5 Ways To Organize Coupons

Couponing can get overwhelming fast, if you don’t stay organized. Organizing your coupons is a vital part. If you can’t find a coupon you want when you need it, then you lose out. If your coupons expire before you can use them, you lose out.

As you can see organizing is a must. Today we’ll discuss 5 ways to organize your coupons, because 1 size does NOT fit all. Let’s get to it.

How To Coupon:  5 Ways To Organize Coupons

So, hopefully, you have gathered your coupons using the 10 Places To Find Coupons post from this How To Coupon series.

Primarily we will discuss 5 Ways To Organize Coupons from coupon inserts. The rest can be filed the same way as the insert coupons.

Now coupon inserts, as we discussed before, are coupon booklets found in the Sunday paper.  There are Red Plum (RP), Smart Source (SS), Procter & Gamble (P&G), Target, Unilever, and General Mills (GM).

You are going to want more than 1 of the same coupon when you start coupon shopping.  We’ll discuss why you need extra coupons in a later part of the series.  But, for now, we are discussing organizing multiple identical coupons for items such as personal care food items and more.

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5 Ways To Organize Coupons:

1.  File the inserts

a.  You can file your grocery coupons whole by date and name, and then when you’re ready to use them, you can go to the specific file folders and pull out the ones you need and get your individual coupons. 

Be sure to file them spine side out. If you look closely at the spine on the outside of the insert, you will see the date, in case you ever need to know if they are misplaced.

b.  For the next organizing system, you can file your new coupons separated by page and either stapled or paper-clipped together. This method will allow you to cut out a group of coupons instead of just one at a time. 

I normally buy 10 papers a week, which gives me 10 identical coupon whole inserts from that week.  For instance, if there are RP & SS inserts in the paper that week I will have 10 SS and 10 RP for that week.

I will begin by taking the first of the 10 and laying each page out in order, and then I will take the second identical insert and lay the same pages on top of the same pages so that now I have 2 of each coupon page laying on top of each other. 

I continue that until they are all 10 coupon deals laid out.  I will have 10 copies of each page laid out in order.

Then I will either paper clip or staple each coupon stack by stapling or paper clipping each coupon. Be sure to never staple through the date, bar code, or return address. 

When I am finished, I have 1 set of 10 identical pages with each coupon (front and back) on that stack being either stapled or paper clipped. 

This comes in handy when you are ready to cut out individual sets, they’re already all paper clipped or stapled together, plus they hold the page still for you to cut through 10 sheets at once.

Then you can file the entire insert by date and name, and when you go to pull the coupons you want, they will be all together and ready to just cut them out.

2.  Notebook

For this insert method, you can clip all of your coupons and then file your clip coupons in a notebook that you take with you to your local grocery stores. 

That way, if you find a great deal in the store, you have all of your clipped coupons with you!  You can file your cut coupons in individual categories using:

• baseball card sleeves
• plastic sleeves
• photo book pages
• photo albums

I have used all of these at one time or another, so whatever works for you.

I bought a notebook with a handle and zipper and pockets for scissors, paper clips, and a pen, as well as a place for things like rain checks and receipts.

I use dividers for my different types of coupons just like you used in school to separate specific coupons into categories by type of product, ie:  Dairy, Deli, Frozen, and so on. 

Set your notebooks filing system or binder method up like your favorite store is laid out, so it’s easier to navigate through the book and the store, saving you a lot of time.

You could even put your shopping list in sheet protectors then insert that into the binder.

3.  Shoebox

For the simplest method, you can cut them and file them in a file box or shoebox and use index cards in your coupon box to separate the categories.

The woman I learned from had 15 different clear shoeboxes filled with coupons and dividers. She used a separate grocery cart just for her coupon boxes.

4.  Baggies

You can cut them and put them in baggies and label the baggies in categories.

You Might Also Like: FAQ About Coupons: How Many Do I Have To Buy?

5.  Coupon Wallet

You can buy a little coupon wallet, also known as a small accordion file, almost anywhere, and they already have pockets and dividers for easy access.

You can just label your categories by type of coupon and drop either all of your coupons in or use it to organize just the coupons for your next shopping trip.  This is Hubby’s coupon wallet:

As you can see, there are many different ways to organize your coupons.  You may try all of them before you find one that is just right for you, and it may not be any of the 5 Ways To Organize Coupons above!

How do you organize your coupons?