How do I organize my coupons?

You can do a search on this question and get TONS of answers to it. But basically there are two ways to organize your coupons... To Clip or Not to Clip.

Not to Clip ~
If you would prefer to not clip, it's really easy. Just pull the inserts from the newspapers each week and write the date on the front. The date is also located along the spine on the outside of the inserts, but it's so small and rather inconvenient to search for it there, so just write the date on the front.

This way is very convenient for those who use online coupon databases for finding their coupons. In a database you will find that it will tell you something like:

Newman's Own Pasta Sauce 50¢ (R 5/31)

This means that this coupon for Newman's Own Pasta Sauce is 50¢ off and can be found in the May 31st RedPlum insert. To use these databases, you'll need to know a few abbreviations:

R=RedPlum

SS=SmartSource

PG=P&G Saver

P=Parade (from Newspaper)

NP=Newspaper

K=Kellogg's
U=Unilever
GM=General Mills

Of course, you can choose to keep these in a notebook, a basket, a box, wherever it takes up very little room and is very easy to find what you've seen on a coupon database.

There are a couple of disadvantages to doing it this way though. When I tried doing it this way, I found that I missed some great deals because I didn't know if I had a particular coupon for an item that I found on sale or clearance. If you bring your coupons with you, you will also need to bring a pair of scissors as well to clip the coupons that you want to use. OR you'll need to clip before you go.

If you're a person who can stick to a list, I highly recommend that you do your research in your home, clip what you need, and go to the store. I am not one of those people and constantly found myself buying items without coupons even though I HAD coupons, but I didn't bring them with me.

To Clip ~
This is where you will see the most discussion and contradiction about coupon organization. But first one thing you simply must do no matter what if you purchase more than one newspaper.

• Separate the inserts into piles of like pages ~ Once you have the pages put together, carefully line up the coupons and staple the coupons together. Then cut once for all those coupons. Stacking and stapling piles of more than 10 is not recommended. Most staplers don't like a thickness of more than 10. And make sure you Clip ALL of them! This doesn't mean that you have to use them all, but occasionally, you will find that if you buy a certain item that you would sometimes not be interested in and you don't want, that you will save MORE money in the long run. I know it sounds crazy, but we'll get to this. For now, clip them all out!!
• Storing your coupons ~ There are a ton of coupon organizers on the market, but I've found that these coupon organizers are really intended for the casual coupon clipper. Not the coupon-queen-want-to-be's that we are. So I suggest that you forgo the store bought, accordion style coupon organizers. When you're just starting out you may think this will be best because you don't have that many coupons. But I warn you, this would be a mistake, you will quickly accumulate a stock of coupons that will have you outgrowing your accordion file within a couple of months. So, what should you use?

* Recycled envelopes: This is how I started, And it's FREE! Instead of tossing out all those reply envelopes (others may think of as junk mail), tuck the flap inside and use to store your coupons. Write the category on the outside of the envelope and you're ready to go. This is great if you don’t have many coupons to store, such as when you're just starting out.

* Media storage boxes: These are approximately 4inches deep, 7 1/2 inches wide, and 11 inches long. This was my second way of storing coupons when I started. It was a nice way to have them all in one area. I did find that four inches deep was a little too deep for my liking, but it was cheap (I already had one!). But you can also look for 4 x 6 file boxes, or

* Recycled shoeboxes, diaper wipe containers or empty food boxes: These are great because they don’t cost you anything, you already have them around your home, and you're working to save the earth by recycling! They have lots of room for storing hundreds of coupons and you can work with several different ones until you find the right size for you.

* Large zippered Binder:

* Small parts organizers: I found these in the hardware section of my local Fred Meyer. They are plastic and have wonderful plastic dividers. These are what I'm currently using. Right now, I have two of these... one for food coupons and one for non-food coupons.

My next coupon organizer will be the "Deluxe Coupon Organizer". I found it on Amazon, but can't afford it just yet.

• Sorting your coupons ~

1. Sorted by store layout ~ in this way, you will sort your coupons according to the way the store is laid out. When you come into the store, is produce the first thing you come to? Then your first categories will be "Fresh Produce". If the meat department is next, then your next category will be "Fresh Meat". Perhaps the next aisle that you come to has bottled water, soda, and juice; you would then add the category "beverages" next. There are both benefits and drawbacks to this method, as there are to all methods. If your store has a water aisle in one part of the store, but also carries some juices on this aisle, but also has another aisle where they stock the majority of their juice, you will have a "beverages" or a "juice" category that will be in the wrong area of your coupon organizer. Also, if you shop at more than one store (which I highly recommend), you may find that this method of organization will work fairly well, but not all stores are laid out the same. But if you choose this method, you will find that when you go to your most shopped store, you will be able to find your coupons very easy.
2. Sorted by most used ~ If you find yourself using mostly cereal and soda coupons, with this method, you would place those categories first in your organizer.
3. Sorted alphabetically ~ Another suggestion is to sort your categories alphabetically. Beverages, Canned, Deli, Frozen, etc.
   

However you choose to sort your coupons, just make sure that it makes sense to you.

• Categories ~

These are the categories that I use

Baby/Child Products
Baking (cakes, muffins, etc)
Beverages
Body (lotions, make up)
Bread
Candy / Sweet Snacks
Canned Goods
Cat Food
Cereal / Breakfast foods
Cleaning Aids
Dairy/Cheese
Deodorants / Soap
Dog Food
Dry Goods (Rice, Pasta, etc.)
Feminine Hygiene
Frozen Foods
Hair Products
Laundry/Detergent
Meat
Medicines
Oral Care (Toothpaste/Brush/Mouthwash)
Paper Products
Plastic Bags
Salty Snacks
Sauces & Condiments
Seasonal

You will find that as time goes by, you will need to add categories or make new divisions in existing categories. Do your best to stay away from categories titled "miscellaneous" or "household goods", these categories don't really tell you anything about what's in them. Don't be TOO specific when making categories, but if you find that you have an excessive amount of one item in a single category, you may want to give it it's own category. Such as if you have a lot of Hair Color coupons, you may want to create a new category for it behind the Hair Products category.

Where do I find coupons?

Coupons are all over! Once you train your eyes and brain to them, you'll find them absolutely everywhere!

Sunday Newspapers ~
Most of the coupons that I collect come from the Sunday newspaper. If you purchase the newspaper from your closest, but Largest city, you'll find the most coupons. I live in Albany, Oregon; I do NOT get the Albany newspaper for coupons, I get the Oregonian out of Portland, Oregon. This paper has far more coupons than the Democrat-Herald, the Gazette-Times, or even Salem's Statesman Journal. In the beginning I had one of each delivered to my home and I would look through them every Sunday to decide which paper was best. And that's how I decided upon the Oregonian. I have also since been told by other coupon-clippers that the Oregonian is the best for coupons.

I purchase 10 newspapers each Sunday. I don't suggest that the newbie do this. When I first started, I tried to deal with the coupons from 10 Sunday newspapers and it just got to be overwhelming and I ended up not doing anything with my coupons, unless you count cussing while tossing them into the recycle bin when they expired because I didn't have a system for dealing with them. Then I got the great idea to get TWO newspapers each week and deal with those. When two stopped seeming like a challenge, I added two more. When four seemed very controllable I jumped to 7 newspapers and from there to 10.

Printable Coupons on the Internet ~
There are probably as many places to get coupons online as there are companies that produce products. If you have a preferred product and company (such as Kellogg's Cereal), go to that companies website and see if they have coupons (such as www.kelloggs.com).

But there are a few coupon sites that offer several different coupons each month. Several of these will ask for your zip code and give you different coupons based on your area. I like to give them my own zip code, then a larger city's zip code (Portland, in my case) and then an east coast zip code. This, I believe, gives me all the coupons available.

www.smartsource.com
www.coupons.com
www.boodle.com
www.couponloop.com
www.albertsons.com
www.safeway.com
www.fredmeyer.com
www.right@home.com

There is also a great database for coupons as well as forum for Safeway, Albertsons, and others. www.hotcouponworld.com

Many coupon websites require you to give them your email address in order to get their coupons. I suggest that you create a "junk" email address. Always use this same email address for anything having to do with coupons, freebies, rebates, etc. This will keep you from having all kinds of emails clogging up your "regular" email box.

"Buying" coupons ~
It is illegal to buy and sell coupons. But there are a couple of websites that I know where you can get extra coupons. What you actually do is to purchase the coupon clippers time and pay for shipping of these coupons. The average cost I have spent to "buy" these coupons has been about 8¢ to 12¢ each. This week there is a FREE coupon for a single can of Mighty Dog Dog Food, up to $1.00 value with no other purchase required for only 25¢ each at coupon clippers. So, you can see, these are some GREAT resourses for coupons!

www.thecouponclippers.com
www.thecouponmaster.com

Coupon Clippers also has a facebook page and they give status updates with new coupons that they have to offer and such. It's a great tool!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Coupon-Clippers/72259654869

You can also find coupons for trade on www.craigslist.org I have found these most often under the "for sale" section, but have also found them listed under "community", "personals", and "services". I just do a search for "coupon" for each area.

Blinkies ~ "Blinkies" are coupons distributed in stores by Smart Source Coupon Machines. The nickname "blinkie" refers to the machines blinking light designed to attract your attention while walking down the aisles. Machines typically provide a coupon directly in front of the product.

CoP ~ Often referred to on coupon sites simply as COP, these are Coupons on products in the store. These are coupons that are stuck to the product, on the box and you need to peel it off or wrapped around the top of a bottle and you need to slip it off.

CnP ~ This one is also referred to on coupon database sites as simply CnP... Coupon Next to Product. These you will find either as a "blinkie" or a "peelie" (not in a machine)

Free samples ~ When you get free samples, you will more often than not be given a coupon with the sample. I like to send for free samples in order to get these coupons. I have found that sometimes I can't find these coupons anywhere else.

Entertainment Book ~ The entertainment book has coupons for Safeway (possibly other stores that you use as well). The entertainment book goes on sale sometime around March when you can buy it for half price. You can then take out the Safeway coupons (and any other coupons you like) and sell it on Craigslist.org for half price... Free coupons!

Catalinas ~ Catalina coupons are those that comes out of the machine at the store register. It is a coupon triggered by the purchase of a particular item. These coupons are placed with the stores as a special promo by a particular manufacturer. For instance, when purchasing Lean Cuisine frozen dinners, Healthy Choice catalina coupons may print out. Sometimes the catalina is for money off a particular product. Sometimes the catalina is for money off your next shopping trip. We'll talk more about these later.

Magazines ~ One of the most prolific of all magazines for coupons is "All You Magazine". For the July 2009 magazine there are over $70.00 in coupons! This is very typical for All You. They also offer an e-newsletter that you can subscribe to (free) that will take you to their website and you can see what coupons are offered for the issue and decide whether or not to purchase it. It is available at Wal-Mart, or you can subscribe to it. It's, I think, $2.49 per issue if bought at Wal-Mart, and only $1.99 per issue with a subscription. Coupons can also be found in many of the other magazines that we read, just keep your eyes peeled for them.

Safeway's $10 off $50 Coupon ~ This coupon comes out on the first Tuesday of the month in the pages of the Oregonian and the Statesman Journal. If a month begins on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday, you will most likely find this coupon in the newspaper on the last Tuesday of the month before. It's confusing, I know!