Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Coupon Organizing

Since I asked for ideas last week, I thought I would update with how I have organized my coupons. But first, both Heather and Monica sent me a link for Thrifty Florida Mom and I wanted to pass that on to you. She has coupon organizing tips - it's a little advanced for me but she has great ideas. Maybe one day...

Anyway, I already had one of the 2 in. coupon organizers but it wasn't working very well for me. I decided to try it again but this time, I put envelopes in (sm. letter sz.). Each envelope is labeled with what type of coupons are in it - for instance, dairy, cleaning supplies, medicines etc. If there are a few different types in one, then I labeled more than one on the outside. It helped me to break it down into much smaller categories. I will be buying one more coupon organizer and then I will put all the non-food coupons in one organizer and all the food coupons in the other. I will keep both with me when I shop.

At the front of the organizer, I put envelopes labeled by store (CVS, Meijer, Target etc.). I put the coupons that I plan to use at that store in the labeled envelope and if I add any coupons while shopping, I also stick them in there. It helps to keep them organized and ready to use - then I'm not holding them all at the end (which I've done).

It was so much easier searching for coupons for a few deals that I happened upon while shopping the other day. I just pulled the corresponding envelope out and looked for what I needed. I'm happy to report that I saved almost $10 at Meijer with just coupons on a fairly small trip last week not to mention the other $32 from the specials. It was worth it for me! I'm going to persevere for now and give it at least 3 months and then re-evaluate my system. Thanks again for all your tips!

5 comments:

Micah said...

I just got all my coupons re-organized as well, and my shopping trips this week went SO much smoother. FYI, Target has some plastic organizers (2 different sizes) in their $1 aisle right now - might check there for your second organizer!

Kate Ambrose said...

My coupons aren't even cut from the past 2 weeks. Just sitting in my box staring at me. Judging me.

Yeah, I need to get to work on them. Thanks for inspiring me! :)

Monica said...

I admire you for attempting to organize coupons. Most things you can sort of organize halfway and get by, but not with coupons. I'm contemplating whether or not I'm going to take the Thrifty Florida Mom challenge. I just don't think I'll be consistent enough, but I'm beginning to realize how many great deals I do miss by not couponing the old fashioned way.

Hey, I have alot of Greek yogurt over here. Want some?

Alaina said...

Yep, we'd LOVE some! Can I come by around 7? I'll give you a call. Thanks!

Paula said...

Alaina, you have inspired me so much. I have started clipping coupons (even online) and signed up at pampers.com for coupons and points. I even bought a book today at half.com (instead of my normal amazon) and saved $10. Thanks for reminding me that a penny saved is a penny earned.