So now that you have started your collection and you have all these coupons, what to do with all of them??
There are so many different ways to organize coupons that I will go ahead and list several. It really depends on what kind of time investment you want to make and what works for you. None of these methods are required and you can change anything you like about them, these are suggestions. If you find something that doesn't work for you, don't do it! Giving up on couponing because it is taking too long to organize or you are getting frustrated trying to find what you are looking for is an awful thing. I will explain some different methods in order of the time investment needed. Take what you like and ignore the rest, I promise I will not be offended ;-)
The absolute least time commitment that can be made is keeping your coupon inserts intact. Get 12 hanging file folders or large envelopes and file them by month. If you get more than one insert put them together and paperclip, binder clip or just plain stick em in together. Almost every coupon matching site will give you the date of the insert that the coupon is in so you can just go and pull that insert and clip the coupon that you are looking for. The pros of this method are obvious, there is no real time investment and the only time you need to actually clip is when you need the coupon. The cons are that when you are in the store you have nothing but what you need so, if you run across a great deal that you have a coupon for you have to go home and find it then make another trip to the store (there are searchable databases for coupons that should tell you what insert they are in). Additionally, by keeping the inserts intact you will wind up having expired coupons taking up space. The ranges for coupons in a single insert can be several months. My last inserts had coupons that expired as early as the end of September and some that were good until December.
The next method is similar to the first but a little more time consuming and hard on the back! This method will require a very large binder (probably up to 5" eventually) and lots of sheet protectors (The larger ones that will hold lots of sheets) also one of those supply pouches that will go in a binder for a small pair of scissors. You will still write the date of the insert on the front but then file them in your binder by week in whichever direction works best for you (oldest first or newest first). You will still pull out the coupons that you know you are using but then you have all of the rest with you while you are shopping so you can take advantage of any sales you find. The pros of this method are that there is not a huge time investment associated with filing your coupons. Also, you can take them with you when you go to the store so that you can clip out what you need while you are in the store. The cons are.....well, to start with dragging around a huge binder with all of those inserts is really hard on your back. Trying to find a coupon for a specific item in the store can be trying when you have to flip through all of those (although with smart phones and coupon databases you can at least know which insert to look in) and then clip your coupon in the store. I am not a coordinated person, trying to pull out an insert and a pair of scissors in the store without making a mess and dropping all manner of things on the floor is just not something I can see me doing gracefully.
Now we move into the clipping methods. This will require that you go through your inserts and clip out all of the coupons in them. (Sidenote, I never throw away any coupons whether I think I will use them or not. You would be amazed at what they will actually pay you to take out of the store....Also, any expired coupons that I do not use get mailed off and are sent overseas to the military. They can use coupons for up to 6 months after they have expired.)
There are two major methods for filing clipped coupons both require a binder (Mine is 3") and some baseball card sleeves. These are available in Target and Walmart in the trading card sections. You can also buy them on ebay or from Amazon.com. I got most of mine from Amazon because the pricing was really competitive (I had a really difficult time finding them in the stores, they just couldn't keep them on the shelves). You will also need dividers, use whatever works for you if it is colored paper or actual tab dividers or well whatever you can come up with. Remember that the goal is to save money so don't invest huge $$$ on your filing supplies.
Your first step is going to be to match up all of your insert pages if you get multiples. I get 4 so I pull em apart and stack them, then staple the pages together so that I am clipping all 4 at the same time, be sure that you get them lined up correctly. Totally devastating to destroy them by hacking off important parts. I am scissor challenged so I use a paper cutter to hack up the inserts (with a large margin) then go over each one individually to trim them down with a pair of scissors while I am watching TV at night (Yeah, I know....it's that OCD again....I just can't help it!!!)
Store Aisle Filing:
Using this method you will file your coupons according to categories based on your grocery store aisles. I am linking a suggested breakdown from www.krazycouponlady.com. This can be modified to suit your preferences but this will give you a good idea and a place to start. http://thekrazycouponlady.com/kclcouponbinder.pdf
The pros to this method is that when you are in the store shopping you can look up items that are on sale on the fly based on where you are standing in the store. Since your coupons are already clipped you can just take them out and add them to what you have planned to use. The cons of this method are that trying to file them can take time, deciding where some things go in the breakdown of the store aisles can get obnoxious especially since different stores will keep items in different places. Also, some things just don't fit into a specific category and can cause frustration during filing.
Alphabetical Filing:
Oh be still my little couponing heart. I am a huge fan of filing by alphabet...anything in my house that can be sorted that way IS. Makes putting things away or finding them super easy for me. The pros of this method are that when I am in the store I can find a coupon for any product. They are filed alphabetically by product name so it is super easy to find what I am looking for and since they are already clipped I can just pull them out and add them to my "use" pile. I also only need 12 dividers because I can do several letters in one section, A-B, C-D, E-F...ok yeah you get the point. If a section gets too big I can just add inserts to it. The cons of this method start with the time investment. Every week I have to rearrange the coupons to keep everything in alphabetical order to make sure I can find what I need when I am looking for it. Also, for the alphabetically challenged this can be frustrating and annoying.
Ultimately, you need to find what works for you. I tried a few different methods before I settled on mine. I wanted to give a good overview of different methods that I have culled from different sources all at once so that you can make a more informed decision. You can always try one method on for size and see how it works, if it doesn't work for you personalize it or switch to a different method! Couponing is all about what works for YOU!
Until next time, have fun and HAPPY COUPONING!
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