Now that you have all those great coupons, you need to find a way to get them together so you can find them when you need them! I clip and save every coupon that comes out.
No kidding. Even if I don’t usually use that brand, if it is significantly cheaper than my regular brand, I am willing to give it a try! If it’s a product that I wouldn’t usually buy, I keep the coupons as well.
If it is Free, after coupon, I can always find someone who is more than happy to use it! The best thing about couponing, is you can get things for Free, and share them with others!
It makes me feel good to be able to give shampoo or toothpaste that I have not paid anything for, and make someone else feel good to have one less thing to worry about! That’s why I save every coupon that comes out! You never know when you might need it! 🙂
The Binder Method:
This is the most common way to sort and store coupons. This is usually the easiest way to do it so you are organized enough to find what you need when you need it. You can bring your binder full of neatly organized coupons to the store with you, so you are ready for any sale or clearance item you may come across while you are out!
You cut the coupons out, and sort them into categories. It takes a little bit of prep-work to do it this way, but it will save a lot of time when you are planning a shopping trip, or you are at the store.
Everything is cut out and ready to go, you just have to go to the right place and pull it out! Some people use baseball card sheets which hold 9 coupons per page, as pictured above, but you have to fold them all up to fit the slots.
Others use photo sheets or other 3-6 pocket sheets, which don’t hold as many coupons per page, but you can see the coupons easier (pictured below). Amazon
Search card sheets or coupon sheets, and every size and shape you can imagine will pop up! You could also pick up the regular baseball sheets on Amazon, Ebay, Walmart, or pretty much anywhere they sell sports cards.
You will sort them into categories such as:
Refrigerated, Frozen, Snacks, Canned Food, Dry Goods, Toothpaste, Shampoo, Baby, Pets, Personal Care, Laundry, or any other category that suits your needs. You should use whatever categories work for you, so you know what you have when you need it!
I actually have so many coupons that I have a binder for food, a binder for products, and a binder I take in the stores with me that has the coupons already selected that I plan on using that trip.
I leave my big food/product binders in the car, so if I find a buy I can’t live without, I only have to go to the car and get what I need! That saves me from having to drag all those coupons in for every trip.
It also makes it so I have to think before I buy. If there is an item that I suddenly want that I hadn’t intended on buying, I assess whether or not it’s worth dragging the kids all the way back to the car to get the coupon! If it is, it must be an amazing buy!
There have been several items that have not passed this self-check system, that I didn’t need to spend the money on anyway. There have also been several times I have gone to the car to get the coupon I needed! 🙂
Some people prefer using a shoebox or special box made for holding coupons, with dividers in between the categories. You cut them out, and put them into their categories in the coupon box.
It fits in the top part of the cart, and you can flip through and find the coupons you need based on the category they would be in. I will work on getting you a better picture of this idea. Tina is going to give the shoebox method a try and see how it works for her!
I found this method a little hard to use when I had a lot of coupons in a particular category. I was finding myself standing there flipping through every coupon until I found the one I was looking for. Some people have had a lot of success with this method though, and have found the binder bulkier to work with.
Some other people leave the inserts whole. They file the coupon inserts away by the date they are from, and cut the coupons as they need them. When we match up sales and coupons together for you, we will tell you what insert the coupon came from so you can go find it and cut it out as you need it.
Some people put their inserts in a binder, in sheet protectors. That way they have them with them at the store, and can cut them if they find something they need. Others put them in a file box.
This method takes longer to prepare for a shopping trip, and if you aren’t careful you could end up not having with you, or not being able to find a coupon you need. But it also takes less time cutting and sorting coupons you may not need, because you will only cut the coupons as you are ready to use them.
You may need to try a few things until you find something that works the best for you! Couponing is much more fun if you are organized, and you enjoy using your organization system! So find what’s best for you, and make the most of it!