Coupons binder organizing
Contents:
The reason is that once you clip all those little pieces of paper you're just left with big stacks that you can't find anything easily. I've created a list of coupon categories you can reference, with both main categories and subcategories, to help you get an idea of how you should categorize your own coupon collection.
In addition, I've created a two page printable version of the categories and subcategories you can use as a table of contents in your binder, for example, if you choose that method. I've given a little more instruction on categories in the coupon categories article itself, so be sure to read it and familiarize yourself with the suggested categories when setting up your organizational system as part of this Challenge.
Here's where I lay out the two main organizational methods for clipped coupons, so you can choose which one will work best for you. They are the coupon binder ad the coupon box or wallet. Many people use a coupon binder to organize coupons. To make one, create tabs for each of your main coupon categories see above and dividers for your subcategories if needed , and place them in a large, sturdy three ring binder. Place the coupons in special divider plastic sleeves, such as for baseball cards, or those shown below designed for coupons.
Then, carry your binder with you on all your shopping trips and flip to the right page to retrieve coupons as needed. The other option for organizing clipped coupons is to place them in a coupon wallet or coupon box. Basically, all of these types of coupon organizer systems are portable filing cabinets for your coupons where, instead of retrieving coupons by flipping pages in a binder you thumb through the tabs and fing the coupons where you filed them.
- printable coupons for spray paint?
- carls jr coupon august 2019.
- Coupon Categories And Subcategories For Organizing Coupons?
Here's one of the best explanations of how to organize coupons using a coupon box or wallet I've found. I've embedded the video of Carrie Isaac's explanation below because sometimes "seeing" how someone does it makes a lot more sense than me explaining it in writing. Although Carrie uses a box for her organizational system, unless you do a lot of couponing a simpler wallet will most likely work for you, if you choose this method.
By the way, Carrie is the author of a great course which is now sold by Crystal from Money Saving Mom, called Grocery University which is an audio course about how to use coupons effectively to actually lower your grocery bill. You can click the link to read my review here on the site of this course.
I've taken it myself, and definitely learned some good things! To the right is a small expandable file coupon wallet, which is perfect for someone who does not clip many coupons, and therefore does not need to have lots of categories. It is small and light weight, so it is easily portable and not too unwieldy. You've got to regularly add new coupons and cull old expired coupons from your organizational system, or it will quickly become useless and outdated.
Therefore, the fifth step in the Organize Coupons Challenge is to get in the habit of adding new coupons to your organizational system about once a week. In addition, since many coupons expire at the end of the month get in the habit around the beginning of the month of combing through your coupons to remove all the expired ones. Remember, you can do these steps while watching TV or listening to music, or if your kids are old enough you can enlist their help in these tasks and make couponing a family affair!
Please note that you can donate your expired coupons to military families living overseas , if you're interested. I've got more detailed instructions at the link. In addition, coupons generally follow cycles, similar to sales cycles, so even if you didn't get a chance to use a particular coupon before it expired don't feel bad or make a special trip just to use it.
Instead, be patient and a similar coupon will most likely come back around again.
1. Get a sturdy zipper binder that’s at least 3 inches.
If you've got a lot of gift cards you can take a couple minutes this week and organize these as well. The advantages of this include not forgetting that you even have them to spend, not losing them, and using the entire balance off of them instead of letting money get basically wasted. I've written an article on how to organize gift cards that can give you some simple tried and true ideas.
But these items are only helpful if you can actually find what you need when you want to pull something from your stockpile, it is still fresh, not expired when you want to use it, and it takes up an appropriate amount of space in your home and is not instead clutter. First, you should declutter excess from your stockpile , such as all the items you don't actually have room for, can't use within a reasonable period, or that have gotten too old or expired to use.
You can read the linked Declutter mission for more tips. Next, once you've gotten rid of the excess you should organize what you've got left. I've written an article with my best stockpile organization and storage tips , along with lots of reader photos showing practical real life ways they've organized their own stockpiles. Take time this week to get your own stockpile in order so your couponing efforts don't go to waste. I would love to know how this week's Organize Coupons Challenge is going.
How to Organize Your Coupons in Minutes
You can tell me your progress or give me more ideas for how you've organized this area of your life below in the comments. I also love before and after pictures of your couponing systems, and explanations of what you've done to make it work for you and your family.
You can either share what you've done over the course of the week, or if you've already got a system that works for you, you can show me that as well. Submit your pictures up to four per submission and get featured in the Hall of Fame.
You've worked hard to get organized, so now here's your chance to show off! I've received several great ideas and pictures from participants in the challenge sharing how they go about organizing coupons. You can see the hall of fame for this challenge here. Check it out for yourself to get some inspiration! We're working on our homes slowly, one area at a time, so don't get too distracted from this week's challenge.
5 Easy Steps to Create and Maintain Your Coupon Binder
However, I know people like to plan for what's next, so I'll give you a little sneak peek. We're finally getting close to done with kitchen organization , since we've been working on various aspects of it from Week 1 through now. We'll finish out the process of organizing areas or functions of our kitchens next week when we focus on healthy meal planning and grocery shopping.
Much of the organizing work you've done in previous challenges has culminated to make this task easier than you may have otherwise thought possible. I can't wait to get this section of our houses organized completely, can you? If you'd like to join a small community of others who are all commmitted to these organizing challenges and decluttering missions, and want more interaction with me, as well as weekly group coaching sessions for the upcoming week's challenge, I'd urge you to join the private and exclusive Declutter Premium Facebook group you can learn more about it at the link.
There are also tabs where you can add labels to help you find the ones you need. This system is the best one for someone who is new at using coupons or even a casual couponer. There are no labels on the tabs, so you will want to add your own. Here are some sample categories you may want to consider. Add in any additional sections, or remove those that you do not need.
The idea is to ensure you can find the coupons you need when you are ready to use them. Once you get more into couponing, you may have too many coupons to fit into a small folio. You might also want to see every coupon you have available, without clipping only when you need to use them. If this is you, then it is time to upgrade to the coupon binder.
This is what I affectionately call the Grand Daddy of coupon organizing. You will need to find a binder. Make sure it has both a handle and strap so you can easily carry it in and out of the store.
In addition, you will want to ensure that it zips shut that way, if it opens while you are shopping, you can close it and keep your coupons from falling out. When you are ready to clip, you will have everything right at your fingertips. You can find binders on Amazon , at Target or even Walmart. This is the binder I use, and you can see the features I mentioned. Add baseball card sleeves and divider tabs. The sleeves are where you will place the coupons once they are clipped.
Once your book is set up, next comes adding the sections!
I recommend that you do not use the tabs that slide into the divider tabs as they can easily fall out. Instead, pay a bit more and get those that you can either write on or place a sticker on. You can find this list in a printable format here. One find thing you will want to add is a plastic sleeve or pocket. That way, if you have coupons you need to file, those you want to use or other items, you have a place to put them. Now that you have a method to store the coupons, you want to organize them quickly each week. This method will help you do so in no time at all.
To start, you need a coupon guide. You can make one out of poster board or cardboard by drawing lines and adding headings that relate to each section in your coupon binder. Alternatively, make one out of fabric. Sew two pieces together and then stitch in lines to divide each section and finish it by adding the category headings.