How do you clip your coupons?

[CW&M Mom]

Are you trading most of your coupons to other traders?

Are you giving any coupons away (RAOK) ?

30 newspapers should be giving you 30 of each insert, so 30-60-90 a week.

I've tried cutting a thick stack of papers on the large cutting machine at Office Depot. There is a limit. The blade can force the stack to "walk".
This happens with scissors too.

If you are trading coupons away you want to lower the shipping so you can send as many coupons per stamp as you can. This requires careful clipping so you cut as close as you can to the boarder while not clipping part of the UPC code or expire date.

I used to get 15-30 inserts a week, and found 10 or less coupons to be easily clipped at one time with scissors. I had to really hold on tight with my right hand, the scissors makes the stack move and it is not hard to clip part of the UPC code, etc.

Some people do not like the idea of throwing away coupons you can not use, when you can give them to someone.

There are "many" pages in each insert that do not contain coupons. Throw those out.
Remove the pages that have coupons you will not be using.
If you have 60 inserts (30 Smart Source and 30 Red Plum), if you remove the empty pages and the ones you won't use, this will make cutting alot easier. The pages that have coupons you will almost never use, you can easily staple those sheets together and save. A stapler will go through maybe 30 inserts, since the paper is so thin.

If you have kids who are old enough to help you and clip them carefully, let them help. Their reward will be some goodies you get using coupons like ice cream, etc.

Go to an Office Depot and experiment and see how many you can clip at one time. The self service area is there, and as far as I know, no purchase is required. I am in there all the time printing things, so when I go just to use their cutter, they are very accomodating.

I basically do much of this method.

There are coupons I know for dang sure I will never ever use. If they are junk ones...I typically just chuck them.

Otherwise they get put into a container to be dealt with if I have time. When I go far to shop...I take that container with me...and scissors just in case. But I leave them in the car.


I focus on the coupons I want to use, could use, or it appears I'll get either a good deal or overage.

[curvygreek]

I tear apart the inserts and make piles of identical pages. Then I hack through them with a guillotine paper cutter. (That is the kind with the swinging arm). A quality cutter is pricey, but a great investment.

Some ideas on how to acquire one...
-yard sales
-thrift shops
-Craigslist
-use a 40% or 50% coupon at AC Moore or Michaels (check the scrapbooking section for the cutters--but keep in mind that those *might* not cut through several pages at a time...maybe 5-10?)
-cash your Swagbucks in for Amazon gift cards
-put it on your Christmas wish list

[SFShopper]

I'm in total agreement with all the posters that have mentioned a paper trimmer a huuuuge life saver for me and like the OP - at one point, my hand had some blisters - and some nice Hello Kitty BandAids now, uh, q's must go thru the paper trimmer! I got mine from my sister - the biggy kind and when I went to Office Depot to just check out the prices, yeah, pricey - but well worth it, if I'd had to spend the moolah on it. Your hand will only be able to take sooo much of cutting... look into a trimmer is my recommendation. If not the biggy kind, a small one ~ anything but the scissors for the bulk of your cutting.

[MaddieT]

The people I know who clip stacks at a time match pages, then staple across the unimportant part of the coupons to keep them lined up, and use a paper cutter to cut. As for me, I'm lazy. I use coupon clippers so I don't have to clip coupons much. Just cutting the two sets of inserts I get a week is enough.

[darkenmind1326]

Would it help if you wore some type of thin glove to cushion your hand?

I like ur siggy line...it reminds me of being in the check out line (i prefer the self check out so i know all my items are scanned and coupons are scanned) at the grocery store with about 50 coupons in my hand a cart load of stuff...THEN someone with like 5 items walks up and is all huffy and puffy. Self check out does not have a limit on check out items and i like to bag my groceries in my reusable bags.

its like 2 strangers walking in the store (the same time, spend the same amount of time looking around) and then get to check out about the same time except I get there first because I had a plan and knew what I wanted....sorry for the babbling but I know yall know what i'm talking about:)...becca