I recently updated my coupon binder categories. Each category has a different-colored page. If I run out of pages in a section, I just make a new one with the correct colored page.
- yellow – produce
- pink – meat
- green – grocery (canned goods, baking items, etc.)
- orange – dairy and refrigerated items
- blue – frozen items
- gray – non-food items (cleaning supplies, baggies, medicines, hygiene items, etc.)
I put a label on the first page of each section (first produce page says: “Produce”).
As I clip coupons, I put them in the next available space in the correct section (flour coupons go in the grocery section = green). Sometimes, I’ll shuffle things around so that similar items (pistachios, pecans, etc.) are next to each other.
If there are any coupons that I know I definitely want to use (for an item currently on my grocery list), I put a sticky tap on the side of the page to catch my attention. If there are any coupons expiring during the week, I move them to the pocket at the front of the binder.
I ask family, neighbors, and coworkers for coupons that they don’t want, so that I can have multiples of the same coupons. That way, when an item is on sale, I can stock up.
My coupon binder is in my car next to my reusable shopping bags.
Here’s a link to my posts on making a coupon binder.
Janet from Cul-de-Sac-Chic made an awesome coupon binder. She made tons of pages in fabulous colors and categorized everything. Wow!
Check out Janet’s coupon binder post here:
Step 4 – After cutting slits in the sheet protector in Step 3 (see previous post), insert a sheet of printer paper into the sheet protector. By cutting the slits first, you don’t have to worry about cutting holes in the paper. This way, you’ll end up with a front and back side to your finished coupon organizer page.
Step 6 – Repeat Steps 1- 5 with several sheet protectors and different colors of printer paper. I recommend running several sheet protectors through your sewing machine, one after the other. That way, you don’t have to keep stopping, cutting, and restarting your machine. When one finishes going through, you just put the next one in after it. Then, all you do is cut the thread between the sheet protectors.
Step 7 – Put your sheet protectors in a binder. Insert coupons in the pockets. Notice that each sheet protector is double-sided, allowing you 8 pockets per sheet protector.
By color-coding my pages, I can instantly go to the correct section of my coupon binder. I can also add tabbed flags to the sheet protectors, divider-style.
Step 1 – Fold a sheet protector into fourths. This creases the sheet protector and provides sewing lines.
Step 2 – Using a craft knife (I recommend putting a cutting mat underneath), locate the horizontal creases on your sheet protector (my sheet protector is turned landscape/sideways in the picture above). Cut a line underneath the horizontal crease, but do not cut on the vertical crease. You should then have two horizontal slits under the horizontal crease on either side of the vertical crease.
Step 3 – Check that your hand can pass through all layers of the sheet protector. This is very important. Notice that the slit does not go all the way across the sheet protector. There is a slit on either side of the vertical crease.
As you can see, my previous coupon organizer was a small photo album that I purchased from the Dollar Store.
In order to keep it organized, I had to label each section for different kinds of coupons. The problem was that I would have multiple coupon brands in the same pocket, due to space restrictions. In the picture above, you can see flour, yeast, sugar, evaporated milk, and other coupons all in the same pockets. It made it very difficult to know which coupons I had.
Another problem was putting the coupons into the photo album. As soon as you finished putting a coupon into a pocket and reached for another, the album would close and you’d lose your place. Often, I’d just toss my newest coupons somewhere inbetween two pages until I got around to putting them in their specific spots.
