Organizing Your "Carry To Store" Coupons

[gin3]

alpha!!! I did category and the binder was bulky b/c some areas had lots and others only a few. Changed to alpha and MUCH EASIER AND SMALLER! I have it subdivided by a-c, d-g, etc. but love it!

[too-old-now]

...Also, it's nice to have them by category so that if I'm in the toilet paper aisle (just as an example) and I REALLY need toilet paper whether its a good deal or not, I can look at the shelf prices and all my toilet paper coupons at once and work out the best deal, instead of flip flopping around to C for cottonelle and Charmin and then to Q for Quilted Northern, etc.

I would argue this is more of a reason for alpha - we NEVER run out of anything since our stockpile is sufficient. We NEVER buy things without them being on sale and with coupons.

We don't use a binder, but we use a series of shoeboxes with index card dividers. I give DW all the credit, she is the organizational genius, and she does it by expiration date first, for the next 6 months, and then alpha. Since the vast majority of these will expire within 2 months, those are the ones we pay most attention to.

But, even though most threads I have seen on this topic tend to lean toward alpha, they all come down to whatever works for you. If you are feeling overwhelmed with your current approach, and are willing to put in some time to get it organized differently, it will pay off for you in time savings down the road.

[agpie]

I use categories in ziplock bags ... putting the bags in a canvas tote ... also, carry a small coupon organizer ... pull the coupons that I am planning to use before leaving home ... put those in the small organizer but have all the coupons in case I need others that I didi not pull

[ArmyOfFive]

I used to do mine by ABC in a large recipe box. I now do them by category in a binder. When I did ABC, I also kept them logged in an excel file. My problem with the ABC way was- Now where did I put that cream cheese one? Was it under K for kraft or P for philadelphia? Not to mention, my typing is less then purrfect.

Now that I do it by cat, it is SOOOO much easier. I just go straight to me dairy/refridge section and it is in the pocket for soft and tub cheeses/sour cream.

[angielee]

I did categorize then alphabetize Im back to categorize. It just seems to work best for me. I have too large check orgnizers I use. Each has a label on front so I can see whats is in there before I open. One is mostly food and other is mostly non food and goes from there. I have changed it alot over the past 3 years. Because of some categories were to small and some too big. I think I have it just right now.

[MOM2SNOX]

Categorizing works for me too :) But, I may try doing them alphabetically just to see if there's a difference!

[scoopdecoop]

My catagories are

baby
baking
canned
dried
dairy
drinks
frozen

[MrsPinecone]

Does anyone have a pic of their binder they could share?
Thanks so much!

There's one in this thread: http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums...picture+binder

[PrincessCoupon]

BzyBee -- I love the briefcase.

I use the case that the OP posted. I love it. It works. I am sticking to it.
The only thing I did was to make my own dividers. I didn't like the categories that came with it.

[sbp]

I am still using my ginormous binder and I do still love it, but I have discovered a downside to it!!! My old binder didn't hold as many binder pages as this one, so now my shoulder gets the brunt of carrying all the extra weight from the extra coupons that I am now capable of carrying around.....