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