Organizing coupons can save you loads of time and frustration. It’s certainly nice to have all of your coupons in their rightful places so you can easily find them when you need them. Sounds simple enough, but where do you start?
Everyone has a different tried and true method to organize coupons. What works for some, may not work for others. If you’re looking for some ideas on how to organize coupons, whether you’re starting from scratch or just need a new system, check out the following ideas…
Coupon Organizing Containers
There are tons of different products out there to help you organize coupons, from the coupon binder to the coupon box. While these are nice, in reality all you really need is a few cheap office supplies.
For instance, a cheap three-ring binder from the dollar store is a great place to start when you need to organize coupons. All you need are some plastic baseball card inserts and maybe some dividers, which can also be purchased for very little. Some people also organize coupons in a box, but this is a little less portable. If you have an extra recipe box with dividers, this would work fairly well.
Portable Coupon Organizing
If you have a large or bulky coupon organizer, such as a coupon binder or box, you should also consider having a smaller, more portable version as well. A coupon clutch or even an old wallet or checkbook cover would work well for this.
These portable coupon organizing containers can be used to hold small amounts of coupons. When you’re ready to go shopping, you can keep your list and any necessary coupons in the smaller clutch. You may also want to keep a copy of the coupon policies for the stores you’ll be visiting that day in it, as well as some high value coupons and coupons that are expiring soon.
Organize Coupons by Date
I hate it when I finally get around to using a great coupon, only to find out that it’s expired. It really irks me! To prevent this, I started to organize coupons by date as well as type. (More on that in a moment.)
There are a few different ways to organize coupons by date. I use a simple $5 day planner that I got from Big Lots. When I get coupons, I’ll write the coupons that expire on each day. If I really don’t want to lose out on a coupon, like a high value coupon, I’ll paperclip it to the page too. I can also make note of upcoming sales and deals as well. I’ve also been known to leave the more than occasional sticky note on the date if I run out of room. This method to organize coupons by date certainly isn’t for everyone, but it works for me.
You can also organize coupons by date using dividers in your box or binder. Each week or month could have its own section. A friend of mine also organizes her coupons using a spreadsheet on Google Drive. The nice thing about that is she can access it from just about anywhere.
Organize Coupons by Type
Another popular method for keeping track of coupons is by organizing them by type. Coupons for toiletries go in one section, food coupons go in another, and so on. Pretty simple really.
To organize coupons by type, all you really need are a few dividers, or even separate boxes or binders if you want to go that route. The downside to this, of course, is that some of your coupons may expire before you get to use them, and you may miss out on potential savings.
How do YOU Organize Coupons?
I personally think that the best way to organize coupons is a hybrid of organizing by type and organizing by date. That’s just what works for me – no one else can figure it out, but I can find exactly what I need amazingly fast!
It really depends on the person doing the organizing, though. What methods do you use to organize your own coupons?
