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Getting Started On Your Coupon Binder

There are many ways of organizing and toting around your coupons but i have stuck to the basic method that i think is probably the most common. When i first started a took a look at The Krazy Coupon Lady's method and got some ideas from her. She has some great FREE printable categories. I looked at hers but i wanted to adapt it to what i shop for and what would make sense to me.

I got started with this little binder here: 


This worked for a while. I started out small and i carried this in my diaper bag. Not to far into it i was gathering so many coupons that my poor little binder was snapping open from all the pages i had in there and spilling all over the place. Not to mention i was getting annoyed at pulling it in and out of my diapers bag every two minutes.

I quickly realized i need something else! I went on search for the best deal. I wanted something with a handle, a shoulder strap and most importantly something that would zip up so my dear coupons would not spill out all the time from my clumsy self!

I search online, on ebay and at Wal-Mart. Luckily i was looking during back to school season. I found just what i was looking for at Wal-Mart but being the penny pitcher i am i didn't want to spend $15-$17 for it. I waited and looked every few days and finally they went on sale! Paid $7 for it :)


This is it :)


Inside I always carry some scissor (will explain why later) and a pen (for notes, sales and prices i want to write down)




 To the left it has a handy area where i keep sale ads, my Walgreens monthly coupon book and my uncut coupon inserts.


I had started out by cutting up all my coupon inserts which took quiet some time. Now that i buy 4 to 10+ of each insert i have now starting only cutting 2-4 of each insert and filing the rest. If you file whole inserts make sure you write on the front big and easy to read, what date the inserts came from, this is very helpful later when looking up coupons.




I luckily had tabs on hand which i used to organize my coupons. I adapted my tab categories to what made sense to me. My categories are: Cold Food, Dry Food, Snacks, Beverages, Hair Care, Bath & Body, Make Up & Nails, Razors, Oral Care, Feminine Care, Laundry & Cleaning, Scented, Paper Goods, Baby, Pharmacy, Outdoor, Pet, Batteries and Misc.


The The Krazy Coupon Lady break these categories down even more which might work out better for you. I would suggest that you break down 'Pharmacy' and 'Laundry & Cleaning' into more categories since these seem to be the ones that accumulate a lot of coupons!




For the general coupons I use baseball card protectors which i bought at Wal-Mart. You can usually finds these up on the other side of the cigarette check out lanes. There is usually an isle up there which has baseball cards, trading cards and card protectors. It's usually around $5.99 for 30 pages if i am remembering right. I would suggest buying several of these because they will fill up quickly.

I would also suggest maybe buying some 6 or 3 pocket coupon protectors (links below) for the larger printable coupons. A few bigger pockets for the printed coupons would be nice! I really want to buy some of these because i get annoyed at folding my printed coupons several times and it makes them bulky.


Now i picked up these three ring binder pouches during the back to school sale when everything was going on clearance. I got these for $.10 but they are probably about $1 regular price.
I use these to separate my coupons per store that i will use come my next shopping spree. So as i am finding deals and coupons to go along with the sales i pull the coupons and store them in these pouches according to store. That way it makes it much easier once at the store.

Here are some resources to get you started:
Coupon Protectors:
  • 3 Pocket Protectors (20 pages) $5.39 (HERE)
  • 4 Pocket Protectors (20 pages) $6.07 (HERE)
  • 6 Pocket Protectors (20 pages) $6.50 (HERE)
  • 8 Pocket Protectors (20 pages) $6.99 (HERE)
  • 9 Pocket Protectors (25 pages) $5.42 (HERE)
    • These are either FREE shipping or eligible for FREE shipping if you buy $25 worth of eligible products.
  • Coupon Binder Pages - 50 Page Assortment + Bonus Sleeve (HERE)
Binders:
  • 2 Inch Zipper Binder with Shoulder Strap $12.99 (HERE)
  • Zipper Dual Binder, Two-in-One Binders with 2 1 1/2 Inch D-Rings $21.99 (HERE)
  • XLarge Capacity Zipper Binder with 5-Tab File Folder and 4 Inch D Ring $24.99 (HERE)
    • These are eligible for FREE shipping if you buy $25 worth of eligible products.
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