Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Coupon Organizer

I have been collecting coupons since the beginning of the year and have used a few different things to organize them. At first, I had a small accordion type holder that was see through. It worked fine, but only had room to separate them by category. I soon found that some categories needed to be divided up even more and quickly grew out of that one (I still use it for my small amount of food coupons though). Next, was the index card file box. What a disaster! I couldn't find ANY of the coupons I was looking for at the store, and with that ended up leaving the store empty handed one day from my frustration. It was then that I came across a site( i can't remember where!) that showed how to put your coupons into baseball card holders, IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER (a type A personalities dream come true..lol) and even have room for everything else that goes with couponing..all in one neat and tidy spot! Needless to say, my hubby is very happy to have my stuff all contained in one area..paper clutter is my arch nemesis and this has helped me A LOT!

This binder was from Freecycle...so even though its not the cutest one I could have, its frugal and that's more important right?
This is the front. There's a pocket on there that I keep for food coupons and things I need to see.


This is the inside of my binder. I hold all of my internet printable coupons as well as the coupons I am using on that particular shopping trip. They are easily accessible and I don't have to go searching which is always nice.


Here's my little zipper pouch ..lol. It holds important things I don't want lost like my CVS extra care bucks or Walgreens register rewards. I also put my pen and a few other things in there i may need. You may also see peeking out behind that pocket some coupons that are NOT in alphabetical order, right? Those are what I call "filler" coupons. I always need a small item to "fill" my order to get my total close to the amount of ECB's I have. Also, these items are usually near the register



And here is a page of my coupons. I have them all alphabetized for the most part, but they do get out of order as I add more and use them up. As you can see, the coupons are separated into baseball card sheets. They were about $7.00 for a pack of 65 at Walmart. Well worth it!



I still have lots of extras left and keep them in the back.



And this is the back of my binder where I keep my ads for the current week and month. There is also another hidden pocket where I keep coupon inserts that I haven't cut yet.


I'm sure that there are others that have better ways for organizing their coupons and would love to see how! For now though, I am very happy with my new system and I look like I know what I am doing when I walk into the store now instead of an organizational nightmare! LOL

6 comments:

  1. That is so cool Amber! I am thinking about getting on the coupon bandwagon, and you know I am a fellow type A gal. :) Thanks for sharing your binder. Happy shopping!!!

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  2. LOVE LOVE LOVE the new coupon binder! This is EXACTLY the format I was planning on using, but I can't seem to find the baseball card protectors....where did you find them?? They used to be in the notebook section, but they've been elusive for weeks. :(

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  3. Girl, you are so organized! I really need to clip and save coupons, too. Maybe I will after seeing this post. :)

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