Many of you have asked me how I organize my coupons, and how I have time to coupon. Prior to this site, I clipped every single coupon and kept them in a large binder. I used tabbed dividers, and baseball card sleeves to keep them organized. When I did this, I spent A LOT of time each week clipping and organizing coupons.
The pros to this method::
- Coupons are organized
- You know what you coupons you have
- If you see an item on clearance and have a coupon for it, more than likely you can get it for free or super cheap
The cons to this method::
- Takes more time
- I found that I was purchasing some items I didn’t need just because they were super cheap
- I found myself spending more time in the grocery store
- You don’t use all the coupons you clip, so you can be wasting time on clipping some coupons
Since I needed more time to devote to this growing site, I knew I had to “let some things go”. I sat down and looked at everything in my life. I realized that one of my biggest “time suckers” was clipping coupons. I knew that I still needed to save money, but couldn’t devote hours each week to clipping. I could spend up to an hour each week still clipping though. I felt like Barney in “How I Met Your Mother” and thought “Challenge Accepted”. ???? I tried a couple of different ways to keep my time to less than an hour. After a few weeks, I finally have it down to an art, and am ready to share my process with you all and do a fun giveaway. ????
At first, I purchased a container that would hold hanging folders, and had a lid {like this one}. I quickly “outgrew” this box, and recently switched to a crate {like this one} thanks to my creative friend Chelsea. ???? Then I purchased a 12 pack of hanging file folders, and a box of file folders. I labeled the twelve hanging files January through December. I use the smaller file folders to label the inserts each week {like 8/31 PG and is filed in the August folder}. This keeps all of my inserts filed. Since there are also printable coupons, flyers from Publix, and other store coupons, I have a couple file folders labeled for each of these items to keep them organized as well. Each week, I am able to simply label the new inserts, and place them in the correct month. After I file the inserts, I print any printable coupons throughout the week that are for either items we use, will be free, or coupons for vegetables {rare and do not last long}. I file these coupons in my “printable coupons file”.
Since I usually shop at Publix, I look at the full grocery match up as I’m writing out my grocery list. Once I have my list written out, I sit down and clip the coupons I need from each insert {the match ups tell me which insert the coupon I need is in, so I don’t have to waste time searching for it}. I spend around 20 minutes clipping coupons, from inserts, the flyers, and printable coupons, for my trip. Sometimes it takes longer, depending on how many “helpers” I have. ????
Once I have my coupons clipped, I stick them in my Thirty-One Coupon Organizer. This keeps my coupons in one place. It also has different slots to keep them separated out. Since I also love shopping at CVS, I’m able to keep my coupons for my CVS trips separate from my Publix trips.
Since I have started clipping my coupons this way, I no longer spend hours upon hours clipping coupons. I feel less stressed, and am still successfully saving 60% or more on my grocery bill. Since one of my goals here at Frugal Finds During Naptime is to bring you easy deals and make couponing easy, I’m giving away one of these fabulous Thirty-One Coupon Organizers. My friend sells Thirty-One, and I thought these coupon organizers were super cute. Since mine works so well for me, I want to give you one! This giveaway will be open for a week, and you can enter it every.single.day for a greater chance at winning! ????
