Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Organizing my coupons

I've been a little behind lately due to my children being sick. So for two weeks in a row I was unable to clip or organize my coupons. I also had extras from taking our recycleables in and checking out the newspaper dumpster...JACKPOT! Anyone who knows me knows that I can't stand to be unorganized. If I'm unorganized my day goes bad...organized my day can flow smoothly. So yesterday I worked long and hard to get reorganized. When I first started couponing I looked a lot for good organization methods. There are many ways people organize thier coupons, but this is how I've chosen to do mine.
I usually cut all coupons on sunday night, then organize on Monday during naptime, then plan my trips by Tuesday morning. After I cut all my coupons from the inserts I spread all of the catagorized envelopes out on my table and start sorting.

Each envelope has an index card inside it, standing on it's side with the name of the catagory on it sticking up above the envelope. This way the catagory can be easily found.

I am in need for revamping my catagories but here are the catagories I have now (in no particular order):

Air Fresheners
Cereal
Pasta/Rice
Facial Care/Razor/Ect...
Soaps/Body Washes
Paper/Plastic
Laundry
Meats
Dairy
Canned Goods
Cleaning Supplies
Baking
Frozen Foods
OTC Meds (Misc.)
OTC Heartburn
OTC Children's
OTC Headache
OTC Cold/Sinus
Deoderants
Misc.
Toothbrushes
Floss
Beverages
Baby
Produce
Vitamins
Feminine Hygiene
Eye Care
Condiments
Mouthwash
Salad Dressings
Pet Supplies
Makeup
Snacks
Dishes
Oral Care (Misc.)
Toothpaste
Restaurants
Refund Forms
Entertainment
Value Cards

When I'm finished sorting I put all the coupons in thier envelope and put the envelopes into a shoe box.
My shoebox is always equiped with, of coarse, coupons, scissors, a handheld calculator, and extra paperclips to help keep organized in the store.

As I make my shopping lists I take out coupons as needed and put them in a binder clip along with my shopping list for that store. When I'm finished adding items and coupons to that list I put a sticky with the name of the store on the front of it. Then I'm ready to head to the stores! If you are kidless while shopping, those binder clips work great for clipping your shopping list to the cart right in front of you where you can see it.

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