Yes, I am a
crazy coupon wifey! I enjoy finding, organizing, and using my coupons. I do not
consider myself an "extreme couponer." I love to do it but it is not
nor will it ever be, my main focus. When things get busy and crazy it takes a
back burner in our lives. I do like to keep it simple so I can continue to save
money on the basics though. Here is my first step on how I keep my binder
organized!
First, I
bought a binder like this from Target.They even have coupons right now for them!
Many people
like to use baseball card protector sheets to store their coupons. I prefer to
use Currency protective sheets. Currency Sheets I don't like to fold my coupons.
This way I can fit them without dividing. I use about 50 sheets. I then Label
mine with mailing address labels. They peel on and off cleanly!
My Binder
is split into 3 main groups with about 50 sub-groups and about 150 pockets for
coupons. My 3 main groups are:
Personal -
Meds, toiletries, and baby products
Household -
paper products, office supplies, cleaning supplies
Food -
anything we or the dogs eat or drink.
My
Sub-groups are very detailed. A few examples would be meds, dental, hair,
Hands, Baby, Cleaning, Office, Drinks, canned foods, frozen food, Dogs. I will
get a full list up later.
An example
of my pockets would be in my Hair group I have my pockets labeled Shampoo,
Styling products, and Hair Dye. many groups have their own Misc. pocket as well
for those few that just don't fit in a certain pocket.
I get my
coupons from the Sunday Paper ( I buy 2 each week) and online. My best coupons
come from online. I usually spend a few hours on one day a week clipping and
sorting. This week after clipping I had a pile like this...
After
Clipping my coupons I sort them into the 4 piles.
Personal
Household
Food
Store/website
coupons (Haircuts,Vista Print) I do not keep these in my binder. (I will
explain shortly!)
Once they
are sorted into piles I sort them into the binder. Often into their groups. I
just stuff them in the proper pockets and keep moving. I always go back and
organize later.
Once
everything is put away... and this is where I go a little over board for most..
I am a very visual person. I have tried going to the store with my binder
and may list and my plan and I never remember what coupons I have. I was always
cleaning out great expired coupons! (argh..) Okay, I literally a make
color-coded list of all my coupons. It sounds like a lot and at first it is. Once you have your first list made and saved on you computer (and
well, you don't wipe your computer and your back up fails like mine just did
recently...argh..) It it really easy to keep updated. Now this is a system I
made for my needs but everyone is different. Right now, I go shopping once
every two weeks. Pay day! I don't update and print it out every time I get a
new coupon that would be silly. I update once a week and print once every two
weeks!
I go
through my binder and paper clip like coupons and Stacked deals together. My
list is broken into my groups that are in my binder. When I am in Target I can
scan my list for all Orange coupons. In a glance I can see all that are about
to expire in Red. One I use a coupon I mark it off on the list. I carry a clipboard
with me shopping and keep this and my shopping list on it
I
don't use all my coupons. I only buy an item if I need it, or I will use it in
the future, or someone I know will need it soon, Or if it is Free. If a friend
or I can't use it, I will donate it to a cause. But I am on a tight budget and
do not spend money on non-necessities very often. Any coupons I don't use I
donate to the military. families over seas can use coupons 6months past their
expiration dates! There is a link on my Crazy coupon wifey page.
My binder
also has some expandable pockets...
I use these
to store each stores coupon policy, mail in rebates, any large pages that don't
work in my other spots.
I have
zipper pockets as shown in the first image on the page. I keep one empty so I
have a spot to place the coupons I am using in whatever shopping trip I am on.
When I get to the check out they are all ready to go. The other one hold spare
pens, paperclips, and scissors.
Once you
find a system that works for you it is really easy to stay organized and does
not take very long to do so. I shop at Wal-mart for most my groceries and I
save about 50-100 a shopping trip. Sometimes less, Sometimes more, It just
depends on our needs and my coupons that week. I do have a 50.00 budget a week
for food and 20.00 a week for household items. So I spend 140 every two weeks
on all our food and household items.
I hope this
helped and didn't overwhelm!
Happy
Saving!
Annie
A Creative Wife
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