Coupon 101:Coupon Organization Tips

Ok so yes it seems like a silly topic to discuss but organization is key to being successful with couponing. There is no right way to organize your coupons, it is whatever works for you.

Things I have used:

• Shoebox with labeled envelopes
• binder(currently using)
• mini folder
• filing cabinet (keep inserts whole and in order by date and clipping as needed)

I can not stress enough that you do not want your coupons to look like this 🙂

I am currently using a binder I do not use the ones with the zippers because they only expand so far.

Always remember you need to find the system that works for you. No matter what way it is, if it is not working for you try another way, but it is very important that your system works well for you!

Tips for Organizing your Coupons (no matter what method you use)

• Group like item coupons in the same section. For example keep all shampoo coupons together so you know where to easily go to find your shampoo coupons when you need them. For me I use the baseball card holders and I have multiple pages of just shampoo coupons.
• Group identical coupons together.  If you are using envelops or any other method similar use paper clips to keep the like coupons with each other.  Nothing is worse then knowing you have 5 of the same coupon only to have a pile of coupons to dig through and you can only find 4 and as soon as you get home the other ones pops us (speaking from experience lol)
• Make sure the expiration date is easily able to be seen. This is especially important with the binder method. It makes cleaning out the expired coupons much easier.
• Divide your coupons in to categories for example :household, food, fun
• Divide your categories in to product types in each category for example Food: have a separate section for canned goods, yogurt ect
• Keep Store coupons separate from the rest of your coupons.Make a separate category for stores. I have a separate baseball card holder for CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, ShopRite and weis. This way all my store coupons and rainchecks for those stores are always together.

Other Organization tips:

• making sure you removed your expired, there is nothing worse then flipping through your coupons and thinking you are going to score an awesome deal and then realize that the coupon is expired.
• know how you organized it, and keep like products in the same area so you are not wasting time in the store or preparing to go shopping
• clip your coupons and file them all in one sitting (if possible I know sometimes it is not with little ones running around) But doing it all at once makes it easier to clip them, put them in like piles and then file them away. Not filing them right away can cause them to get out of order and like coupons to get separated and it turns in to an annoying mess.
• If you know that you are never going to use a certain coupon don’t keep it. It is just taking up precious space in your coupon collection.
• invest in a quality organization system that works for you. You do not want to be redoing your system because it fell apart in a few months. That would waste your time and money, so putting money out upfront to keep your money saving coupons safe it well worth it!

If you have any coupon organization tips to share we would love to hear them!