couponing {my binder}

Well, if you read my blog you know I've jumped into this couponing thing big time. Being the anal personality that I am, I had to find the *perfect* way to organize everything. It's been a work in process for a couple of months now and I'm finally at a point where I'm about 90% happy with my system. It still could use some improvements, but it's functional.

In the spirit of saving money (that's the point, right???), I tried to spend as little as possible on creating the system. The basis for the coupon binder is a basic binder (which I already had, so it was free). I started with a smaller one (1", I think) and had to upgrade. I think the one I'm using is 1.5" (maybe 2").

The majority of the pages in the binder are baseball card page protectors (which I stole from Spencer - don't tell). These hold the actual coupons. I have to fold many of them to make them fit. If possible I try to fold them so that I can see the value, item, and expiration date without having to pull it out. This isn't always possible.


One of the recent improvements is this pencil pouch at the front of the binder (one of the main reasons I had to increase the size). I got it cheap with all the back to school sales going on. In the mesh pocket, you can see a small calculator that I purchased inexpensively and a pen. In the zippered pocket there is a small pair of scissors (free at CVS). I also have some rebate information & receipts in there. There are also slots on the backside where I keep a few other things tucked, such as an envelope of expired coupons (which I donate to overseas military).

The front pocket of the notebook contains envelopes - each labeled with a store name. I have one for every store I might visit: WalMart, Target, Bi Lo, Harris Teeter, Food Lion, Walgreen's, Rite Aid, and CVS. Please note I do NOT go to all these stores every week - that's craziness. I just have the envies if I need them. Once I use an envelope for the week, I move it to the back pocket of the binder.

Here's a shot of one of the pages. As you can see there are labeled tabs that divide the sections. I had these tabs on hand and used my label maker. But I ran out and had to buy a package of additional tabs. I'm about 75% happy with my categories. There are one or two that might be unnecessary or could be combined. And then there are another few that should probably be split up into more specific categories because they are too large.

Another recent improvement was adding "half index cards" to each pocket. I didn't even know these things existed but I read this tip online. It allows you to put a coupon on both sides of each pocket without it looking as messy. Love that. I need some more of these.

On the first page of every category (the page with the tab attached), I have a category marker as well. I printed these on my computer and cut them to fit into the baseball sheets. It has the category and some examples of what is in that section. Now that I've been using this for a bit, these are probably unnecessary.

I also have a few full sheet page protectors with various things in them... some reference sheets, Babies R Us ads/coupons, etc.

I'm going to post about my process separately...