Whats the best way to organize coupons?

[mom-from-missouri]

How do you all organize your coupons? I have tried it by category, and in alphabetical order, but I still often have trouble locating them. I am looking for a simple way to do it.
I like to pull out the coupons I intend to use ahead of time. But, I also like to take all my coupons into the store with me. One time I found at walmart suave shampoo on a discount shelf for a quarter a bottle. I had my coupon box with me, and basically got 6 bottles free since I took the box in.
I quit couponing, and now am starting to again, with trouble getting organized this time.

[marjorie]

It depends on how complicated/how much you think you will use. The folks I know who coupon ALOT use a binder, and add baseball card pages. That will give you 8 or so slots per page and keep more coupons exposed for easy viewing. When I used one, I set it up by category arranged in the order I would need them at the grocery store I most often used. An additional page (or more) was used for qualifiers for rebates or promotional items. Feel free to ask if I'm not clear, or if I can help in some way.

[marjorie]

Sorry, forgot to add another item or two about the binder system. I also added one of those zippered pen, etc. holders designed for binders too. This made it easy to keep a running list, pen, scissors for those spare moments. Some people use zippered binders in case the binder falls or gets knocked around (carts, young kids, etc.) The pain about it is that it still doesn't make the sorting or pulling expired coupons much easier. Some people sorted coupons into lists for each store they planned on going to, and might even write different lists in different inks. Pretty easy to see you can complicate it so much you have little time for a life.

[Susapalooza]

I bought an accordion-style coupon folder with a band around it at the dollar store for a mere buck It didn't have any categories, though, so I made tabs for it: beverages, frozen food, toiletries, cleaning supplies, canned food, breads, seasoning, cereal, dairy, snacks, oil and dressing, and meats. I have the tabs staggered so each category's easy to see, and I have the coupons in each section organized. It neatly fits into my purse.

The only "down" side is that the thing is so tattered and worn, I've got to get a new one. I used my graphics software and fancy fonts for all the categories so that it's fun to use (gotta make my "inner kid" happy)...

[mjrube94]

I used to do it by expiration date, to make sure I never let any expire without using them. But that turned out to be a pain in the neck when there was a good sale on something and I had multiple coupons with different dates. Now, I do it by category, in order of how the products are laid out in the store. (I tend to do most of my shopping at one store, and am pretty familiar with the layout). That way, if I'm in the store and catch a good sale that I didn't have on my list, it's easy for me to find the coupons quickly.

Speaking of how the stores are laid out, my mother was great at grocery shopping! She used to take a loose-leaf piece of paper and write the numbers of each aisle on the left side. Then, when she was making her grocery list for the week, she knew exactly which aisle things were in, and wrote it in on the paper. That way, when she went to the store, there was no wasting time looking for the stuff. I aspire to be that good!

[gakline]

This is more of a side note. I organize somewhat according to category, and it sort of works. But I don't carry all the coupons with me. I make my list of needed items, then look for coupons that fit. Then if I see any expiring that I might need, I take those with. It kind of goes along with Jeffery's Saving tips for shopping post, Item #1

[mom-from-missouri]

I am going to go thru mine tonight. I think I will go with category, except I will also add a section for those that go out of date within the next week.

[Susapalooza]

Good point, Mom. We have to keep "weeding" the coupon collection and try to stay aware of upcoming expiration dates. I go through my collection on Saturdays so that it's all ready for a fresh "infusion" of coupons from the next day's Sunday papers

[34saving]

One point on expiration dates . . . some places around here take expired coupons. Our local grocery chain takes them up to 1 year expired as policy.

[Susapalooza]

"One point on expiration dates . . . some places around here take expired coupons. Our local grocery chain takes them up to 1 year expired as policy."

I wish they did that in our neck of the woods. It seems to me that over the past five years, coupons seem to be valid for shorter periods of time.

[MrsChambers]

I use the grocery game, and they have now listed their coupons with the date. So my husband and I spent an afternoon with a hanging file folders and the label maker.
We sort our coupons by date, and hang them in a file folder case thing.

THIS DOES NOT WORK if you take your coupons with you, or your looking for a specific coupon.... but I don't do that, I just pay Teri the buck a week and let THEM do the hard work for me!

[Lori63]

I have mine by category in long envelopes, with one for ones that expire this month. Wait a minute-that's how I'm supposed to have them-right now they are all a mess.
I do alot of trading, and I have the ones I trade in a box that's easy to go through.

[Susapalooza]

Lori, do you do most of your trading online or with people who live near you? I've used an online coupon-handling service when I've wanted multiples of certain ones but am curious about trading.

[Lori63]

My favorite place to trade is www.dealagogo.com. I also trade on three other boards, but this is the place I do most of mine. I get several inserts a week from different papers, so I've always got extras. Feel free to PM me with any questions-I am a coupon fanatic (or freak if you ask my kids).

[Susapalooza]

Thanks so much, Lori!

I really appreciate finding new sites like the http://www.dealagogo.com
that you posted There's so much I want to go back and look at...and so much good, new information (new to me) on using coupons I hadn't thought of before. This is a real coupon-lover's gold mine!

[Lori63]

I'm Lori63 there, also, if you need anything. There are so many friendly, helpful people there.

[mjrube94]

Does anyone know why expiration dates are all over the place? I always thought it would be a lot easier (for me at least!) if there was a rule that coupons had to expire on the last day of the month!

[Susapalooza]

Thanks very much, Lori! I'll have to keep my Loris straight

[heatherlst]

My husband is highly anal and organised and taught me his method of organising things...I do it with coupons now. I separate into categories of foods, in the order of the store. Then I group products together within the catgory, and then when there are duplicate coupons, I put them in order of expiration. This came in handy this week when we had super double coupons locally...I was able to quickly find ones expiring this month, and leave ones that were for later, like October for later sales. I also put coupons in descending order of amts in the categories...for example, within household goods, I paperclip dish detergent together. I put the ones for $1 off in front, with the ones for .25 in back. The paperclips are key--when I reach cereal, I can quickly pull out all the cereal coupons, instead of having to separate them.

[mom-from-missouri]

But, how do you keep it organized, or I guess, my real question is, what do you keep it in? I tried filing them in a cut down cereal box, but out grew that-went to a small rubbermade box-too big and bulky, tried to put them in a CD organizer-they kept sliding out of the pockets-now I am in a coupon expander thing-but not happy with it either. I want it so I can always have ALL my coupons with me in the store-so if I find a sale or clearance item, I have the coupons with me.