I decided it would be beneficial to spend one more day talking about coupon organization before we move on. The coupons that are scattered around your kitchen or at the bottom of your purse won't do you any good if they aren't available when you need them! I keep an envelope on the counter in my kitchen and any coupons that come into my house through the mail, from a friend, off another product, etc. go into it immediately. Then, usually once a week, I take the envelope and file the coupons away in my binder. Car trips around town (when my husband is driving!) are my favorite time to do this task.
I want to answer a couple questions that came up in response to yesterday's post:
Question #1: Neat ideas....like the baseball card page idea...but when I am shopping with 6 kids...the oldest being 7...it will be too big for me. Do you suggest something a bit smaller? open to any ideas!
Answer: I hear you! You certainly don't have to go with a large binder. It can be a bit difficult to handle in the store--especially if you have children along. This organizer by Franklin Covey is probably the best, least expensive, organized, smaller option I can recommend. If you have a child riding in the grocery cart, you will probably need to teach them to not touch it. You could try also an inexpensive options like this or one that is a bit more pricey but VERY nice and organized, like this.
As I mentioned in Part 4, I put the coupons I intend to use for a given shopping trip in a certain section of my binder so they are ready to go. But I often come across unadvertised sales and I like to be able to quickly see if I have coupons to match the sale items. The baseball card holders make this process quick and easy. Another reason I decided on the binder is due to the fact that some coupons are rather large and do not fit in the smaller organizers. Whatever you decide, make sure your system is one you will be sure to use. If your coupons are organized by section in a smaller organizer, it shouldn't take you much time to find what you're looking for.
Question #2: Love the collapsible file folder idea for the circulars. Mine have just been falling over in a manilla folder. Why do you have tabs for the stores in addition to the item categories?
Answer: When I organize myself for a shopping trip, I put my shopping list, clipped coupons, and my printout of coupons I have loaded onto my shopper's card (as discussed in Part 3) in a page protector behind that store's tab in my binder. If you decide to use something smaller than a binder, just make sure you have everything you need for your shopping trip in one easy-access place.
Remember, the bulk of your coupons are neatly organized and ready for clipping in an expandable file folder. But as you get into this, you will have lots of other coupons coming in (and you want them!), so you do need an organized place to keep them.
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