Have you ever felt overwhelmed by loads of newspapers and coupons? Or even missed out on sales from lost coupons?

Organizing your coupons should be simple and not so time-consuming. These tips will help you get out of the door faster to saving money. I have learned to try these steps every week a new insert comes out. There were trials in the beginning but being consistent with organizing coupons makes shopping trips successful. I’m going to coach you through step by step

Getting your Supplies

We all know how coupons can get everywhere but what should you get to organize them? For most of these items, I recommend buying them at Staples or OfficeDepot. The expense will probably run you around $30 – $40 dollars but it’s so worth it.

Here is a list of supplies you’ll need:

• Zipper Binder
• A pair of scissors
• Coupon plastic case organizer
• Baseball card plastic sleeves
• Index tabs

(Most of these prices are depicted from Staples.com)

I usually have a large binder to organize the majority of my coupons and then a small coupon holder for an on the fly couponing trip. My binder consists of all my inserts, printable, and store coupons. Then there is a zipper pouch for all my necessities like a pair of scissors, a small stapler, plain notepaper, and a pen. The binder that would be best to use is a zip-up binder, coupons, as they grow, can become bulky so you will need to use something that will handle the weight and contain them. My store coupons are separate from my manufacturer’s coupons. I don’t feel as though I should have a directory because the divider tabs are labeled by category, plus I will be the main person using it. If you want to put a directory you can, if it’s how you would like it to go ahead!

Here are some of the categories you might want to consider:

• Meats
• Condiments
• Refrigerated items
• Dairy/Milk/Eggs
• Laundry Care
• Cleaning Supplies
• Office Supplies
• Hair
• Cosmetics
• Toiletries
• Pet
• Pantry items
• Dental Care
• Freezer items
• Fruits/Vegetables
• Juice/Soda/Water

Let’s start organizing!

Once you gather your supply, place the categorized dividers on the baseball card sleeves its time to cut and fill. I grabbed this technique from friends and from watching other extreme couponing influencers.

Cut, Cut, Cut!!!!

Start by gathering all like inserts and staple them together. Make sure you staple areas that won’t destroy the value of the coupon. Don’t staple or cut the barcode that’s one less coupon!
Next, cut out the inserts once your done there should be no staples on the coupons themselves.

Place the inserts in the baseball sleeves in their designated tabbed areas. Make sure the dates and the brands are showing in the fold. It’s easy to sift through if you can see what you have and when they expire.

Try to do this technique every time you receive new inserts. As you put in the new coupons rotate out the old expired ones.

Printable coupons are easier to cut because they are generally all the same size. So it’s quick to gather them together and cut around a whole bunch.

Couponers tip: Rule of thumb, always keep a pair of scissors in your binder for store flyers and coupons you get on the go.

Store Coupons

Grocery flyers usually have a few coupons in the flyers, those I cut in the store. I generally only cut what I need for the trip I’m shopping for. Pharmacy store coupons have a lot more issues. I have them displayed in my store coupon section in my binder, easy!!.

Most store coupons nowadays are digital. So it’s easy to have them clipped and loaded to your shopper’s card. If you need help planning your shopping trip click here to my previous posts. My motto is to always clip all digital, you never know when you need it. Always use your store preload manufacturer’s coupon before a printable because they are free and didn’t cost you anything to retrieve them.

Now you are organized and ready to shop. Your binder is loaded and prepared for easy use. If you stick to this routine you can keep your binder in your car so you have it at all times. I simply scroll through when I’m prepping a shopping trip, it’s so much easier to do matchups. Sorting Inserts is just as great but I personally hate cutting and flipping through pages constantly. I could just cut them all the first time, make my list, and then run out the door.