- A file or accordion folder is one way to organize coupons. Photo courtesy ladybugbkt.
We all know that coupons are an excellent way to save money on grocery bills, but finding the time to clip and organize coupons can be difficult. There’s nothing worse than standing in the checkout line wrestling digging through your purse trying to find a particular coupons. Or worse, digging through your coupons and realizing that many of them have expired.
While it may take a little bit of effort, organizing your coupons can streamline your shopping process and ensure that you actually use many of those great savings. While you certainly won’t be able to redeem every coupon you find, creating an organized place to store and sort your coupons is one of the best ways to trim down your monthly grocery bill.
There are a lot of different systems you can use to organize your coupons. The one you choose will depend largely on your own needs. Consider some of these options, and then choose the one that works best for your lifestyle and shopping habits.
First, some important tips for getting organized:
- Set aside a day to clip and organize your coupons. Weekends are ideal, especially since the Sunday paper contains many of the week’s best coupons.
- Choose the coupons you know you will use, but also clip out coupons that you might use. Even if you end up not using it, you might find a friend to give it to or you can just toss it out after it expires.
- Sort coupons into piles according to category: food, health products, beauty items,etc.
1. Organize Your Coupons with Envelopes
This is probably one of the easiest ways to organize your coupons. Start saving those postage paid envelopes that come with all of your junk mail. Use a marker to label the envelope according to category, and then place your coupons into the envelopes. Voila! Then, find an empty storage container and place the envelopes inside for a handy coupon file.
This method works well if you have a relatively small number of coupons to sort.
2. Store Coupons in a Binder
A small binder is a great place to store coupons along with other supplies, such as a paper pad for your grocery list or a calculator to tally up your saving and spending. A cheap three ring binder is a workable solution, but I personally recommend using a zip binder that offers protection against losing items.
Purchase some plastic sheets that are used for collecting photos or trading cards and some divider labels to mark the various sections of your binder. You can divide each section in a number of ways, such as by coupon category or expiration date.
3. Organize Coupons with a Small Accordion File
A small accordion file that can easily fit inside of your purse is another fast an easy way to store and organize your coupons. Larger sized accordion files would also work, but they can be bulky and difficult to manage in a shopping situation.
Start by placing labels on each section of your file, and then just sort your coupons into their various locations. This can be an excellent system if you have a small number of coupons, but it can become a bit unwieldy for storing a larger quantity of coupons.
- Photo albums are another great way to organize coupons. Image courtesy ninjapoodles.
4. Use a Pre-made Photo Book to Organize Your Coupons
My preferred method of storing coupons is to use a small photo book. These books are compact and can be purchased in a wide variety of designs, making them an attractive way to store your coupons while shopping. Simply place your coupons inside the handy photo plackets, and then place labeled divider tabs on the right-hand side of the pages to mark different sections of your book.
5. Try Small File Boxes to Store Coupons
Those small file boxes that are often used to hold 3 x 5 note cards or 4 x 6 recipes cards are also great tools for organizing coupons.
