Organizing and cutting coupons can be one of the most challenging tasks to do in saving money.

There is no right way as long as you are organized in your own way!



Here are a few great ways:

1. Bins - use index cards as labels for each product type
2. Binder - similar to bins but coupons are placed in baseball card size sheets
3. File Folder - don't cut any, just organize inserts by date -must be really organized for this one as you will need to know which insert the coupon came in to find it!

Things that don't work:

• Tossing them in your purse/wallet - bad plan you will forget
• Cutting them - putting them in drawer - again you will forget

I use the bin method as I have a lot of coupons. Every Sunday I sit down with all the ads I am interested in. Then, I have a zipper pencil folder for each store I shop in. Each zipper folder is a different color and see through. The zipper folders are stored in a 3 ring binder.

I then determine what is on sale at each store and put it in the appropriate zipper folder. I only bring that zipper folder into the store (so I don't lose all my coupons. (things happen).

Of course if I find something on sale that maybe was not listed in the ad, I just run out to the car to get the rest of my coupons!

Works like a charm. I have tried all the ways above and I have found this is what works for me.

Try a few of them out and see what you think!

Here's to better organization!

Moonflower

My Coupons are my American Express Card - Don't leave home without them!

I was just reading this tonight and thought it could use a

That's a good idea, that might work for me. I like the part about wiriting it down.I'm going out shopping tomorrow to buy binders so that i can get started.

after trying about every possible method, some kinda goofy to me. I settled on the bined system. But even that did not satisfy me completely. Seemed like my binders were never big enough. and yes, you read that right PLURAL binders.

I now, thanks to this site and the auction forum, am the very proud owner of 2 case it binders. these babies have shoulder straps, they stretch, they are HUGE. my green baby is health ,beauty, cleaning. its a 2 inch binder. hubby changed the rings for the shoulder strap to metal rings and the plastic d rings are now metal. much sturdier.

I got a new one which i converted to tonight to use as well. i had been having to carry a purse to hold my CVS binder and my msc file folders that i carry in to specific stores with shopping plans. Now, my CVS stuff is all inside the new 3 inch case it DUAL binder. this baby has 2 sets of rings in it. its HUGE!! my food coupons are on one side and i have zipper pouches with store specific coupons and plans on that side as well. the second smaller ring side holds my CVS stuff.

i am going to be shopping tomorrow morning and i think i am going to find this works very very well for me!! watch out stores, i am stocked, locked and ready to coupon

I shop for several households for CVS, not just my own.

I have been "extreme couponing" for about a year now. I have tried several methods and I am still finding it difficult to stay organized. I have decided to switch over to a binder.

I have found that I don't really use that many different coupons. I do use different brands depending on the sales, but I don't use that many coupons really. I don't use that many boxed, processed foods.

I find myself just keeping all those coupons in case I need them for; a deal, (like at CVS) or run across an unadvertised special or for free items I might donate or I send them overseas.

What order have you tried in your binder and what works best for you? How many categories and sub-categories do you need to keep from being confused? or am I the only one who gets confused?

[COLOR=Blue][I][SIZE=3]searcher7105[/SIZE][/I][/COLOR]

I use the binder/baseball card method too.... But right now you would never know it. Am I the only one that hates cutting, sorting, and putting them in the binder? It take me hours!

Now, with IP coupons. I leave them on the sheet and hole-punch them. Stick them in the back of the binder with scissors.

I do both now. Mainly my binders come with me for any unadvertised deals/clearance etc and those only really have the coupons i had when i started that system. The following week I started getting 30 plus papers free at the end of sunday night so I use a file box too. If I clip from an insert I try to clip all of the same coupons out so even if i need 10 i clip all 30 and stick them in my binder. That way I know exactly where to look from then til exp. My inserts get so confusing i end up with 4 different smartsource and 3 different redplums each week. UGH I still sit there frantically looking through when i find a good deal!

I like the binder method but then again, I'm a little biased with that.

I use the binder method (thanks to Foggy). I also use a check file with my binder.

I go through all the ads, write down what I'm interested in getting and write down if I'm getting anything in return (i.e. RR's, ECBs or SCR) and how much. After that, I go through my binder, find all my q's and put them into the proper slots in my check file. My check file is labeled according to stores I shop at (i.e. Rite Aid, Walgreens, CVS, Target, Safeway and Kmart). I take my binder with me everywhere I go, but if I don't find a great deal, I don't have to open it. The less I have to open my binder the better for me because I always have my three kids with me and sometimes 1 or 2 are in the cart. There's just not a lot of room to work. I also keep my ECBs and RRs in the check file in the proper store slot.

After working exclusively with a binder and discovering I was missing stuff because I wasn't remembering to pull the q's out while shopping just wasn't working for me. I love the system I have now. It works great for me. Also, I keep the very first slot open and while shopping, I place my q's in there as I grab the items. It keeps them in their own place without getting lost or dropped.

Now, as far as clipping goes... I clip weekly but I only keep/file in my binder what I know I'm going to want. The rest goes in a tub to trade, sell or toss.

I haven't organized my coupons yet and have had to go through ALL of them every week to find the ones I need. I finally decided to try the binder method and have all the supplies.

But I'm wondering how to organize them in the slots. Do you do them by type,brand, $ off etc.. Specifically cereal. Do you put all cereal coupons in one slot or separate them by brand?

Jenelle,

See my binder post (link is in my siggy). I have how to set one up with pictures, etc.

For your cereal... I use one slot for brand.. All General Mills in one. All Kellogg's in another, Post in another, etc.