Tips: Organizing / Storing Your At Home Coupons / Inserts, Etc.

[ILv2Shop]

Nevermind. It's working now. Thanks for sharing Heidi's tip.

[GirlieGirl]

Originally Posted by PennyLyons I usually end up with 10+ inserts from dumpster diving.

Where? How?
Our local Sunday papers are taken back by the person who delivers them if they arent sold by the following Sunday. So where do you go to find them??

[pwetypweas]

Originally Posted by GirlieGirl Where? How? Our local Sunday papers are taken back by the person who delivers them if they arent sold by the following Sunday. So where do you go to find them??

A lot of people get them from other people discarding their personal paper -- so like Joe Blow buys a paper, reads it, could care less about the inserts and tosses them into the recycling bin - tadaaaaaaaaa free coupons for an enterprising couponer :)

[Benichole]

We have alot of senior citizens in our church. We ask them to bring us their leftover coupons after they are done clipping them. We in turn will provide them with some free items here and there. They love it.

I tell all my co-workers to bring me their leftovers. I do the same thing with them. Give the some free items here and there or give them the coupons they need for an item. I have been getting inserts pretty regularly now.

I also buy 3 papers a week.

I also scrounge through a recycle bin in the neighborhood.:shrug7:

I get plenty of coupons this way!

[GirlieGirl]

Recycling centers!! I must be dense for not figuring that out sooner. Theres actually a nice small recycling place right here in my teeny tiny town.
Thanks so much ladies!

[Supergirl9801]

I'd love any tips. I'm switching from a very time consuming clipping, sorting and filing of all my q's to just filing whole inserts. Could anyone give me any tips.

Here's what I've come up with so far.

A small filing box that I'll put 12 hanging folders in..one for each month. Then I'll use manilla folders to separate inserts by week within each hanging folder.

Next thing I thought of was to write the expiration date of the latest expiring coupon on the front of the insert...then I'll know when to toss.


Any other suggestions....should I still sort and put together "like" pages from the inserts or just wait till I'm looking for a particular q :shrug7:

Also, how do you cope with possibly missing out on deals or finding the q's you need easily without having everything sorted. I get utilizing the coupon database...but not all inserts are alike.

[thickbluebug]

I print off the sheets of what should be in the inserts and make any changes to what I do have - then I keep that page in a folder
I also write on the front of the insert - what was removed. IE.....electrasol coupon.

I keep about 6 weeks of whole inserts in a crate in my vehicle. Like you, I use hanging files - don't use manilla envies yet...waiting on my Jan staples ck. I do use used postal flat rate envies in the hanging files....works for now.

I pre-cut when I know I am shopping. The only things I file now are trades, peelies, tear pads and blinkies.

So much easier.

[amys]

What I have discovered:

#1 - The hanging file folders are not able to handle the stress from one large weekend of coupons.

#2 - I put one weekend into a separate folder.

#3 - Those boxes fill up FAST!!! I can only hold about 4-6 months of inserts in a box, depending on how many large weekends there are.

#4 - I had difficulty with keeping current dates on the folders, so I just file them in crono order and flip through the folders since I put them in with the dates(spines) facing up.

#5 - Missing "found" deals will happen - a lot. If you have internet on your phone, it is easier because you can flip through, write it down, throw the item in the cart, and run out before checking out to grab those coupons. I got tired of that after a while and now I just check the boards and go with the deals there.

#6 - If I know it is an item I will buy at some point, or a hot coupon that I will buy - I go ahead and clip it and keep it in a small binder in my purse or in my regular binder that I always take with me. That way, at least I have those if I find an unadvertised deal.


Have fun! For me, this is less stressful because I'm not having to keep up with cutting all the inserts - but it does require planning before you shop and cutting then.

[thickbluebug]

Amys correct.

Now I only file 10 whole inserts of each kind for my car crate. Like this week there are 5 sets.
So I have envies and 5 hanging files.
I keep the boxes of uncuts at home.

I have seen someone elses style of uncuts. They had bunches of uncuts in mail envies, all in standing up in a crate. I may start that and loose the hanging files since my "hangers" are bent from over loading.

[mindya10]

Originally Posted by Supergirl9801 Also, how do you cope with possibly missing out on deals or finding the q's you need easily without having everything sorted. I get utilizing the coupon database...but not all inserts are alike.

I honesty don't miss many deals. Once in a while, I will see something on clearance and think I have a coupon for it. BUT FOR ME ~ the time saved is well worth a missed deal or two. the last two missed deals I saw - probably since July (I remember wierd things ) I would have saved about $10.

Different inserts - there are two local papers and our state paper and they all get different versions of the coupons. If I have three RP - I just label 3 RP manila folders. It's not any more work looking through one or two different inserts. The times savings (and no stress- it was very stressful for me to spend the hours doing a binder or box) is beyond worth it!! HTH