How do you organize your coupons??

[MMluvsWDW]

I am trying to get into couponing but haven't figured out the best way to organize them. What does everyone else do?

 

[Justsyd2]

I use a paper accordion file folder from Michaels that cost $1.00.

 

[21yankees]

I use a 3 ring binder with page protectors. I sort the coupons by categories/aisles at the grocery store I use the most. This way when I go to the store I just flip the dividers to the appropriate aisle. It took a bit of time to do the initial set up but it is really worth it to me.

steph

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I have an expanding cloth folder that is about 9 inches wide by four inches high. I bought a set of 8 inch A-Z file dividers and cut down their hight, so I have 25 categories of coupons.

I have a spreadsheet with the fololwing columns:
Category
Amount
Expiration Date
Detailed Description

I have designed macros for data entry. All of them will start off by adding a row and copying the category name from the row above. They will skip to the amount field and wait for me to enter the amount and will divide the amount by 100 to display dollars and cents. It will move to the Expiration Date field and allow me to enter the month and date (I change the year in the macro itself, or can also change the year in the date field separately.) Then it will move to the Description field where I enter the brand, description, and any size or quantity restrictions. Then it will move down to the first column in the next row and stop.

I have three specialized data entry macros, one is if the item is free, one if there is no expiration date, and one where it is both free and no expiration date. These will automatically populate the amount field with the word "FREE" or the date fireld with the word "NEVER" or both.

I have a couple of additional macros to automatically delete one or more lines, after the coupons expire or are used and one to copy all of the data in the line above it when there are only minor changes such as a different expiration date.

The last macro is a key one. It will start by making sure that everything is sorted first by category and then by description. It will then save the file and print the list. It will then resort by coupon expiration date, most recent on top, and description and print that, and then it will do a third sort just in alphabetic order by description. And after it prints the last sort it will exit the program.

It took a lot to set it up originally, but that was done many years ago and all I need to do is update the data.

 

[emeraldmom]

My mother got this idea from a friend. It does take some labor to set it up and maintain it. You get a 3 ring binder. She likes one of the nice padded ones, luckily I had one I didn't use anymore. She likes the extra pockets in the front to put scissors and stuff in. Then you go and buy baseball card pages, and some dividers.

You use the dividers to make sections, whatever works for you. We have like dairy, health/beauty, freezer, fridge, cans, baking etc. Put it in whatever order works for you. This takes some experimentation, you may want to use the way the store you shop at most is set up.

The baseball card pages have 9 slots per page. She uses one slot per coupon. Some fit, some have to be folded a bit to fit, just make sure when you fold that the important info is visible on the front. If she has two or more coupons for the same item, she will put them in one slot with the one that expires first in the front. This is the labor part. You have to stick all of the coupons in the little slots.

The nice part is that they are all very visible. Nothing sticks together, or gets shoved to the bottom of a divider or anything like that. You go to the section you want, then just flip through the sheets.

 

[tngramma]

I have used the 3 ring binder with baseball card pages before. But for me it works better to "file entire inserts". Clipping coupons and sorting is so time consuming. Then I get angry when it is time to take all the expired ones out and throw them away. Again time consuming.

Each week I file the inserts in hanging file folders. I use a plastic milk crate type holder for the files. As I look online and make my shopping list I make note of the coupons I will use and go clip only what I am going to use. After a few months I throw out entire sets of coupons from the back as I put the new ones in the front..

The drawback to this system is you do not have extra coupons on hand for spur of the moment shopping. Using this method last night I saved $147 in coupons at the grocery store.

 

[abmitch01]

I'm with the above poster. So much time is saved doing it this way. I don't live where there are double coupons and I rarely find things where I wish I had my coupons with me so so far this has worked out much better for my sanity.

 

[vicki_c]

I'm with the above poster. So much time is saved doing it this way. I don't live where there are double coupons and I rarely find things where I wish I had my coupons with me so so far this has worked out much better for my sanity.

Me too - we just date the insert with a marker and file them all in chronological order and pull as needed. Of course, that only works if you are using a list of some kind that tells you which coupons came out which week. If you shop using that kind of a list (like Grocery Game or others), you have to keep them all or you may end up missing out on good and free deals. That happened to me when I started couponing - I was only cutting out the coupons I thought we would use and then I missed out on some free deals because I had tossed the coupons.

 

[splash5]

Where do you find your coupons. We get a couple inserts in the paper and that's about it.

 

[abmitch01]

I let people at work know I'd be interested in any unwanted coupons

 

[java]

Where do you find your coupons. We get a couple inserts in the paper and that's about it.

You want coupons? Join one of the coupon trains here on the budget board. I was thinking of adding on an addition to store all the coupons I was rolling in. Unfortunately I had to take a break as it is a bit time consuming. But I am anxious to hop back on asap.

 

[vicki_c]

Where do you find your coupons. We get a couple inserts in the paper and that's about it.

We get 3 (different) papers on Sunday, others buy multiple copies of the paper. There are also coupon clipping services where you can buy particular coupons you want, but I have not ever used those.

 

[tngramma]

Where do you find your coupons. We get a couple inserts in the paper and that's about it.

I go to Dollar Tree and buy multiple papers. Depending on how good the coupons are.

 

[ncbyrne]

I use a hard plastic file card box (4x6 size) with index separators. I have the box set up according to the aisles of the grocery store I frequent most often. The tabs are marked according to what's sold in those aisles. I bring the box with me and store it with my cloth reusable bags (my store pays 5¢ per bag) and keep them all in the back seat of my car. Very handy and convenient.

 

[kristinlynn]

A friend uses a dollar tree photo book.

 

[wmharley]

I have a small accordian check folder. My wife lost our 1st one which I lvoed and had tons of coupons. this new one I hate as the flap to close doesn't fold back.

Anyways.. I just sort by Pharmacy/beauty; baby items; cold/frozen section; housewares (cleaning and paper goods); dry groceries; entertainment (eating out); toys.

That;s it.

 

[PrincessBelle09]

I try to use the three ring binder with baseball card pages approach, but since my very unorganized husband is the main couponer, it doesn't work very well. They end up scattered all over his desk. My mom used this system very successfully for years until she got too busy to maintain it and now uses the little accordion envelope.

 

[Kirby]

I just put my coupons in different envelopes labeled "cans/jars", "boxed", "refridgerated", etc. This method works for me. I only use coupons for products that I will use. I don't buy stuff just because I have a coupon for it.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I use a 3 ring binder with page protectors. I sort the coupons by categories/aisles at the grocery store I use the most. This way when I go to the store I just flip the dividers to the appropriate aisle. It took a bit of time to do the initial set up but it is really worth it to me.

steph

me too
works great, esp if I see something on clearance I wasn't expecting to buy. I can flip right to the correct page to see if I have a Q.

 

[funnygarcia]

Binder method, I use pockets that are made for card collectors.. heavy duty, various sizes as little as two large pockets per page (good for big categories with lots of coupons like cleaning, cereal, toothpaste, shampoo), three per page, others have 4 per page.. no need to fold!

I sacrifice a page protector by cutting it in half.. big pocket. Top half is now useless as it has no bottom.. but these are cheap in bulk packages and easy to find if you don't have a card/comic shop in your area.

I put "like" category coupons together.. all the cereal is in one pocket. One page is just dairy broken into cheese, milk, juice in its pockets. There are several coupons in each pocket.. if I did one pocket per coupon I would need more binders!

As I cut, I sort into broad categories: dairy, canned, meat, personals, cleaning, wraps/zips, organics, etc. Makes it easy to file into the pockets.

Once a month is the pain of pulling expireds.. but I keep my expireds in another small box with index dividers. (One of my local stores takes coupons up to 3 months past expiration.)

I cut everything, even if I am sure I won't use it for myself.. if it's a freebie, it's potential "filler"!

I hold onto the coupons if they are high value/ freebie potential. For example, I bought canned dog food as "filler" to meet my dollar requirement to double coupons. It was free after coupon, let me double coupons on things I needed with low out of pocket. Gave all the cans to my unemployed SIL so she can keep her beloved pets. Score for me and SIL !


I'm intrigued by the insert method and I attempted it for awhile. I used less coupons because I wasn't aware of what I had and what was used up. It's odd but the process of cutting and sorting triggers a memory file in my head.

What about printables? How do you file those? It makes sense to print as the coupons appear, the high value coupons usually run out of prints quickly.

What about peelies, tear pads, blinkies, home mailers? Do you have another file box for those?