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Making A Coupon Organizer System – How To Guide
One of the most frugal, money-saving things you can do is utilize as many of the free coupons you have at your disposal as possible to cut costs on the products you use.
You’ll never redeem each and every coupon that comes your way, but by keeping your coupons organized and at hand for when you need them will surely shave some dollars off your grocery bill.
If you’re ready to be a Coupon Queen (or King) but aren’t sure how to setup a couponing system, here is a How To Guide for sorting your coupons efficiently, how to make a coupon organizer and organizing system plus you’ll find plenty of coupon collecting, sorting and organizing tips and resources listed below. If you’re already full steam ahead with your own coupon system, you might find a few new tips or useful ideas to try.
Coupon Organizing Method #1 – Using Envelopes
To organize all the coupons you have on hand with envelopes, one idea is to make an envelope for each category (such as Meat, Beauty Products, Soaps & Detergents, Paper Products, etc.).
Clip all the coupons you’ll use and store them in the applicable envelopes so you’ll find them easily. Once you have all your coupons sorted within the envelopes, store the envelopes in a plastic tub, shoe box, file folders, whatever works best for you.
Another idea for envelope organizing is to label and sort the envelopes by month (expiry dates). You’ll find more sorting tips toward the bottom of this post (under How To Sort & Organize Coupons).
Coupon Organizing Method #2 – An Accordion File Or Wallet
You can buy an accordion file or make your own (see Design Your Own Accordion File and How To Make An Envelope Accordion, #28 on list).
You can choose a large accordion file (like in the picture) or a wallet sized one, they do hold a lot even though they’re smaller. The best wallet sized ones for long term use would be a plastic or fabric organizer since they hold up longer, the wallet size also makes it easy to bring all your coupons with you on your shopping trips.
Use each pocket to store your coupons. If you have a wallet sized accordion file organizer, keep the front pocket free and you can toss in the coupons that you plan to use on your next shopping trip.
If you’re going to buy an accordion file (either a folder or wallet), look for one that has tabs on top of the pockets. This way you can mark each pocket (ie. the Month or Product Category) and you can see at a glance what each pocket holds.
If you’re going to make yourself an accordion system, make or buy tabs that you can attach to each pocket. The tabs really do help you find the right pocket quickly.
Coupon Organizer Method #3 – An Index File Box
Boxes are great for organizing coupons, you can use anything from a cardboard shoe box, a plastic tub (with lid), a recipe box, or try an index card box.
You can go as large as you need to or keep it small with recipe and index card boxes if you don’t have a large coupon collection (although these little boxes will hold a lot!).
Use dividers to separate your categories and then cut, clip and sort your coupons within each category. Either buy index dividers that will fit your box or make them out of the cardboard from old cereal boxes. Make sure each index divider is tabbed so you can mark the sections.
Coupon Organizing Method #4 – A Coupon Organizer Binder
You can make yourself a coupon organizer binder to sort and store your coupons, this is an especially nice system if you are a heavy-duty coupon user and have lots of coupons to keep organized.
You can use a regular binder but for a complete coupon center, a zippered organizer binder with inside pockets will give you lots of useful features. With the binder zipped up, you’ll have no worries about coupons or supplies falling loose and getting lost. You can setup the binder to hold everything you need for shopping and coupon clipping plus there’s an added benefit: you can easily take it with you while shopping.
Some ideas to store in the zippered binder:
- Small pair of scissors for coupon clipping
- Calculator
- Pad of paper (for grocery list making)
- A Price Book
- Coupon sorting mat (you can make your own)
- Pens or pencils
Inside your binder of choice, fill it with plastic sheets for trading cards (like hockey or baseball card collecting). You can also find plastic sheets with four pockets per sheet (the ones you buy for photo albums), these pockets are a little larger than the trading card sheets. Use these plastic pockets to store your coupons and keep them organized.
Separate the plastic sheets with binder dividers. You can sort each section: By alphabetical, By expiry date, By product category, or whatever you like. Do some experimenting and see which method works best for you and your needs.
You can buy zippered binders in any number of sizes, but you’ll want a size that will fit the plastic pocket sheets. These plastic sheets can be bought online, at your local card collecting shop and most department stores such as Walmart and Target.
How To Sort & Organize Coupons
Whichever method you choose as your coupon organizer, you’ll need to have a battle plan on how to keep them organized within the storage system of choice. Here are a few suggestions:
- By Expiry Date: You can clip together coupon batches by month (based on expiry dates) or just store them all loose in the envelope/pocket/etc., with the about to expire coupons at the front and moving back (by date).
- By Products: Within your Beauty & Health category, you can clip together all the shampoo coupons, all the deodorant coupons, makeup coupons, etc. Within each product category, sort the coupons by expiry date (with the soon to expire coupons on top).
- Sort Alphabetically: Another way to organize coupons within the system is by product name or product item (Ivory Soap, Smuckers Jam, or Peanut Butter, Laundry Detergent, etc.).
Choose whatever method works best for you, the goal is to setup a system that will help you to use your coupons before they expire as well as know where to find a particular coupon when looking for it.
Coupon Preparation Before Shopping
Before you go shopping, prepare your grocery coupons before hand. Here’s a suggestion:
- The first step is to make your grocery list on a sheet of paper or on the back of an envelope, then go through your coupons and pull out any that are applicable to your needs. Mark a “C” beside each item on your list that you have a coupon for.
- Store both the grocery list sheet and the coupons inside an envelope (or stick the coupons inside the envelope that you wrote your list on).
- Follow the grocery list while you’re shopping and you’ll spot quickly which items have a coupon. See Quick & Easy Way To Remember Coupons (Tip #10) for more details.
Another good idea is to review your soon to expire coupons regularly. If there are any products that you normally use or is a great buy, yet have no immediate need for it–still consider purchasing it (and using the coupon) on your next trip. Do this if it’s a good deal and you know you’ll use it, it’s a great way to help with bulk cooking meal planning as well as bulking up on stock.
Making A Coupon Organizer – Tips & Resources
If you’d like to see some examples of coupon organizers that people have made and use, here is a list of sites for you to check out:
- Mom’s Build-It-Yourself Coupon Organizer
- Organizing Your Coupons
- A Tour of A Coupon (and More!) Organizer
- The Coupon Lady Strikes Again!
Coupon Collecting & Organizing Tips
In the sites below you’ll find some excellent details for saving money with coupons and tips to organize them:
- Coupon Queen Savings: Get Your Grocery Coupons Organized!
- Grocery Shopping Tips
- A Hassle-Free Way to Organize Your Grocery Coupons
- Laura’s Couponing and Refunding Hints &Tips
- Organized Coupons? Is it Possible?
More of Tipnut’s Coupon Tips & Money Savers:
And Now Your Coupons Are Organized…
By developing a coupon sorting system and making yourself a coupon organizer, you’ll find it much easier to save money on groceries and products since you’ll have all your coupons in one place, and you’ll know just where to look for that coupon you wish to use.
Keeping coupons organized will take some time to first setup and figure out what works best for your needs, but once you have determined the best system that works for you, maintaining it regularly won’t be such a chore. It will simply be a matter of purging expired coupons and filing away new ones.
Tip: Coupon clipping and organizing is an easy, productive thing you can do while watching tv.
Originally Published March 3, 2008
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I am impressed with the ideas, but I am confounded by the fact that most products where coupons are issued are overpriced to begin with and can be substituted by a lower priced or generic item. Aside from the odd coupon off of a service or a store coupon I never usually have more than 5 or 6.
The best way to save with coupons is to “stock up” your coupons so you can “stock up” on products. Use the coupon when the item is on sale. At most grocery stores a coupon that has a value of $.50 or less will be doubled. If a box of cereal is on sale for $2.00 and you have a coupon for $.50 you get a dollar off so the cereal is $1.00 for the box. If you have several of the same coupons you can stock up on the cereal for use later.
The best deals that I get are Target and Publix-only. Both take manuf. coupons and their own. My Publix takes a competitor coupon also. You get your best deals on items that are B1G1 (buy 1 get 1). I stock up on all I can and 9 times out of 10 I will have a coupon for every item. I love Publix!!
Not true. I thought the same thing, with a coupon system I am now beating Wal-mart generic brand prices by 50%. I’m very happy about that.
The trick with coupons is to try to find a store that doubles the values. Then, often, major grocery chains will run sales on things that match up with coupons in the paper for the same week. Often, there are several items you can get for just pennies or even free.
*Admin Edit (removed a snip)
When I really work it, combining sales and coupons, I can save up to 40% or more on my bill.
*Admin Note: Sorry Jane, I’m removing all links and mentios of commercial products and services for coupon collecting and organizing. Thanks for your helpful info
.
I would like to know the stores that double coupon I’ve ask but they usually say no
I shop with coupons at Albertsons, Kroger and Brookshires in my area in Dallas, TX. Both Albertsons and Kroger ALWAYS double and triple coupons and Brookshires does it once or twice a week. My goal is to get my family food budget to stretch as much as possible. A few weeks ago I saved $140 off my grocery trip to Albertsons by buying things w/coupons AND according to their weekly sale ad. When you work both together you can save a ton!
What an impressive set of articles and responses.
I built my own organizer. I found that being able to see all coupons at once saved me a great deal of time in couponing. The drawback was that the baseball card holders I was using were difficult to get coupons in and out of.
*Edit
Admin note: Paula, sorry, I’m getting A LOT of spam on this post for different coupon organizers and coupon services to buy, I decided to delete or edit all mentions–hoping this will stop.
Instead of using baseball card inserts us photo album inserts. The 4X6 size works well. You can use both the front and back of each page and get 6 different coupons on each sheet. The pockets are large enough I don’t usually have to fold the coupons so I can see the expiration date how much off and excatly what it is with no problem
I am currently using a 3 ring 4X6 photo book which was a very affordable choice, however, the sections are not sturdy enough and the pages easily tear close to the rings. I am looking for a different system.
To try to discourage the daily onslaught of blog spam I get for this particular post, I’m going to ask that commentors refrain from mentioning or linking to websites and products that people buy for coupon organizing.
I’ve made some edits above for this reason, but please know I appreciate everyones input
.
I find it saves a lot of money to clip coupons but you do have to have a good system set up for collecting and organizing them. The binder system can work great if you have a lot of coupons to organize but I find using a coupon wallet to be sufficient for my needs. As someone said above you have to look for instore coupon deals and sales to make coupon shopping pay off.
I collect a lot of coupon buy purchasing 16 or more papers a week. I use a filing cabinet, a portable hanging flile crate and two coupon wallets. I know your thinking were did this nut come from but hear me out. Most web sites that do coupon match ups list the insert coupons in this format “2/07 PD” which stands for Febuary 7th Proctor & gamble insert. I file each week in a hanging folder with file folders in the hanging folder, each containd either the RP, SS, PG or GM insert for that week. When I get ready to shop I clip my coupons then and put them in the coupon wallet, the second coupon wallet holds coupons that I may use if I find a deal (impulse buying). I have cut my shopping budget by nerly 70% and one major drug store pays me to shop besause of their rewards program. The system works very well and it is very easy to find the coupons I need. I find that if I don’t have coupons for things I did not plan to buy I save a ton of money, impulse and unneeded items will kill a budget quickly. I buy so many papers for the reason mentioned above. When I find a deal I can stock for 6 months to a year in one trip which enables me to wait for my price to come around again before I buy. My goal is to spend no more than a dollar for any one grocery item, sounds inpossible but you would be surprised how often it happens when you can wait for the sales. Meat & fresh vegetables do not fit in this plan but I save enough on every thing else I get those two items when needed at the going price.
So you heard me out and still think I’m a nut, could be but it works for me. I am a coupon educator and run web site that does coupon matchups for several Grocery stors and a Drug store. the checkers know me as the coupon wizard.
excuse the typos, I failed to use a spell checker and spilled a soda on my key board last week.
I use coupons on everything I can and most generally save a ton of money. I saw those expensive organizers on the web and made one for myself. Here is what you need
1 3-ring binder
10-20 baseball organizer sheets (card holders)
1 Package of notebook dividers (you’ll want the blank one so you can fill in the tabs)
Assemble your book according the aisles at your store. For instance. Mine are Freezer, condiments, cans, boxed dinners, ect. I make a table of contents in the beginning. Then after each divider I place a sheet or two of baseball card inserts sheets, and do this until I have all the desired aisles I want. Then I put my coupons in the sleeves, if I have 2 of the same coupon I put them together.
Now when I go grocery shopping, I can flip the pages of my book and know exactly what I have on coupons, so I know exactly what to buy, it’s very handy. Plus I use a top bounded notebook to use on my grocery list, and that flips from page to page with me. Very convinient.
Thanks for the info Joni. That is exactly what i am looking for.
Thanks for the info Joni, very helpful!
I built my own organizer much like instructed here. Now, more than ever, I need to coupon. Downloading printable coupons serves most of my needs. My point, though, is that couponing is a pain. Proper organization eliminates the pain. I like being able to see all of my coupons at a glance or it overwhelms me in the store. I also point out that there are commercial organizers available which allow you to see all of your coupons. You can buy them for the same cost as building one. Either route, you’ll pay for your costs in one shopping trip. And couponing can be fun.
I would like to join your mailing list becuase I read a few interesting things in here, but the font is so tiny. Can you increace the font size so that its more readable. I have to squint to see the words. I am young too.
Sarah
Quick Windows tip. To increase the font of “most” properly designed websites, simply hold down the “CTRL” key and press “+” until the font is a large as desired. To reverse, CTRL and press “-”
Additional windows tip for larger font… holding Ctrl key and scrolling with a center mouse wheel (if equipped).
Sarah is the font small in the emails or on the website?
for the folks who don’t have a lot of time to devote to coupon-shopping and organizing, but still need to save $, try this…
get a cardboard wallet-size accordion coupon organizer from your local dollar store. while you’re there, also get a plastic shoe box to keep it in. at home, stretch out the organizer front to back so that it takes up almost the entire shoe box. you can organize by category (the way that the organizer comes marked) or i like to use a marker and devote 2 letters a-z to each pocket (there are 13). then i file by product/manufacturer name. in the shoe box, in front of the accordion, i keep envelopes for each store, in case i get store-specific coupons. also one for “unusual” coupons, “almost expired”, “makeup”, and “on this week’s shopping list”.
i mostly buy stuff only when it’s on sale or generic, and really stock up (we have a freezer that has more than paid back it’s price and the cost of electricity). (brand names i buy when i know it’s a good price compared to generic, or when all the available generics are nasty!) brand name good price = on sale + coupons! plus one local store will double coupons up to a dollar, so that helps too.
every week i spend about 1/2 to one hour to cut all even remotely likely coupons, cull expired coupons, and match coupons to sales (checking to make sure it ends up with a price better than generic). then i make my list, divided by store, and paperclip my coupons per store and put them in my “this week’s list” envelope to take with me.
don’t forget your local bread discount store! it’s like half the price compared to your grocer, and if it’s the last day before expiration, it’s even cheaper! i stock up and freeze 2 weeks worth of breadstuffs.
also, check each store’s policy on accepting manufacturer coupons along with store coupons (if the store employee says no, but cannot produce it in writing, you may want to email the company and ask what the official policy is). Happy Couponing!
I clip every coupon. Every single one, even if I don’t use that item. Then I make a spreadsheet using Excel (OpenOffice has a free product that works like Excel, as well) and enter in all my coupons.
I make a new sheet within the spreadsheet based on product type – I have a sheet for personal care products, cleaning products, freezer, boxed foods, pet products, etc. On each sheet I put the deal (such as [brand name] air freshener, 12oz spray). Two cells over I put the coupon amount ($1 off 2, or whatever), then I skip another two cells and put the expiration date.
I organize them all by brand name, usually. So for instance, all the toothpaste coupons are grouped together, and then within that, I group by brand name.
Then i sit and wait until the stores run that product on sale. I check my spreadsheet as I make my list – that way I don’t have to dig through coupons or flip through my book to see what I have. The spreadsheet takes just minutes to make but saves me so much time.
I cut every single coupon because I can make money on them. A certain drugstore gives out “store credit” with many purchases, so if I have a coupon for $1 off toothpaste (reg. price $4), but when I buy that toothpaste I get $4 in store credit, now i have a free toothpaste and a dollar. If its a product I don’t use, i save it just in case, or donate it, or hand it off to a family member who does use it. That store advertises which products will get you the store credit, so you can plan accordingly – its not just a gamble.
Which store is that? I’m in California and I’ve never heard of that. It sounds GREAT.
Walgreens! =)
I’d like to add that something to do with your expired coupons is to share them with a military family because overseas commissaries will let them use expired coupons.
There is a lady who has a blog that organizes a coupons for troops program of sorts. She takes donations all the time and would make sure that those coupons were put to good use.
Although a small gesture, it makes a big impact in supporting our troops where it counts – at home!
I found the baseball card holders too small for my needs. So, I use photo sheets that hold 6 x 4 and 5 x 7 photos. Each plastic sheet holds 3 pockets and I store them in a 3 ring notebook. I also have in my notebook empty plastic sheets for each store. After the ads come out, I can go through my coupons and make my list and store them. But when I go shopping, I take my entire book with me to take advantage of any unadvertised specials that I may have a coupon for.
The best time to buy sheet protector, binder dividers or even binders is during Back-To-School (late July to mid-September). I bought at Wally World a package of 500 medium weight sheet protectors for $3. A three-inch binder from a certain office supply store beginning with the name Office for $1 and dividers for 25 cents. I ended up organizing not just my coupons but also my PTO stuff, customer information (I have a paper route with the kids) and recipes in different three-inch binders. In all I spent under $20 to organize my things. My only problem is that I have to wait for the next Back-To-School shopping day for about six more months!
I have been clipping coupons for many years. I have a nylon coupon “wallet” that snaps over the grocery cart. I also keep a list on my computer with the product, any special information (such as sizes), amount of coupon and expiration date. All of our local grocery stores have their weekly ad available on the internet, so I review those, make a weekly menu according to my freezer and pantry stock, the store ad and my coupon list. We have several grocery stores that double coupons up through $.50. I can usually save somewhere between 30% to 60% off my grocery bill. Believe me, this was very helpful when I was feeding 4 teenagers! I also saved a lot of money by making my own mixes. Several good cookbooks out there for those recipes. Good luck all!
Sounds like a lot of people are going to a lot of fuss and bother for such a simple thing!!!!!!
Here’s what I’ve been using for years:
* Take a regular business size envelope
* Cut 12 pieces of paper from a tablet
* Put the name of each month on each one
I have way too many coupons to use envelopes!
I use a three ring binder with photo sleeve sheets or even baseball card sheets would work. There are four pockets per page. I have mine in ABC order by item or brand like meat, breakfast, baking, air freshners, etc and then label each pocket with a file folder label. It really cuts down on searching time in the store. When I go through my ads, I use little envelopes with the store name on the front so I know what coupons I’m using at which store.
I love coupons. I use them all the time. The key is to use a store coupon AND a manufactured coupon for each item. So if a store has a limit of 3 per their in store coupon- I usually get 4 papers so I have just as many manuafactured coupons. Usually you can get the item for a 90% -ish savings. And only buying loss leaders at each store helps too. Only buy and stock up on the really cheap sales, they are called loss leaders because the stores usually lose money on those items to get you in the store and buy more. You may go to more stores. But I actually save time and money by doing this and not paying more than I need to for any single item. Except Milk and Eggs.
My experience has been that the ONLY way to sort coupons in an organizer is BY DATE!!!!!!!
What good would it do you to have coupons for, say, soups, under that category, when they could expire and then you’d lose the savings?
I made a coupon organizer from a business envelope and 12 sheets of paper, with the month on each one!!! talk about cheap – I mean low-cost!!!
Interesting… My grocery stores never look at the expiry dates on any coupons… Guess I am just lucky…
ACCORDION. Sorry, I’m anal about spelling.
Whoops! Thank you Marlyn, I’ve corrected the typos