Hi,
I am not 'new' to the coupon clipping saga however I am 'new' to being more organized in doing it.
What is the best way to get organized. Right now I am using a binder with baseball card inserts... I find this very easy to use, but is this the 'best' way? ANY help you can offer would be nice..
Would also like to hear what you use or how you organize your coupons.
Thanks and have a blessed day,
Queenofcoupons912

quote

I want to hear everyone's methods, too!

I do the Coupon Mom way--file the entire Sunday circulars by date in a cardboard filing box. Before shopping I make a list of sales and I use the Coupon Databases from here and there to know where coupons are located and clip them then.
When I first get the Sunday circulars, I immediately clip any coupons that are free items or things I know I'll use. I have 3 9"x6"x2.5" plastic boxes that I take to the store with me - one for CVS, one for Walgreens, and one for food. There are 5 or 6 categorized envelopes with coupons in them inside the boxes.
Hope this helps explain one method.

__________________
Melanie, near Houston

quote

I use a 4x6 plastic file box. I put the 4x6 index divider cards and on each divider is a catagory (dairy, canned veggies & fruit, cleaning, etc.). Each week when I clip coupons, I go to the index card with the appropriate catagory for that coupon. I place all the coupons in each catagory that are similar together (ie. under dairy, all milk coupons are together, all cheese coupons are together, etc). As I place the similar coupons together, I put them in order of expiration date. If I have four coupons on soy milk, they would be behind the Dairy Divider, all together with the closest expiration date first. I never leave the house without my box because sometimes I will see discontinued or close out items that are half price that weren't in the ad! : ).

Sherry

quote=queenofcoupons912]Hi,
I am not 'new' to the coupon clipping saga however I am 'new' to being more organized in doing it.
What is the best way to get organized. Right now I am using a binder with baseball card inserts... I find this very easy to use, but is this the 'best' way? ANY help you can offer would be nice..
Would also like to hear what you use or how you organize your coupons.
Thanks and have a blessed day,
Queenofcoupons912[/quote]

quote

I use the binder with baseball card protectors, with the coupons sorted by aisle, so I can find what I want quickly.

To save on time, I usually check out the deals here, and then look at my weekly ads, and pull the coupons I know I want to use, and put them sorted by store in an envelope in my purse, and I can easily add "store" cards and GCs, formula checks, store coupons, etc also. If I have a lot of coupons in any particular week, I will make a separate envelope for each store.
If I find a clearance or unadvertised sale, I just go back out to the car and get my binder. This also gives me a chance to do a second order if there is a limit on coupons/items.
This is a very streamlined process, now that I have a stockpile, and it really helps to cut down on time spent in the store, esp. if I have DS and DH with me, or I'm trying to pick up things on my way home from work.

quote

I keep my gocery coupons organized in a thin 3-ring binder with baseball card inserts and common products grouped together (drinks, sauces, cereal, etc) and I have 3 small index card organizers I got from CVS, one for cleaning/ household products with the dividers tabs marked (lysol products, glade, airwick,...etc.) and the two other are beauty/hygiene coupons, things like makeup, haircolor, toothpaste, lotions....It makes grocery shopping pretty quick because you can see what you have so quick, and then if I am going to target or a drug store I can just grab the little organizers.

quote

I used to do the binder/baseball card holder method, cutting out all coupons. Now, I leave the inserts whole. I cut what I need, when I need. If I cut out more than I use, or if I get non-inserts, they go in the binder. Or, for some things I regularly buy (soymilk), I clip in advance. Binder: alphabetically. Inserts: all over the floor right now. DH built a coupon workbench for Christmas... file cabinet yet to be added for insert storage.

__________________
Check out my Deals Blog!

quote

I use a binder and love it. Here is how I've got mine organized. I have mine divided with colored divider pages into 3 sections: shelf, refrigerated/frozen, and non-edible items. It helps me to find it faster when in the store. My categories are bolded in the same color as the sub categories and the font is just a tad bigger. Some categories don't have subcategories as they are too small to need them.

Baking Goods
Beverages
Coffee/tea/cocoa
Juices
Sweet Drinks
Sports Drinks/
Water
Boxed Items
Potatoes/ Rice
Dinners
Breads
Breakfast
Cereal
Hot foods
Others
Canned Goods
Fruits/ Veggies
Meats/ Broth
Soups
Tomatoes
Condiments
Sandwich fixings
Marinades/ Gravy
Salad Dressings
Salsa/ Seasonings
Pasta/ Sauces
Snacks
Bars
Candy
Chips/ Popcorn
Cookies
Crackers
Sweet ‘Others’


Dairy
Cheese
Eggs/ Milk/ Yogurt
Sour Cream/
Cottage cheeses
Meats
Fresh
Hot dogs
Lunch
Precooked
Sausage
Refrigerated
Breads
Cookies
Margarine
‘Other’
Frozen
Breads
Breakfast
Entrees/
Bagged dinners
Snacks/ Pizza
Sweet Snacks
Chicken/ Veggies


Antiperspirant/ Shaving
Bags/ Baggies/
Foils/ Containers
Cleaning Products
All-Purpose
Sponges/ Scrubbers
Dental
Toothbrushes
Toothpaste
Mouthwash/ Other
Dish Soaps
Drug Items
Antacids
Cough & Cold/ Pain
Diet
1ST Aide
Hair Care
Hair Color
Shampoo/
Conditioner
Styling Aids
Health & Beauty
Cosmetics
Face cleaners
Lotion
Others
Laundry
Fabric Softeners
Soaps
Bleach/ Others
Non-Edible
‘Others’
Air Fresheners
MISC ‘Stuff’
Paper Goods
Facial/
Fem. Hygiene
Towels/ Napkins
TP
Soap/ BodyWash


I hope this posts well and everyone can see it. If you like it just cut and paste. It should be sized to fit those sticky tabs once cut out.

quote

Because I have a grocery store that will take coupons seemingly forever, I use envelopes. I clip all the coupons, filing the ones we use in the appropriate envelopes. Items I will NEVER use get tossed loose in a box for trading or sending to the military, and items that I might use to buy something (usually FAR at Walgreens) go into another envelope - because those have to be current.
Not a great system, but with all the expireds I can keep, I havent been able to come up with anything better.
The only thing I have considered is a binder with zipclose envelopes (like pencil pouches) but I fear that this would quickly become unwieldly.

__________________
Lise, Northbrook IL
www.79Gifts.com

quote

I have a binder with different size pockets and I have an accordian file. When I was dumpster diving and collecting from convenient stores I had too many inserts to cut every coupon to put in my binder. So I file the inserts in the accordian file and cut when I get the ads for the week and plan my shopping list. All non-inserts coupons and cut coupons go in the binder.
My only problem is keeping up my havelist on here. I haven't figured out the best way to do this.

__________________
Have List
http://deals.families.com/,p801213#post801213

Due with baby in April: Looking for baby coupons

quote

This is my first post ever so I hope I'm doing it correctly.
I have a shoebox size Rubbermaid box with a lid and I file my coupons alphabetically. I found tabbed alphabet dividers at Walmart for just a couple dollars but before that I was using index cards for the dividers. Most of my coupons are straightforward alphabetical - Advil is filed under the letter A. Bisquick and Bounty paper towels under the letter B. A couple major exceptions are things like Kelloggs cereals (they all go under the letter K) and Pillsbury items (all under the letter P). The box is the perfect size to fit in the baby seat area of the shopping cart.
With this system I can find any coupon almost instantly which is very helpful for sale and clearance items that were not in the ad. I do check the store ads before I go shopping and coupons I know I will use I pull out ahead of time.

quote