It’s been a while since I’ve talked about the best way to organize your coupons, and on this super rainy Western Washington day, I thought it would be just the topic!

Over the past few years, I’ve tinkered with my own methods for organizing coupons including filing whole inserts and using the binder method.

To be honest, there was a period of a few months earlier this year I just could not keep up and the binder system was like a binder of guilt – full of expired coupons and work to be done. I’ve also just filed whole inserts, but I found it often took me more time to go back repeatedly to fish out coupons I needed.

I also missed many opportunities for deals because this method was just not portable. I’m now using a simple coupon box method I’d like to share with you today.

Deciding What Coupons Make the Cut

It might surprise you to learn that I don’t cut all my coupons! I used to do this, but found soon on that it was a huge waste of time because I don’t use even half of the coupons that come out in the Sunday inserts!

What has made my life so much simpler is to cut only the coupons I think I’ll be most likely to use.

Here are some tips for how I decide which coupons to cut:

• I cut coupons for products and food my family actually uses. For instance, today I clipped coupons for Brawny paper towels, Softsoap hand soap, Rosarita refried beans, and All Laundry. I skipped the pet and baby-related coupons. 
• I cut high-value coupons and/or coupons I’m sure there’s to be a deal on. If you’re new to the world of couponing, it might be hard to know what a high-value coupon is or where there might be deals for some of the coupons you’re seeing. This will come with time! Today I clipped a $2.50 Tresemme coupon knowing I can get that product for FREE at Rite Aid this week. I also clipped the Golden Grains pasta coupon because it ends up being FREE at Safeway through tomorrow. {Please note that these deals were good back in September 2013.}
• I only cut the number of like coupons I can use. Take time to look over the fine print while you’re cutting the coupons – it could save you time! I noticed the Tresemme coupon I clipped today had a limit of two like coupons per person- so I only bothered cutting it out of two inserts, even though I receive four papers each Sunday.
• I generally don’t bother cutting the P&G insert coupons. The P&G coupons you’ll find in the monthly insert generally all expire at the end of that month. I am also very familiar with the P&G family of brands (Crest, Olay, Swiffer, Pampers, etc.) that are likely to be included in those inserts. Given that, I’m more apt to just go back and clip what I need from those inserts when I need it. The only exceptions would be any super high value coupons I want to make sure I keep in the forefront of my mind or their quarterly insert, where you have more than a month to redeem the coupons.

I try not to labor too long about whether or not to cut a particular coupon. The idea here is to make a quick decision!

Sunday Afternoon (or Monday, or whatever!) Coupon Clipping Routine

Now that I’ve outlined which coupons I cut, I thought I’d share my entire coupon clipping routine.

Step #1: Sort and group the coupon inserts. As I mentioned, I get four copies of the paper delivered to my door every Sunday (more on that in a minute!). I remove all the inserts from the papers and then I group the like inserts together.

Step #2: Cut the coupons I am interested in. I usually take a bit more time when I’m cutting the first insert – making sure I’ve not missed any great coupons. I then lay out each coupon on my counter.

As I move through the other like inserts, I just stack on top. Now another time saving method if you get more than one insert would be to lay the like insert pages on top of each other so you cut once – and out pops 2, 3, or 4 of the same coupon. This isn’t a bad idea, but just make sure those coupons are lined up perfectly before doing so!

Step #3: File your coupons in your binder or box. This is the little box I’m currently using to organize my coupons. And it is…little! I decided for the amount of coupons I actually clip I would prefer taking something to the store that’s less obtrusive to haul. I also find it’s a snap to file the coupons in the box because I’m not having to shove them in and out of plastic dividers.

By the way – I got a great deal on my organizer! It’s made by Snapware and was priced at $2.49 at Fred Meyer. I used a $2 off coupon I had, so I paid just $0.49 for it. The alphabetical dividers are just index cards – purchase during the back to school sales for about $0.19.

Not bad, huh? (PS – If you’re looking for a similar organizer, this one on Amazon is pretty close to what I purchased.)

Whether or not this is the exact way you file your coupons, I hope I’ve encouraged you with some new ideas today or at least to look at your current system if it’s becoming too cumbersome or not jiving with your style.

If you liked this post, you might also want to check out this post on How to Organize Your Coupons. You might also be interested in this post for organizing your coupons while shopping:

The post How to Organize Your Coupons (in Less than 30 Minutes a Week!) appeared first on The Coupon Project.

It’s been a while since I’ve talked about the best way to organize your coupons, and on this super rainy Western Washington day, I thought it would be just the topic! Over the past few years, I’ve tinkered with my own methods for organizing coupons including filing whole inserts and using the binder method. To be honest,…
The post How to Organize Your Coupons (in Less than 30 Minutes a Week!) appeared first on The Coupon Project.Read More