Organized Coupon Binder

Hello, hello!  I'm making my first appearance after recovering from posting for 31+ days straight.  I thought knew I needed a few days off to re-gain some steam.  My Blogger account has also not been letting me add pictures, so that extended my posting "vacation".  Now it's working and I'm back and ready to roar!

First and foremost, it feels almost silly posting about coupon binders when so many on the East Coast are suffering and more and more stories of survival and tragedy are surfacing.    I join all of America in sending out blessings, prayers, hope, and sympathies.  I feel incredibly blessed to have our home safe and dry and to be able to live life as normal.

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Speaking of normal, for a while now I've wanted and needed to do a better job of using grocery coupons.  I would ashamedly answer "no" when a cashier would ask if I had any coupons.   It's not that we don't like to save money.  It's that our grocery shopping was not planned out well enough and we did not prepare at all in way of coupons, deals, and what stores had on sale.  I know, shame.  I guess our excuse is that we are so busy and that preparing takes time and isn't-so-fun.  BUT the money that can be saved by planning ahead is enormous.  I decided that taking the small amount of time it takes to plan better is worth it!  (Don't worry, I won't be on Extreme Couponing or diving into dumpsters to get coupon pages!)

I created a Coupon Binder for our home.  I bought an inexpensive binder, baseball card sleeves for small coupons (found at Target), and actual coupon sleeves to hold larger coupons (found at Staples).

I used file folders I already had, cut them in half at the fold, and used them as section dividers.  They work fine.  I printed out labels of categories that I wanted and affixed them to the "dividers".

For department store coupons, like Bed, Bath, and Beyond, Target, or Kohl's, I used plastic pouches that I also already had.  These particular ones are from Office Max and are the [InPlace] brand.  They already have the 3 holes to go on the rings of any binder and a snap closure.  I had a couple different styles of these and I labeled them by store or type of coupon.  I also used one for restaurant and pizza coupons.

To say I am glad I have finally organized my coupons is an understatement.  Now that I have a system, I feel that hubby and I will be much better when we make a grocery list to look at ads and compare what coupons we have.  We also can plan our meals more wisely based on what items we have coupons for and that are also on sale.

Being organized is half the battle in running a smart, happy, more effective household.  No more coupons lying all around the counter or left at home.  Now I know exactly where to put them!  I plan on keeping this binder  (when we are not adding more to it or making our grocery list) in the side door pocket in my van.  That way if we make a spontaneous or unplanned trip to a store, I have my coupons with me!

What system do you use to store all of your coupons?   Any tricks you want to share?

Sharing this Project with:
Not Just a Housewife:  Show Me What Ya Got
Tutus and Teaparties
Delightful Order

Day 27: Ready, Set, Go! Part 2

Just joining in?  Read the entire series {HERE}.

Yesterday I gave you 10 things you can do in 5 minutes or less to help you be more organized and feel in control of your nest.

Today, I've got 10 more!

1.  Wipe down the fronts of all of your appliances
2.  Sweep your front porch, back porch, or both
3.  Throw a load of laundry in,  fold a load of laundry, or put a load of laundry away
4.  Make a phone call you've been meaning to make that will take less than 5 minutes
5.  Go into your e-mail and delete all unwanted/old/unnecessary e-mails
6.  Go into your phone and delete all unwanted/old/unnecessary contacts, texts, voicemails, apps, etc.
7.  Read a magazine article you've been meaning to read.
8.  Sort through your magazines and catalogs--make a pile to keep and a pile to donate or pass on
9.  Wipe out all of your bathroom sinks
10.  Zip around a room in your house that has lots of misplaced items.  Take an empty laundry basket you.  Put all items in the basket that don't belong to that room and have each member of your family put any item that belongs to them away.

Day 26: 5 Minutes...Ready, Set, Go! Part 1

Just joining in?  Read the entire series {HERE}.

Okay...you have 5 minutes which is about how long I have to write this post.  Seriously, aren't we all running around like we're crazy sometimes?  Or if you aren't physically moving, your mind is...I made a quickie list of things you can do to feel more on top of things that take 5 minutes or less......tomorrow will be Part 2.  Set your timer.  Ready, Set, GO!

1.  Wipe off your kitchen counters.
2.  Do a quick clean-up of your junk drawer.
3.  Unsubscribe to retail e-mails that you never have any intention of buying things from.
4.  Reply to an e-mail (s) you've been meaning to but have put off.
5.  Write a quick thank-you note or 'thinking of you' note,  put a stamp on it, and throw it in your mailbox to be mailed.
6.  Get in your car and throw away any trash and remove any items that shouldn't be in there.
7.  Cross days off the calendar that have passed and look ahead to the next couple weeks and take note on what is coming up and what you need to do to prepare for those things.
8.  Open the fridge and make things a little more organized in there.  Old take-out? Throw it away.
9.  Tackle the pile of papers/mail/coupons that are sitting on the counter.  Sort them and discard/recycle anything that is junk.  Set the timer again to file or handle things that need done from that pile.
10. Open your pantry or food cupboards.  Like the fridge, go through and straighten, organize, and go through items.

Time's Up!  What'd you get done?
Tune in tomorrow for 10 more 5-minute tasks that will make you feel in control and all-accomplished!
You're on your way to a Less Stressed Nest!

Day 22: Organizing with Labels

Just joining in?  Read the entire series {HERE}.

Today will be a short post on labels.  I am slightly obsessed with them.  They add function, organization, and style to almost any container, basket, or item.

Here is a collection of a few labeled things I found around blogland.  Hopefully, like me, you will be inspired to make or create some of these.  Many of these are from BHG and you can get these printable labels downloaded free on their site!

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Awesome, right?

Day 21: {Organized} Gift Wrap

Just joining in?  Read the entire series {HERE}.

Whew!  I can't believe it is October 21!  Where has October gone?  I have been working on those white cabinets as much as I can.  I never realized how useful those could be!  Remember my master bedroom closet that I embarrassingly showed you that used to contain my craft supplies?

See the orange drawered organizer?  That used to hold my acrylic paints, adhesives, and other crafty stuff.  I brought it down to the basement to see if now that it was empty of craft supplies it could hold some of my gift wrapping supplies.  Guess what?  It fit perfectly in one of the other tall white cabinets down there!

At the top of the this tall cabinet are all of our photo albums.  I'm not quite done with those yet.

I made labels for each drawer.

I added fun contact paper to the back of this cabinet.  It added so much color and prettiness!  It took me about 10 minutes to line the back of the cabinet--I am going to see what else in my house I can put (removable) contact paper on!  I love that stuff!  I found mine at Marshall's recently-two rolls for $6.99!  I wish I would have picked up other prints.   The tall metal container holding the rolls of gift wrap was from my daugher's room.  She actually has two of these and we have never used both.   I don't think she has realized one is gone.  :)

I love how each drawer is labeled and I can find things so easily.  All of this stuff used to be in a shallow plastic container under my bed!  I am thrilled that it is so easily accessible and looks so much better now

How does organizing my gift wrap go along with my Less Stressed Nest series?  I'll tell you how.  Organization lessens stress and saves time allowing me to enjoy my family and other things more.  Pretty, organized spaces calm and relax me and make me happy.

What have you organized lately?  What's on the list?

Sharing this project with:
The Girl Creative:  Just Something I Whipped Up
Skip to My Lou
Not Just a Housewife-Show Me What Ya Got
Bloom Designs

Day 16: Thinking Ahead=Cutting Down on Errands

Just joining in?  Read the entire series {HERE}.

Have you ever ran out to the store to grab snacks for soccer or  a folder your kid needs at school, or to the bank to get some cash out for the football game and realize the next day there was 3 other things that you needed for the coming week that you could have picked up when you were RIGHT THERE at the store?  Yeah, me too.  

It's not like I don't want to visit heavenly Target 3 times a week, but it takes tons of extra time and effort to go multiple times to get things that are needed for you or your family.   Plus, while there I usually end up getting more than what I came in for. That only happens at Target, right?

Source

I need to reduce the amount of time I am scurrying around getting those errands done.  I brainstormed some things I can do to help with this, and maybe these ideas will help you, too.

We can:
Look ahead.  Not to just tomorrow, but to the next two to three weeks.  Check our calendars, schedules, school and sports memos, and newsletters.  Make a list of everything that we may need to get or buy.  Keep a running list in one place, not on a gazillion post-its notes or lists.

*Look ahead on school newsletters and flyers.  Do we need special or extra school supplies?  Donations of items?

*Look at all sports schedules.  Do we need any special equipment/snacks/coaches' gifts?

*Think about work, whether you work at home or outside of the home.  Do we need items for upcoming projects or jobs?  Gifts for co-workers?

*Special occasions--what birthdays/anniversaries/other events are coming up?  Do we need to get a gift for an upcoming birthday party?  What cards need purchased?  Do we have stamps?

*Clubs/Church/Other organizations--what's coming up that will require us to bring a snack/item/donation?

*Cash--(I don't have cash often, I use my debit card for almost everything) What is coming up that we  will need cash?  Do the kids need any for school acitvities?  Do we need to go to the bank or ATM while we're out?

These are just a few areas of our lives that may require us to make a trip to the store to get items.  Wouldn't it be great if we were so prepared that we could get several tasks taken care of in one errand?  Imagine how on top of things we would feel!

 I know that rushing around and getting things last minute is stressful to say the least.  No, these are not rocket-science ideas, but if you are like me, when your head is spinning you tend to do what you need to do in the RIGHT NOW to survive.  :)

Remember, we're on this mission together, to create a Less Stresssed Nest. Are ya with me?

Day 14: Organizing School Pics/Papers/Awards

Just joining in?  Read the entire series {HERE}.

Happy Weekend!

I am still in a sea of pictures and random stuff from those white cabinets I showed you a few days ago.  I have working on the contents of them as much as I have been able to...this morning my mission was to tackle the massive mound of photo albums, kid school and sports pics, and school awards and special papers.

Let me explain myself a bit first...I am organized to a degree.    I have always stored all of these things in the same place, but that is what the problem was, they were in the same place.  Mixed together.  With no real assemblance of order.   I could NOT put those things back in my cabinets that way.  I knew it would be a huge task, but one that once was completed, I was would oh-so-happy and feelin' on top of things.

Remember this stash of stuff from the cabinets:

For my three youngest (the oldest is a senior in college and I have her things organized in another place) I purchased 3 zip-around expandable scrapbook paper holders.  I figured these would be great to store the kids' school and sports pics, school awards, and grade cards.   They were only 6 bucks each at Big Lots and they had 3 different colors!  Bonus.  I do display their current school picture in frames and put a copy of their sports pictures in special albums I have for each of them.  (However, these are not current and will be explained in another post...)

First, I had to sort through the mound of pictures, papers, and artwork and organize by kid and type of item or photo.  I made myself quick little cards to make the sorting easier.  I even had a furry helper.

 (Adding photos to each of their albums is a whole other job.....)

I used my handy paper tape that I have used on other projects recently and made labels for each of my kiddos.  My labels were:
-Grade Cards Ele./Jr. High
-Grade Cards High School
-Sports Pics
-Sports Awards
-School Pics Ele./Jr. High
-School Pics High School
-Misc.

Even though my two youngest are only in 2nd and 7th grades, I went ahead and labeled for high school because then I will know exactly where these go when the time comes!  That means no excuses for me.
Now for all of you SUPER organized moms who have kept your kids things chronologically organized by grade, (know that I hate you--kidding!) you might have a divider for each grade.  Since I am just now doing this project, I am simplying it for myself.  (Luckily all of the school or sports pictures have the year printed on them already)  Here are my labels I wrote on paper tape with a Sharpie:

Then I just put the tape strips right over the plastic tabs instead of trying to insert the little paper tabs they give you inside of them.

I love the size of this because even oversized papers or pictures fit inside vertically.

I labeled the front of each portfolio with my kids' names.  This project put a big dent in my mound and I am THRILLED that these things are now organized.  I am covered for every item my kids may ever need to find about themselves.  Need your Perfect Attendance award from kindergarten?  Got it.  Grade Card from 3rd grade, 1st quarter?  That's there too.  Want to see how you have changed through the years and put all of your school pics in a row and giggle?  You can do that.

Here the portfolios are on a shelf in one of the white cabinets.  A full reveal of this cabinet will be soon.....

Going along with my series, this project, while a little overwhelming at first, has made me really feel good about how I have my kids' things organized and that helps with my stress level!   I love these portfolios and am considering other uses for them.

How do you organize all of your kids' awards, pictures, and grade cards?  Did you find any ideas here you might try?

Day 9: Craft Supplies Organized=A Little Stress Relief

Just joining in?  Read the entire series {HERE}.

Welcome to Day 9!  I am ready to show you the white cabinet I turned into craft supply storage!  I am so excited about it not only because it is incredibly organized, but pretty too!

Being organized is such stress-reliever.  Before when I would go to get supplies for a project out, I would go to 3 different places in my home.   I also would keep items I had purchased recently in the bags they came in--so I had bags from JoAnn's everywhere.  No more!  I completely took everything out of bags, boxes, and containers and sorted, purged, and organized it all!  Remember this white cabinet before:

Now, with all of my craft supplies and fun-ness:

Isn't it fantastic?   I lined the back of the cabinet with cute wrapping paper and used paper tape (from the same set I used on the computer armoire that I posted about yesterday) to line the edge of the shelves.  I already had the photo boxes and the navy blue fabric containers.   Some of the containers are empty!  Empty!  That is how much storage this one set of cabinets has given me!   If you are wondering about the other cabinets, I will posting on those another day this month. :)  All those photos and albums?  On the floor in my basement.  A huge, heaping pile.  But I'm NOT letting it get me stressed because I know I will get to it soon and all of the photos, school papers, and gift wrap/supplies will be stored in the white cabinet next to my craft supplies!  Of course I will show all of this to you when I am done!

Soon I will put labels on all of these baskets and containers, as well as share with you what it is inside all of them.  I just couldn't get it done to be able to post for you today.  I had parent-teacher conferences today until 7:00 (and I am posting everyday!!!)--I'm sure you understand.   :)   I will be sure to show you all of the fun labels I will be creating for this project when I am done!

I am so excited about going right to this space and finding exactly what I need every time.  My kiddos will also be able to find things easier  (not that my boys craft, but you know, they might start now.....)  and know right where things go to be put back.

So, have I inspired you to organize something?  Let's go!  You can do it!

Sharing with:
Not Just a Housewife
A Thoughtful Place
Savvy Southern Style
Delightful Order

Day 8: Sense of Accomplishment: A Fun Armoire

Just joining in?  Read the entire series {HERE}.

Happy Monday!  Hope you had a productive, stress-free weekend!

It's true that all of yesterday I worked on my white cabinets project.  It's lookin' good but I'm not quite ready to show it to you yet--just a couple more things to go.

As I was working on these cabinets, as expected-- a number of other little projects surfaced.  I have been an organizing, productive machine!  It's feels good.

I did finish a little project that I didn't even know 2 days ago was going to be a project, but hey sometimes it's best like that.  Do you ever start a project and get side-tracked and end up getting something else done instead?

We used to have an old desktop computer with all of the components in a computer armoire in our basement.  We got rid of the computer about 2 years ago, but kept the armoire to hold the printer, paper, and our DVD and CD collections.  The large, main section of the armoire was only holding the printer and there was tons of wasted space.

The other day I showed you our board games that used to be stored in the white cabinets.

My daughter also had games in her bedroom closet.  I decided to combine all of the games in our house (after deciding to donate a few) and put them in the armoire.  I moved some shelves around in there that were adjustable, decorated the inside panels of the upper doors, and moved the printer to the bottom where is was less of the focal point.  Look!

My new obsession with paper tape (from Target) framed the door panels as well as the edges of the shelves in the armoire.

This armoire may someday be painted, but for right now, it has a new life as our game/music/movie/printer armoire.  I'm lovin' how it turned out!  I love that we can find any game or movie that we want to play or watch so easily!  And the printer is easily accessible with the paper basket on top which is much neater than before.

What piece of furniture or item in your home is wasted space and can be converted for another use?  How can organizing it and/or making it useful make you less stressed?

Linking up to:
Brassy Apple: Make it Monday
Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Not Just a Housewife
A Thoughtful Place
Savvy Southern Style

Day 7: Messes Can Mean Progress

Just joining in?  Read the entire series {HERE}.

Happy Sunday!  Welcome to Day 7!  I started organizing my white cupboards that I posted about yesterday....let's just say I didn't realize how big of a project this would turn out to be.  Has that ever happened to you?

I decided that instead of getting stressed about this whole process, I was going to feel calm, proud, and relieved that several things are going to get organized, sorted, and purged in our home which is a wonderful thing!

Let me show you the progress thus far.  Look at my title of this post:  Messes Can Mean Progress.  So I am about to show you a mess.  It gets worse before it gets better, yes?

My mission to organize my craft supplies and put them into these cupboards has created more missions for me to tackle, including:

1.  Organizing hundreds of loose photos.

2.  Adding to my kiddos photo albums.  I have a small album for each of them for general pictures, and an album for each of them for their sport pictures.  The problem is, I haven't added to these in a couple of years.  Bad mom I know.  But I am tackling this now!!!  Woo Hoo!!!

3.  Sorting through greeting cards.  I save all of my kids' cards they have received for birthdays and other occasions.  I also have all of the cards that they have made or given to my hubby and I.  Do I keep ALL of these?  I am not sure yet.  What is your take on this?  Do you save all of your cards?

4.  Updating my storage boxes that I have for each kiddo that contain special school and artwork.  I actually think I may change how I have this---will update you on that when I get to that little project.  I have a good idea that will be so much easier to maintain and keep current.

5.  Making labels for all of the containers, baskets, and drawers that are housing all of this stuff!  Who doesn't love a pretty label?  They are functional and make things oh-so-easy to find.

This week I will continue to show you progress on my mess and those white cupboards.  I already love what I have done and can't wait show you the finished product!

What about you?  Do you think messes (the right kind, not milk spilled on the floor) mean progress?  What mess are you going to create to progress toward making your nest less stressed?

Day 6: Organization: Finding Hidden Potential

Just joining in?  Read the entire series {HERE}.

Hello! Welcome to Day 6!  So far we have talked about creating routines that will help us be less stressed and remembering the little things that we can do for ourselves to relax and enjoy more.

This weekend I am going to conquer some organization, a sure stress-buster.  For all of us being disorganized and having clutter causes us stress, wastes tons of time, and takes away from the joy in our homes.

Like many of you, I have lots of crafting supplies, acrylic paints, glues, fabrics, etc.  Some of you have these fantastic rooms or spaces to store them all in--lucky ducks!  There are certainly many of them out there on Pinterest and blogs to dream about.

I have been considering what to do with all of my supplies.  I don't have an extra room to turn into a crafting room or a room that can even be shared for this purpose.  Ashamedly, the 6 years that we have lived in our home I have stored our craft supplies in our master bedroom closet.  Yeppers.  Our closet has these strange "steps" since on the other side are the actual stairs that go down to our main level.  I have never known what to do with this space in our closet because it is awkward and hard to access.  However,  it is rather large and can hold lots of stuff, apparently even crafting supplies.

In writing my posts for the series, I knew that organizational projects had to be part of my posts and organizing all of my craft supplies was top of the list.

In our basement, which I've never spoken about because there's not much to it, (it's a partial basement that is finished and not too big) and although it's not nasty or anything, it's not really decorated or cozy.  However, it does have this massive set of white cupboards that were there when we bought the house.  They are utilitarian-looking, but hold a ton of stuff!  (Sorry the pictures are kinda dark, there are no windows in the basement.)

Today I want to show you about finding hidden potential in our homes.  I found it in these white cupboards.  Here is what is currently being stored in these babies:

My step-son's shoes and hats (since he doesn't have a real closet in his room, which is also in the basement):

 Photo albums, photo boxes, and misc. sentimental/important "stuff" (also needs to be sorted through and decluttered):

 Blankets, pool towels,  more "stuff":

Toys my daughter does not play with anymore:

Board games (these need to be sorted through and the ones we don't ever play need to be donated):

I think I know what you're thinking, right?  LOTS of wasted space.  HIDDEN POTENTIAL TO STORE MY CRAFT SUPPLIES!!!  Will I use all of these cupboards?  No, I don't need them all.  But can I put a couple to good use to organize my little heart out with those supplies?  YES!

This weekend I will be doing just that.  Remember, organization=less stress.

Here is where my supplies are currently being stored in the master bedroom closet.  Not pretty.

Finding hidden potential in your home is like finding treasure.  What spaces in your home are not being utilized to their full potential or can be better-suited for another need?

Stay tuned this weekend for some progress on these cupboards!