How I Organize My Coupons: Coupon Box Method

A few months back, I became completely frustrated with my coupon binders.  I found it to be very time consuming to put them away every week.  I had to fold large or long coupons in order to fit them in the baseball card holders, many times hiding the expiration date.  I ended up with 2 binders, one for food and one for non food.  Both binders were heavy and awkward to work with.

I came across this post on Money Saving Mom.  As I read the post and studied the pictures, it dawned on me that this was a much better system for me, so I decided to give it a try.  It cost very little to implement this system.  I purchased the box at Target for under $10.  I bought 2 boxes of small envelopes & a pack of index cards at The Dollar Tree.  I reused the tab dividers from my coupon binders and just cut them to fit my needs.  I also used a Sharpie fine point marker and a stapler, which I already had.

This is what my coupon box looks like now.  I separated food & non food items because that was one thing I did like about my binders.  All the sub categories within food & non food are alphabetized to make everything easy to locate.

Here's a sample of a sub category:

This is my Breakfast category.  This category only includes shelf stable items.  Any frozen or refrigerated breakfast items are found in their respective categories.  So here's how this works.  Under each sub category, such as Breakfast, decide what you need.  I felt separating brand names of cereal would work best for me.  Grab an envelope & index card for each one.  Turn the index card vertical, then staple it into place.  You may want to trim it down some, that's totally up to you.  Next just label the index cards.  I chose to alphabetize my individual envelopes as well.  Voila!  Now you have a simple to use & easy to work with system for organizing your coupons!  

With this system in place it takes me about 30 to 45 minutes per week to clip, sort & put away my coupons(if I do it every week, which is a challenge at times).  Using the binder system took me hours!  Why is this method so simple?  All you have to do is clip your coupons, sort them by sub category and drop them in the corresponding envelope!  That's it!  Every now & then you may have to fold certain coupons in half, but no longer have to try to squeeze them into small plastic pouches.

This system has worked wonderfully for me and I hope it does the same for you!  Please let me know if you have any questions.

My Categories

Food

• Baking
• Beverages: Coffee & Tea, Juice, Pop(soda)
• Breakfast : General Mills, Kellogg's, Post(also used for Cascadian Farms, Kashi, etc), Oatmeal/Hot
• Canned: Broth, Fruit, Soup-Campbells, Soup-Progresso, Tomatoes/Sauce, Meat-Tuna & Chicken
• Condiments: Dressings/Marinades, Ketchup & BBQ, Mustard/Relish/Pickles, PB & Jelly
• Dairy/Refrigerated: Cheese, Eggs/Butter, Milk/Juice, Other(includes yogurt, dough, etc)
• Fresh Foods: Meat/Cheese, Nuts/Dried Fruit, Produce, Prepared
• Frozen: Ice Cream/Treats, Meat/Fish, Prepared(Pizza, etc), Snacks, Vegetables/Fruit
• Misc. Grocery: Bread, Mexican, Pasta/Rice
• Snacks: Candy, Chips/Pretzels, Cookies, Crackers, Granola Bars/Protein Bars, Nuts/Popcorn

Non Food

• Cleaning: Carpet, Sprays, Wipes
• Dish & Hand Soap: Dish/Dishwasher, Hand Soap/Santizer
• Food Storage/Trash: Containers, Foil, Plastic Wrap, etc., Hefty/Ziploc Bags, Trash Bags
• Deodorant/Lotion/Soap: Deodorant, Dove Soap/Body Wash, Lotion, Sunscreen
• Hair Care: Dove Shampoo/Conditioner/Stylers, Hair Color, Shampoo/Conditioner-Kids, Shampoo/Conditioner-Other, Stylers  (I keep my Dove coupons seperate because Dove is my favorite brand.
• Household: Batteries/Light Bulbs, Drano/Raid/Off, Febreze, Office Supplies, Other
• Laundry: Fabric Softener, Detergent, Stain
• Make Up: Brushes/Tools, Face, Nail
• Medicine: Allergy, Children's Allergy, Cold, Children's Cold, First Aid, Pain Relief, Stomach
• Oral Care: Mouthwash/Floss, Toothpaste-Adult, Toothpaste-Kids, Toothbrushes
• Paper Products: Napkins/Paper Towels/Tissues, Plates/Cups, Toilet Paper/Wipes
• Pet: Food/Treats, Litter
• Shaving: Razors/Refills-Men's, Razors/Refills-Women's, Shaving Cream
• Vitamins: Adult, Children's

I  have a few envelopes in the front of my coupon box labeled with store names such as, CVS, Giant Eagle, Target.  These keep my store specific coupons & catalinas organized.  I keep a calculator and scissors in the box as well.  There are a few Ziploc bag tucked into the side for restaurant coupons.

Live Frugal.  Live Happy.