I’ve had a number of readers write to me lately asking how I organize my coupons. To be quite honest, I don’t think I’ve found my perfect coupon organization method.
I currently use the insert method where I label each insert with the date and only clip as I need. However, I worry about missing out on extra savings when I’m at the store and find a great unadvertised sale or clearance deals. I also still have a large quantity of loose coupons that I receive in the mail and print online, so it’s difficult to keep track of those. I’ve often thought about switching to a binder method, but I’m just not sure where to start.
So I thought I’d put the question to my dear readers!
How do you organize your coupons? Do you use the binder method? Are there any drawbacks to it?
Do you have a better way of utilizing the insert method? How do you ensure that you don’t miss out on unadvertised/clearance deals?
If you have links to posts you’ve written, feel free to include them in your comments.
If you have a question you’d like to ask fellow Deal Seeking Mom readers, please feel free to email me! I think having a variety of perspectives is really valuable, and I thank you all for your input.
Nena H.
For those who get more than one copy of the paper, I got this idea that saves me time on clipping. I take out each page from each pack of inserts and match them up. Once they are all stacked, I clip. This way, I am only cutting each coupon once even though I get 3 copies of the Sunday paper. I use the binder method with categories so then I group them by categories on my bar-height counter until all are clipped [which keeps my curious kids from coming by and mixing them all up!]. I then go category by category, putting my new coupons in the binder and taking out expired ones. This saves additional time since I don’t have to set aside separate time to take out expired coupons.
I sometimes use the insert method for P&G coupons since they all expire at the end of each month and are mostly household and toiletry items. That way, if I see something on sale, I can usually remember that its a P&G product and go straight to the insert. Plus, after doing this for a few months, I have learned that I do not use many of the P&G coupons unless there is a sale that I just cannot pass up. I am so stockpiled with toothpaste, deodorant, etc. that it will be a while before I can justify getting more! There are also certain coupons that I do not clip [hair color, pet food, most cosmetics . . .] since I do not use these products.
Jenn W
I use the binder (accordian folder) method. I browse all the coupon blogs before I go shopping and make my list. Then I use YOUR AWESOME coupon database to find the coupons I need. I don’t have time or energy enough to clip every single coupon! This way works best for me now that you have that database. That is the best tool!!!
Jennifer
Maybe I’m just weird but prefer unconventional. I use: Two Photo Boxes… one is food the other is everything else…these are all filed by expiration date….at the end of the month, I pull out the front most envelope and set it aside for military donation… this way I ‘m not flipping through ALL of my coupons to pull expireds…. I also have a binder with all my odd one of a kind coupons in it….peelies,wintags,and home mailers… with a section in the back that has sections for rebates and a pocket for those reciepts. Then I have color coded go-to store coupon envelopes, which have the coupons I am going to use in that shopping trip… I shop at about six different stores…I leave my boxes and binder tucked in my trunk at the car…if Ineed something, I can go grab it.
Renae
I use to use two accordian style organizers…one for food and one for non-food. When a friend using the binder system was quicker at finding coupons, I switched! I use a zipper binder with the baseball card sheets. I place coupons in categories and then put the categories in alphabetical order. I love that it is easy to find a coupon while at the store. It is also easy to pull out expired coupons as I can see the expiration dates quickly.
I do not cut every coupon. I use to but it is very time consuming. I keep a file box with the whole inserts organized by month. If I ever need a coupon I didn’t cut, it is easy to find!
brandy
I use this portable pocket case file to sort coupons I know I will use or IPs. It has a handle so that it’s easy to carry into stores & it’s nicer looking than most binders.
You can see it here: https://cravingsavings.blogspot.com/2009/01/i-finally-got-it-just-right.html
I keep the coupons I do not cut in order of date just in case a good deal comes up.
katy
I do mostly the same as you, DSM. I keep the inserts in tact and label them by date. I also have a check folder (has 12 separate sections) that I have labeled by type of item and I put loose coupons in those.
One thing I do do — I clip coupons that I KNOW I will use even if there is not a sale on that item. For example, Danimals and Activia yogurt — we go through it like water at our house. I clip those and use them no matter what. There are also a few other items that I’ll clip coupons for because I’ll definitely use them. And I file those in the dividers. Otherwise, I leave them in the inserts. Makes them easier to find when I need to.
Terri Peters
I took a photo storage box and turned it into a coupon organizer. I found that the organizers you could buy did not have enough compartments, or else did not allow me to break down my coupon categories as specifically as I’d like.
I used small envelopes, made tabs for each one with index cards, and now I have an envelope for each category I need. I even have envelopes for store coupons, restaurants, mail-in-offers, etc.
It has been the best solution I’ve found…and I can keep it in my car and it’s not a big deal to take it into stores with me.
couponchris
OK.. you may all think I am crazy but I made a spreadsheet. It is sorted by food, non-food and then a couple of stores I visit alot. I have columns for item name, coupon amt and exp date. I then sort them by name in abc order and print them out. So when I am shopping I can quickly look at the print-out to see if there is a coupon for what I am shopping for. The coupons are stored in accordian binder seperated by the food, non-food and store and then broken down by month they expire. I have been doing this for a couple of months and its has worked the best for me. Let me know if you are interested in a copy of the spreadsheet, I would be happy to share it.
amy
I use the 3 ring binder with baseball card holders. It works alright but it is often difficult to get the coupons into the slots AND still see the exp. dates and adjacent coupons. I’ve been printing tons of coupons (my hubby thinks I’m nuts), and it takes forever to cut and sort them… any ideas? My biggest problem is at the actual store: with my children and now a newborn in tow, the binder doesn’t have much of a space to sit on the cart. It slides around if it’s up there by itself (and I’m wearing the baby), and of course it gets kicked off if I try to place it up there with the baby or kids. Any suggestions?
Jamie @ I Am A Money Magnet!
I prefer to use the binder method w/ baseball card holders for organizing my coupons. I like that I’m able to flip open my binder and easily see all the coupons I have .
Check out my COUPON BINDER HERE
jaimelynne
I just went to 2 systems…binder for things I will normally shop for, and a box for the rest. My binder is divvied up by aisles at my food store (Giant PA) and I use baseball card holders to separate. Each pocket is fairly item-specific (toothpastes, shampoos, paper towels, canned soups, etc.). Drawback is having to trim down the Q’s to fit in the pockets, and not being able to see exp. dates well. The remainder of my coupons went recently into a photo box divided: food, paper, cleaning, toiletries, and dog. Each section I simply separated by exp. date (month) and put into envelopes. That way if I see a bargain listed on this blog or anywhere else, though I don’t “normally” buy the product, I’ll still have the coupon in a fairly accessible area. Several months ago I thought the binder people were a little obsessed, but I know better now! I am much more organized and save a lot more money this way!
Sarah Scott
How funny that you would post this today because I just posted something about it on my blog!
I use the binder, baseball card holder like a lot of other people do.
Check It Out
I am also giving away a coupon organizer to one lucky reader, so make sure you enter!
Faith
About 9 years ago, in the middle of a sleepless night, they had a coupon organizer on QVC called the Coup-O-Dex. It is a round case with a handle that slides open. The handle then fits on the shopping cart and it looks like a rolodex. The rolodex cards have a plastic flap at the top that will hold up to about 5-6 coupons each. They are then divided by categories. Coupons have to be folded or trimmed down to fit but I’ve loved it since day one. One problem: the glue is not holding the little plastic flaps much anymore and I think the company that made them (in California) has gone out of business. If anyone has heard of this product, please let me know! It even has a calculator and 2 slots to hold the coupons that are going to be used for that trip. Guess I’ll either be re-gluing the cards or switching to the zipper binder!
Jenn
I also use a binder. I find that while it takes a little time to organize, it makes my time spent in the store much faster which I prefer! I have all of my coupons at my fingertips and easily found. I have saved on some great clearance items this way!
Samantha
I also use to use 2 accordion style coupon holders that were about as long as a busines sized envelope but fit in my purse. I used one for food and paper products and the other for drugstore items as well as assigning sections for each store where I frequently shop. About a month ago, I switched to a zippered binder; it is similar to the one in the video that Diana posted. I have the files on the outside that I use for each store and I keep the weekly ads and coupons that I am planning to use as well as any RRs or EBs in their respective files. I also keep a calculator, pen, notepad and small pair of scissors in the binder.
As far as the coupons go, I read on another blog that some had used the photo page inserts that are made like the baseball card inserts but with only 3 large pockets. I thought this would be ideal because I could get more coupons in each pocket, not really realizing how the baseball card thing worked!!
Currently, I have a LOT of categories and although this makes it easy to find coupons in the store, it is a pain to sort and weed out the expireds. Plus, by having more than 1 type of coupon in each pocket, I still have to pull out the whole stack and shuffle through them if I run across an item that I wasn’t planning to purchase.
My plan is to use the same binder ( for awhile, at least) but use tab dividers, broader sections and go to using the baseball card holders for the coupons. I will hang onto the photo album sheets and maybe use some for store specific coupons or something like that, although so far it works well just to have those in the outside file section.
A few notes about me: I do shop with a 14 month old and discovered a long time ago that I would rather haul her and a coupon binder with ALL of my coupons instead of having to make a trip back out to the car or worse yet, have coupons at home! I also keep all restaurant and service coupons in a small accordion file in my car at all time.
Each week, I do sit down and make a “game plan” for each store, copying and pasting deals from this blog and a few others into a Word doc which I print and use as my list for each store. If you paste into a 2007 Word doc, the IP links can be clicked on,too so that’s great if I need to go back and print a coupon and can’t remember where I saw the deal posted!
I do not purchase the Sunday paper except for rare occasions when there are so many coupons out there that I can’t stand myself. =) I take the leftovers from my mom and grandmother’s inserts and also pick up a few extras from our offi ce swap box. It is sometimes frustrating to not have as many coupons as I would like, but that doesn’t happen very often. I use a LOT of Internet Printables and also occasionally purchase coupons from the Coupon Clippers.
My family does not currently have a set grocery budget. I shop wisely and do not go “grocery shopping”. I purchase food items around what is on sale and if I buy 20 jars of Ragu, we have pasta for awhile. =)
Shar
Love, Love, Love the binder. Check out video it will show you how to organize it: https://www.savvyshopperdeals.com/component/option,com_videos/#vmix_media_id=3098344ahoo.com/
Shar
Oops, I can’t get it to link right, right website, wrong video, select part 2, it’s about organization!
nida
I use the binder method, with a zipper binder but i need to upgrade to at LEAST 5″ now. I use plastic tab separators to divide my binder into categories (Paper products, dairy,baking, pasta etc) and then I either paper clip or binder clip all the coupons in one category. because grocery stores are also organized by categories, my shopping is a BREEZE
I only cut out the coupons I think I am most likely to use (based on the 2-3 sites i visit), and then the inserts with remaining coupons get dated and filed in a letter sized file holder box, that has a handle so i can leave it in my car in case i find a good deal and can run to my car. within the box, i just have all the inserts for one month per manilla folder.
also, i also keep all stores internet policies in my binder. VERY IMPORTANT! oh and also a price chart… just in case, along with a calculator and scissors.
i do not use baseball card inserts, they’re a waste of time, as is preemptive clipping, and I find, that between dealseeking mom and couponmom, or even hotcouponworld, they’re so well rounded, that I cant remember when i ever thought oh darn, i left my inserts at home….
While shopping, i take the coupons i will be using and put it into either a ziploc or envelope, before checking out, i make sure i have all the appropriate coupons and items, and then only hand out 5-7 q’s at a time, so I can keep track. I then check the receipt before i leave the store.
Nathalie
I have tried several methods and have settled on one that works for me. I cut my inserts as I get them, doing a couple a night. If I get tired of them sometimes my son likes to help. (He’s also good at reminding me in the grocery store if there is something I missed he knows I have a coupon for!) Then I put the coupons for item we regularly buy/use in a small accordian file I keep in my purse. I have them sorted by general aisles in the grocery store. When sorting them into the accordian file I keep out any duplicates, and coupons that expire in the current month. I keep the coupons that expire in the current month in a section in the front. I always start with those when matching up my coupons to my grocery list. The duplicates and coupons for items we don’t normally use go in my “extra box”. This is a white baby wipes container that I made dividers for out of cereal box cardboard and cardstock. I wrote the same catergories as my accordian file. The “extra” coupons may be for items I won’t normally purchase unless they are low cost, free, or a new item that the coupon would entice me to buy if it went on sale. I also sort out the coupons for the current month in the extra box too and keep them in a section up front. I carry my extra box with me (almost) every time I go shopping. It helps keep me organized and it’s not too bulky or ugly.
Tara
I use a binder with full size page protectors, that I write on the front with a sharpie the categories and stores.
The first section I have the various grocery stores (each one gets there own), cvs this week, cvs next week, target, wags this week, wags next week, trials, and freebies.
As I am going thru the ads I can pull the coupons for that store (or as I am cutting them) and put them in the proper store section. This makes it very easy when I want to make a target run for free trial stuff, it is already sorted and ready to go, I just grab that section.
The second section is for groceries and is sorted by the typical categories, and the third is for HBA and pet stuff.
I find that I can find everything easily and it doesn’t take me long to file them… and I love that when I print coupons for a deal, I know where to find them!
I also have a flat type wallet that snaps that I keep my store cards and my RR and ecbs in, and what ever coupons I am using for that run. It makes it easier to keep track of them all and I typically put a set amount in there on sunday and it helps me know what my OOP is… when the cash is gone, I am done for the week!
Angie
My sister gave me the Couponizer as a gift and I really love it, but it’s really all I know besides a big unorganized wad of coupons that I used to have. I do wish it had more categories (split personal hygiene up some, especially) but overall it really helps me to stay organized.
Ellen
I am new to couponing and have been looking into different ideas of how I can organize my system. I love to be organized and saw the greatest item on a website that I have to buy. It is a coupon box that fits exactly into the front seat of the shopping cart and is on a website that is called “refundcents.com”. Can some of you get back to me and let me know your thoughts whether this product would be a good investment for me or other coupon ladies.
TERRY
HOW DO I ORGANIZE MY COUPONS , WELL I HAVE APLASTIC SHOE BOX WHICH I DECORATED , ON THE OUTSIDE AND ON THE INSIDE I DIVIDED IT IN HALF WIDTH WIDE HAVE INDEX CARDS WITH TABS ON THEM TO DIVIDE IN TO CATEGORIES WHEN I DON’ T USE THE SECOND SIDE WHICH IS MORE OFTEN THAN NOT I HAVE ROOM FOR A NOTE BOOK TO RECORD WHAT I BOUGHT A POCKET CALCULATOR AND SOME PENS , I TAKE IT WITH ME ALL THE TIME SO I DONT MISS OUT ON CLEARANCE OR UN ADVERTISED SPECIALS TY SORRY FOR CAPS EASIER TO SEE
kim t
I have a huge coupon binder and it has labels tabs and all i love it. when i go out shopping i use zipper bags and write the stores name on them and put the coupons i need for that store in that baggie. I keep the huge binder in the car so if i find something else i want i can just go out and get it. I use to be so unorganized and waste to much time in stores digging my coupons out. It is so much faster this way. If I am going to be buying alot of stuff and going to many stores I write out a list of what i’m buying and what coupons to use for it so i can just go and grab it at the store and then just grab my coupons out of the baggie. It is so much easier if you have a fussy 2 year old along and in a hurry.
Danismom
I’m still pretty new to all of this so….
I found the check-sized expandable organizers on sale at target. I bought 4 of them. Each one has 13 pockets so I have the alphabet divided in half in two of them. I organize man q’s in those by manufacturer (eg Betty Crocker, General Mills, Febreeze, etc). In 1 other one I have store coupons and in the last 1 I have coupons that I haven’t sorted or entered into my database yet.
It may seem like a lot to carry into the store, but it seems to be working well for me so far.
John DeFlumeri Jr
We keep them in several small boxes by category
karen
Like many others I use a binder. But one piece of advice I have is my sister and I found online a place that sells plastic sheets that hold old-school floppy disks for computers. We use these instead of trading card holders.. (Those seemed to tear too easily. )
Also these are larger pockets for some of those coupons that are larger.
Amy
I have a binder that zips closed. It’s just one of the ones they sell for back to school. I got one that zips closed so that none of my coupons fall out if I were to drop it.
I use baseball card plastic inserts for 90% of my coupons and this works great. You can get those for less than $5 for a package of 30 sheets at Wal-Mart or Target. For my other coupons that are of larger size, I use plastic 4×6 photo binder inserts.
I love my binder because it came with a 3-section accordian file in the front, where I can stash whole inserts, shopping lists, etc…and alaso a zippered pencil pouch, where I store my calculator and scissors. On the front of the binder, there’s also a zippered pocket where I can stash receipts, unfiled coupons, etc….
I use a binder pencil pouch with a zipper to put the coupons in that I am going to use. I pull the coupons out of my binder as I’m shopping and put them into the pencil pouch, where they’re easy to get to at the checkout.
Kim
I have been wondering the same thing.. Im glad you addressed this..
Just today, I went to Office Max and got some business card holders and 1 pkg of the trading cards holders to see which one worked better.. I got 50% off on the business card holders since I have a business Max Perks card..
At the moment, I have an accordian coupon filer, which while it is good sized, I’ve outgrown it. My overflow coupons (mostly internet prints) are held together with rubber bands in no specific order..which is why I decided I needed a completely different system.
I also put my rebate offers in a page protector and also have one to put my plans & specifics as well as reciepts.
Thanks everyone for your ideas.. .
couponloversunite
I have been couponing off and on for years. You can read about my chose at my blog .. Thanks bring this question up. Fun to read others thoughts and methods. https://couponloversunite.blogspot.com/2009/10/using-my-binder-method-to-organize-my.html