Organizing Your "Carry To Store" Coupons

[purplefdu]

I have mine in category order. BUt I only have a couple categories so its pretty easy still. When I finally order a bigger organizer they will be in the same basic order only broken down further. Right now its Store Specific/Pets/Food/Health&Beauty/Household

[SchwoomsMom]

I agree, it's is an overwhelming thought to change my categories to abc. I have categories, and they work perfectly for me, although I use a 'tub' with envies, and not the binder method.

[darkwing932]

I have a 3-inch 3-ring binder and it is divided according to the set up of the grocery store I always go to. I thought about putting them in ABC order but I figured I would just hurt myself trying to figure out if Wheat Thins should go under "w" or "n" for Nabisco.

[nicolestorlie]

I just made the switch from an accordian type folder to a binder with baseball card holders. I was really tired of the category method I was using (mostly because of the accordian folder and having to sort through each category) so I went alphabetical. Not perfectly alphabetical, but each page (or section of pages) is a single letter. I also separate the individual letters by catagory, so O has oscar mayer and oberto on one page (food) and Olay is on another.

I should also mention that this is based on how I shop. I never say "I need air freshener, let's find those coupons." I look at the ads each week and know exactly what brand of what is on sale.


Only the big brands that often go on sale at the same time (like gm, kelloggs and Kraft) are all grouped together under the main company. This helps especially with coupons that have two or more participating products on them. FOr Wheat thins I actually have them under Nabisco because in general that's how they go on sale.

HTH, I have been doing this on and off for about a year but I still feel like a total noob.

[oceanbreeze]

I do the binder/baseball card method and organize the q's by catergory.

I would also have the same problem as PP about wheat thins going under "w" or N if i did it alphabetically.

I just organize them according to what is usually in each store aisle.

Canned goods, dairy, frozen, HBA, household cleaners, pets... etc.

[Marmee]

Okay, I've made the plunge and switched to a binder w/card pages and I'm loving it! I like to take my whole binder to the store b/c there's always something on clearance or a sale I was not aware of.
HOWEVER, that darn binder will NOT stay where I want it! I try to prop it up in the kid seat section, but depending on the cart, it usually slips down, bends pages, or worse, falls off the cart.

Has anybody come up with a good method or adaptation for a cart? Maybe a board, or a hanger of some sort? I'm brainstorming here, hoping for a few ideas.

[druidessemily]

If you're looking for a board, when I worked at Walmart we'd use the "lap boards." It's a board with a cushion on the bottom. They fit well in the shopping card, let us more easily jot down notes as we stocked the shelves.

Not sure you'd want the hassle of both the binder and a large board, though.

[latte]

bribe a small neighbor child with chocolate to hold it for you while shopping

[srichart]

i don't know if this is what you are talking about but... a strong clip like a chip clip (but more tools/hardware like) can hold the bottom part of the binder.

[wabashriver1]

In the winter I ball up my coat and put it under it to hold it up. Otherwise, I use the products I am buying to hold it up.