Now that you have your Sunday Coupons comes the hard part! Which organizing system will you use? The good thing is there are so many great organizing options out there to match anyone’s busy lifestyle. Today I am going to talk a little bit about some of the most popular methods right now.

#1 Using an Accordion File or Wallet

When I first started out composing I started out with a simple small accordion file system. You can find these at your local pharmacy or grocery store in the paper product aisle. You can choose to have a small portable file system or a larger one to keep carrying with you. As a recommendation I would recommend that you purchase a plastic one not the paper ones as they much more durable and especially if you are a busy mom this will come in handy for you.

Use each pocket to store your coupons and divide them up into categories such as:

Dairy
Breakfast
Pets
Health and Beauty
Baby Products
Beverages
Baking needs
Snacks
Cleaning Aides
Frozen Foods
Meals
Household
Restraints
Vegetables
Desserts
Meat
Soup
Salad
Pasta
Appetizers
Paper Products, etc.

Now on the top of each tab mark your categories in DARK easy to read font so when you are in a hurry in the grocery store you will know exactly what each category says and you are ready to start shopping. I also tend to keep the front pocket free to store my scissors for cutting coupons, also keep my shopping lists and highlighters in there to mark off what I have already purchased.

#2 Envelope Method

A lot of ladies in my area use this system. To organize your coupons simply take as many envelopes as you need for the categories you want. On the front of the envelope in black bold marker you mark the category that envelope is to be used for.

Store your coupons inside the envelopes in the proper categories. These then can be easily stored in an old shoe box, a Rubbermaid tub or in an accordion file folder. The one downfall I have personally run into it is easy to accidentally misplace an envelope and then you are out all those wonderful coupons you clipped.

#3 Binder Method

This is my preferred choice for organizing and storing coupons. I go to the office supply store and I purchased a $2 binder that was 1 ½ inches wide. Then I purchased the plastic baseball card holders. You can buy these in packages for like $6. Then I purchased a kids pencil holder the ones that are like a fabric folder with a zipper. I put this at the front of my binder and add scissors, pens, highlighters, calculator and my rebate forms inside for easy location.

You may also want to purchase a zipper binder like a trapper keeper to help make sure you don’t lose anything! One of the other things I purchased was the plastic divider pages for the binder and that is how I marked off my baseball pages. Simply mark on each tab for each category you need then allow yourself a page or two per category! Now what I do is write on each section of the baseball card pages a letter like A-C or D-G so that I am marking off my pages by the alphabet.

So when I need to find a coupon for Dawn detergent I would go to the my Cleaning Supplies tab and look under the D-G tab for my Dawn detergent coupon. Another popular way of sorting your pages rather than alphabetic is by expiration date.

#4 Recipe Box

This is a good standard way of organizing your coupons! Use a simple plastic recipe card file box or even a small shoe box, and then the tabbed dividers. On the tabbed dividers mark bold and clearly your categories and then just sort that way! I usually buy a large enough one to store my scissors and pens and calculator.

Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

Article Copyrighted 2008 to Angie Wenke Owner of Heartland Graphics, Primitive Times Magazine, Prim Talk Radio

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