Organization is Key!!!

I know you've heard this before from your mother, your teachers etc.. but it's true. Organization is key when it comes to effective couponing! If you can't find your coupons, then how are you supposed to use them?!

There are as many ways of organizing coupons as there are coupons themselves, and it's completely up to you how you want to do it! You may even change your style a few times before settling on something that works for you.

1. The coupon accordion
    This little guy is great for when you're first starting out and fits in your purse. You can organize by type of coupon, date or however you feel is most effective for you. I started out with this and organized by type. For instance, my categories were: Boxed, Bread, Canned, Cleaning, Dairy, Frozen, Household, Hygiene, Meat and Pharmacy.

2. The coupon box
  You can get a box little dividers and do the same thing as the accordian, except it's a little bigger. Fits in the kiddie seat area of your shopping cart.

3. The coupon binder - my favorite
This is my favorite way to organize thus far. For this you will need a binder (duh), some tabs to separate each category, and some baseball card organizers. Zippered binders are best because there is less chance of your coupons falling out onto the floor of the store if your binder is zipped up! You can get all of these at an office supply store. My categories that are in my binder right now are: Baby/Child, Baking, Box, Bread, Breakfast, Canned, Cleaning, Condiments, Cosmetics, Dairy, Dental, Frozen, Hair, Health Food, Health/Beauty, Household, Laundry, Meat, OTC Meds, Misc, Produce, Seasoning, Snacks. I'm getting ready to add in a few more categories, but haven't decided which yet. You basically cut your coupons and stick them in the slot under the proper heading. Voila! Organization! My advice is to get the biggest binder that you can find. You will utilize all of the space in it soon enough.Get more baseball card organizers than you think you need too. They will go quickly. Use both sides of the sheet too! Double up and save space! www.momsaves.com has a great selection of coupon binders and organizers to get you started. I would order her organizers if you can. They are better quality than baseball card organizers and she has a variety of sizes.

I have also heard of people using a coupon binder in this way:
Getting sheet protectors and putting the full insert pages in. Saves time cutting that's for sure. Then organizing inserts by date with a list of what's in each in front of each insert. I have thought about doing this because coupon clipping is time consuming, but I like the thought off all my like coupons being in the same spot instead of scattered about. With this method you would only clip out what you need, when you need it.

4. Plan ahead and get your coupons ready before you shop!
  Make a plan of what and how many you are going to buy before you go. Write a list!! Then get all of the coupons that you will need and put then in an envelope so they are ready to go. I write my list on the envelope so everything is together. Before I get in the checkout line, I make sure my coupons are good to go, and pull out any that I'm not using or add some that I am. This is so much easier on you and the cashier if you are organized and ready to go! Still bring your binder in with you (or at the very least leave it in your car) even though you have your envelope. Trust me, you will find something that you didn't plan on buying that is a great deal with a coupon. Happens everytime!

Now go get organized!! :)