humph. maybe not as exciting as one would think?

well, this little (who am i kidding – BIG) binder means so much to me. it’s saved me SOOOO much time and my family SOOOO much money. and now i would like to share my system with you so that you can do the same.

over the years, i’ve seen many versions of a coupon binder. i like them all and i love to see how others organize their coupons. personally, i like to keep mine simple.

let’s start with the binder itself. i love, love, love this binder. it’s a Mead Five Star 3-ring binder. the binder zips closed, which means if coupons happen to fall loose inside, they are still safe. i bought this one at Walgreens – on sale and with register rewards i had saved up for the purchase! i think it was around $15 on sale.

there are 2 sides to my binder……

on the right is where i keep all of my clipped coupons. that section is divided into categories.

{if anyone wants a list of my categories, i am happy to share. the categories morph over time depending on what i have more of. like right now, my household section is overflowing. i have a zillion coupons for cleaning supplies, candles, etc that are all under one “household” category. i’ll separate those soon.}

i used simple white dividers purchased from Staples….

and then i used a label maker to create each of the categories….

when you look inside each divided category, you will see these plastic dividers….

these are SO great for coupon organization! these are intended for the hobby of sport card collections – like baseball cards. it’s a 9-pocket clear page protector. sometimes these can be costly, but i found a great vendor on eBay and purchased a big box of 100 pages. the product i have is called Ultra-Pro Platinum Series and they have held up very well. have not had any tears.

on the left side of the binder there is a mesh zippered pocket. i have found this pocket to be great for holding gift cards and a pen/pencil…..

below the mesh pocket is another velco pocket. this would be great for a small calculator. but i use it to put my coupons in while i’m shopping. on the rare occasion that i’m able to slowly browse the aisles at the market and see if i have a coupon to match up with a great deal, i slip my coupons into this pocket….and when i get to check-out, there they are. in one neat little stack…..

behind the mesh pocket and small velcro pocket is yet another area…..

it’s set up like an accordian file. this has been the best little spot to stash things like my store coupons, michael’s ads, walgreens ads, random clothing coupons, etc…..

here is how i separate those…..

you can see my categories and how i’ve separated them into clear plastic folders….things like Groupon certificates, clothing coupons, target coupons, etc….

and again, i have them all labeled….so it’s simple to find them….

i found these great little plastic folders at Staples….

in the past, i’ve joked about my label maker being an extra appendage…but this little gem of an electronic is such a lifesaver. i like to keep my labels clean and simple….

alright, so now that you know what my coupon binder looks like….let’s take a look at how i stay on top of the weekly organization of my coupons.

uh-oh…..you’re cringing. you heard me say “weekly coupon organization”.

don’t run away just yet.

this mommy keeps it so simple that anyone can do this! really! yes, you CAN do this! and sometimes i go a couple weeks in between organizing my binder. just depends on if i’m in the mood. i have found the best time to do this is when my kids are in bed and i can vege out watching law & order or something fun.

if you have a big surface to spread out, that’s great….and you’ll also need a pair of scissors…

where did i get all of those coupons?

good question!

i receive coupons from a number of sources. i get them in the Sunday newspaper (on the left) or through the ads you receive in your mailbox once a week (on the right)….

i find them in magazines….

i print them from the internet….on sites like coupons.com, smartsource.com, or even target.com….

they come in my mailbox from specific companies….like babies r us, target or my local grocery store…

i receive them at the register during checkout. when the cashier hands you your receipt with a few coupons that came out of this awesome little box next to the register? those coupons are called catalinas…

because i have a rewards card with my local grocery store, i also receive loyalty coupons…and many times the coupon book they send me has FREE coupons for items i purchase all the time…..

so you can see that in addition to all of the small coupons that i clip from the Sunday paper, there can be quite a bit of other coupons, mailers and flyers to sort through…..

not to mention any ads i may hold onto for the week….

and the Walgreens monthly coupon booklets….

i could never remember what i had coupons for when they were in a big jumbled pile like that. honestly, i would forget about them and never use them. what is the point of having these moneysavers if you can’t find them??

keep a close watch on what is next to the expiration date….see that long thin red line with something written in white?…..

look at these 2 catalinas i received at Target. notice here this one says “target coupon”. that means if you had a regular manufacturer coupon for Aquafresh Infant Oral Care items, you could stack both of those coupons together to save even more…..

notice this one says “manufacturer coupon”…..there is a difference. and if you can pay attention to those little things, you can stack your coupons to save more money…..

and don’t forget….catalinas are good where you received them. you saw those above had the Target logo on them….those are redeemable at Target only. however, there may be stores in your area that accept competitor coupons. i’ve never gone as far as to research who else would accept those in my area….but i’m sure there is someone blogging out there who could tell you! 🙂

moving along, on a night when i clipped all of the coupons i wanted to keep….here is what my stack looked like….

i separate them into the designated categories…..

and then put them into the 9-pocket pages or the clear folders.

another tip: if i have time, as i add coupons to the binder, i scan each page to see if i have any expired coupons to be tossed. i’m saving myself time by putting coupons away and purging expired coupons at the same time. as you can see here below…on this clean-up i had quite a few to toss out….