Most everyone cuts out at least a few coupons from mailings or the paper only to discard them because they have expired. Some may print specific ones from the internet. Just putting all of them together in your purse is not conducive to using them. No one can remember what is in the stack nor will they take the time to go through the pile each time a purchase is made.
Categories
Although each family will have some different categories, there are basic divisions common to most people, including:
- Baking Supplies (flour, sugar, seasonings)
- Canned Goods
- Cleaning Supplies (for bathroom, kitchen and general household)
- Dairy (milk, eggs, cheese)
- Fresh Meat
- Fresh Produce
- Frozen
- Health & Beauty (make-up, hair spray)
- Household (batteries, light bulbs)
A comprehensive list of divisions can be found in the related article. Use categories that make sense to you. For instance, “Canned Goods” could be split into “Canned Meat” and “Canned Fruits & Vegetables”. This would be particularly appropriate if you do serious couponing with large numbers of them.
Storing
In the beginning, a readily-available and inexpensive accordion-type organizer labeled with appropriate categories may suffice. Most of these would not last very long, falling apart rather quickly
For serious couponing, there are small book-type organizers with pockets on each page. These are often spiral-bound which tend to come loose, limiting their life as well, depending on frequency of use. Higher-end products are available and would last longer.
Really serious couponers may use a three-ring binder or photo album which is handy for viewing coupons quickly. Look for a photo album or pages which have divisions on each page for sorting coupons by category. The downside to this is inconvenience of removing coupons.
Although bulkier to carry, a small recipe box with dividers for each category is easy to flip through and remove individual coupons. It would also hold up better with use than some of the others.
Keeping Current on Coupons
Whatever storage medium used, it must be updated periodically. A good time to do this would be each week or every two weeks when new coupons come out and you are adding them to your file.
Dedicated organizers could set up a two-column table on their computer to serve as a grocery list with divisions and what coupons are on hand. The sample below is one choice. Print the list and post on the refrigerator each week and place checkmark by item needed. Write in coupons by hand until you are ready to update the master on the computer, i.e. monthly.
PRODUCT MFR/STORE EXPIRES
CANNED
Make it Easy for You
All the coupons available are useless unless they are used. Experiment until you find categories and a storage-retrieval system that works best for you whether that is very basic or detailed. Usually the more time spent on couponing, the more money is saved.
Peggy Williams - After 20 years in the workplace, I returned to school recently and graduated in May '08 with a Bachelors degree in Dietetics and ...
