Organizing your coupons

Probably the only way I have been able to be sane...and find all the deals that I have...is because my coupons are super organized. There is no one sure fire method. Everyone is different, and your degree of needed organization will be different. For me, this has been a life transforming thing. I used to be pretty good at scoring good deals on clothes. My mom would always be amazed and told me that I had my grandmother's knack of finding that good deal. Now, finding that good deal requires more than just looking through the sale rack. Now I can literally cut out my money from the Sunday papers. That is truly how I look at coupons. They're literally my form of payment.

For me, the way that made the most sense was to do the binder thing. I have a sturdy 2in binder. Inside, it came with some file sections that I use for coupons I might not have cut already or booklets that I'm not sure if I'll use, but don't want to lose. It also has a pencil case built in. I use this for my scissors and stapler. After that, I have 32 labeled sections that house the baseball card holders. So far, I have used 3 packets of the card holders, and I'm slowly running low on those. :P

This is by no means the only way that your coupons can be organized. This way requires tons of time up front. Every week I must cut and then correctly organize the coupons. Time consuming prior to going shopping: yes!! Once I'm in the store: not at all.

Some of the other ways that I have seen it done is by using whole sheet protectors to protect whole sheets from the inserts. Instead of cutting and organizing by coupon type, these are not cut and organized by date it was printed. Most websites will tell you the date it was printed when you look next to the coupon you could possibly use for the deal. Time consuming on Sundays: not in the least. With this way, your time will be when you make your shopping list. You'll need to go through and cut the coupons you'll be using prior to going shopping. Also, the only other draw back is that if you plan on shopping the clearance sales, make sure you bring your scissors with you. I chose not to do this method purely for this drawback. I guarantee you that I will not be able to keep up with what coupon came out when.

Now, if you are just starting and not sure how much couponing you'll be doing, the traditional small according file folder system has worked for years. :)

How are you organizing?