If you plan to get two or four copies of the Sunday paper every week, a simple hanging file folder box will work for you. I snagged this one a few years back on sale at an office supply store:
Don't look too closely or you might see some dust, a coffee ring or two, and the spot where my kids doodled a Hi! with a smiley face. I love that it latches securely and has a handle for carrying from room to room... though it usually stays tucked away between my seat in the living room and the bookshelf beside me when I'm not using it.
When I bought it, I also purchased some actual hanging file folders. Plain manila folders might work, too, but I appreciate how these slide back and forth easily within the box.
If you want to get fancy, you could use labels instead of writing directly on the folders. I am not fancy. Every week, when I open my Sunday paper, I put the day's date directly on the folder:
I also write the date of the insert on the insert just in case they somehow end up in the wrong spot (it happens, especially if you enlist a friend or family member to help you plan a shopping trip!):
The other items you'll want to keep in or near your coupon box are a marker, decent scissors (mine were from the dollar store and work great), and lotion. Handling paper is dry work, and you don't want a new hangnail to ruin your day!
Now, like any good hobby, couponing has its own lingo. You can learn them as you go along or you can keep SouthernSavers' cheat sheet (bottom half of page) nearby until you've learned them all. At this point, the ones you'll need to know are the abbreviations for the inserts, in order to decipher online matchups.
- RedPlum is RP
- SmartSource is SS
- Proctor & Gamble is PG
- General Mills is GM
- Printables are often IP, but you may see other abbreviations for them
Even though I've been couponing since 2009, matchup sites will occasionally throw an abbreviation into the mix that I don't recognize. Don't get flustered by it. By and large, the above five will get you through most of the matchup sites.
So... you've subscribed to the local paper, you're filing your inserts every week, and one day you realize you can't fit another coupon into the box. What now? It's time to purge your expired coupons. This is where you'll save even more time with this method. Instead of looking at every single coupon you would have clipped using the binder method, you're just going to find a list of which entire inserts are expired, and you're going to pull them out of your box. I was using an excellent site until the lady closed it recently, so now I'm using CouponCleanout. Use that dedicated email address to sign up for free access. Then, all you have to do is select your region, and your starting and ending dates of inserts, and the database will tell you which coupons are no longer any good. I spend about five minutes every couple of months purging my expired coupons.
Now, when you sit down to compile your weekly list for a store, all you have to do is go down the matchups for a site, flip to the folder with the insert you want, and clip the coupon(s). I often print off the matchup list, fold it in half, slip my coupons inside the fold, and head to the store. I don't have to worry about anyone stealing my coupon organizer or binder (yes, it actually happens) and I don't have to worry about dropping 1,000 coupons all over the floor when an organizer tips the wrong way or the clasps fail on a binder.
As always, you have to customize your process to use the methods that suit you. I've tried all three of the methods mentioned above, and have fallen in love with whole-insert organization, and recommend that folks give it a shot before trying other methods.
Next up: What about items without coupons?
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Next up: What about items without coupons?
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