Organizing

With two little ones, a trip to the store can be frightening. I am serious. One might start screaming, the other might poop and stink the place up... And these are the ones that you expect. To help any trip to the store go smoother you have to prepared. And to me, part of preparation is organization. Not only will organizing your coupons make the shopping trip go smoother, but it will make the planning of the trip take less time and give you more savings.

Organization can take many forms. And I truly believe that there is no right answer except that it has to be a method that is easy to manage and works for you. To give you some ideas, I am going to share with you some of the methods I have tried.

In the beginning....



I have always clipped coupons. At first, I just got one insert, had no clue Internet coupons existed, and just did it because I thought I was supposed to. I had the regular coupon holder that was divided into sections according to the order I traveled through the store and by aisle to make it easier for me to find.

Then I began "super couponing"...

I call it this because I have no idea how else to explain it to people when they ask. I started to aquire several copies of inserts, I started printing internet coupons, and the little bity holder wasn't keeping up. I needed something more.

I started by trying the binder method. I thought that this would be "my method". So my binder had dividers that had pockets. I used these for internet printables, the Rite Aid Video Values, coupon booklets I got in the mail, etc. And then I had the clear card holders that I would place multiple copies of coupons that I thought I might use. I organized these by layout of the store to make it easy for me to find.

I have since strayed from carrying the binder into stores. I still have it at home with printables in the dividers, but I don't bring it in the store with me. My son sits in the front and it just became too hard to try to use without him trying to climb out of the cart. I do know that many people love this method and it may work for you.

And now....

I needed something smaller and ready to go. So I went to the envelope method. These are pictured above. Since I have been doing the couponing thing for a while now, I really know where I will be using each coupon. So when I find one I am going to clip, I put it in the envelope for the store I will be using it. If I'm not sure I'll use it or where, I have a general all-purpose envelope that I put these in. So then, when I am ready to go to the store, I get all the coupons I am going to use in the front of the envelope (sometimes with a paper clip) and the rest are in the back in case I run into a deal that I didn't know about or a deal I had worked out doesn't work because a store has run out of the product. I like to keep these envelopes from getting too fat. Once they get too full, it isn't easy to find the coupon. And with the babes in the cart, I have to be organized or shopping becomes crazy!

Now, I don't always know which coupons might be needed to make a deal, so I keep the inserts that I have cut and put them into a case like this one below that has lots of different file sections. I put them in this "bin" by date so that when I check other blogs and they mention the SS 10/10, I can find it quickly.

So, I have quite a mixed up version of other's organizing methods, but it is what works for me. Hopefully, you have or will find a method that works for you because you can't save any money if you can't find the coupon.

Happy Savings Everyone.