way that I organize my coupons. When I first started to use coupons, I only bought one newspaper a week and didn't really do many of the grocery deals. I was mostly using coupons for my trips to CVS, so every week I would clip them all and organize them according to their type.

My current system is drastically different. I usually buy at least 4 or 5 papers a week and sometimes as many as 10.

First, I sort the different inserts:

Then, I sort the pages so that all the identical pages are together:
Next, I put staples through the pages where the coupons are (I usually staple at least two coupons per page and try to make at least one of those on an item I think I'll use).
Once all the pages have been sorted in this manner, I put the stapled pages into a clear sleeve with a clip on top (to prevent any pages from falling out). I also write the date of the insert on the front page. Those sleeves go into a three ring binder.
Having all of the identical coupons stapled together is extremely helpful, especially when I'm preparing for one of the grocery store promotions.

The downside is that I can't really take advantage of any deals that I might just happen upon because I only carry the coupons that I know that I can use with me. This is actually just fine with me, though, because I often am shopping with at least one small child, so realistically I'm not able to shop for anything that I haven't planned for.

What method do you use to organize your coupons?

No comments: