How I Organize My Coupons

I use the binder method. It's the most convenient for me. I actually have two binders. A 3" and a 2" and I carry them around in a big black bag. I organize the coupons with those baseball card holders. The coupons are organized in sections and divided with sheet protectors. The sheet protectors stick out further than the baseball cards, so it works well for me, and I happened to have a million sheet protectors left over from my college years. Most people use actual dividers (the plastic ones work the best, I hear. The paper ones fall apart.). I have a piece of paper in every sheet protector with the name of the section printed on it. Ready for all of my sections? I have many. Some people like to keep 10-20 sections for everything, but at least for now I'm finding that I'm wanting to be more specific. Also, I file some things according to where they are found in the store. For example, Pillsbury items are often by the dairy products in the refrigerated section, so I file Pillsbury coupons in the dairy section. So, here are my sections, examples of what coupons I put in them (for what types of products--some sections are pretty self-explanatory), and how many baseball sheet card protectors I have in each section:

(The 2" Binder)
Dairy (6 baseball card holder sheets) Pillsbury, Milk, Butter, Eggs, Cheese
Yogurt (3) Yogurt...
Baking (5) Cake/muffin/cookie/etc. Mixes, Spices, Flour, Sugar, Oil, etc.
Cereal (Hot and Cold) (5)
Breakfast Items (4) Shakes, Granola Bars, Pop Tarts, etc.
Candy, Chocolate, Sweets, and Gum (3)
Snacks (4)
Packaged Foods (4) Rice, Boxed meals, Noodles, Packged potatoes
Canned Foods (5) Soup, Canned Fruit and Veggies, Canned meat
Beverages (5) Pretty much anything you drink, except for fiber drinks and baby/kids drinks
Condiments and Sauces (5) Syrup, Peanut Butter, Jam, Pickles, Ice Cream Toppings
Produce (3) Bread, Fresh Fruits and Veggies, Dips found by the fresh produce
Meats (5) Any Raw Meat, Lunchmeat, Hot dogs, Frozen cooked meat (ex. Chicken Nuggets)
Frozen Meals (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner) (5) Pizza, Burritos, Bagged/Boxed Meals
Frozen Fruits, Veggies, and Appetizers (2)
Frozen Desserts (3)

(The 3" Binder)
Paper/Plastic (4) TP, Paper Towels, Foil, Ziploc
Laundry (5) Detergent, Fabric Softeners, Stain Removers
Dishwashing/Air Fresheners (4)
Cleaning Supplies (6) Cleaning tools and cleaning products
Medicine (4) Pain Relief, Sickness relief
Vitamins and Supplements (4)
Digestive Health (4) Laxatives, Acid Relief, Fiber Drink Mixes, Cleanses
First Aid, Eye and Itch Relief (4) Bandaids, Contact Solution, Anti-itch
Free (2) Any coupon that is for a free item (ex. "Good for one Butterfinger Bar up to $1")
Cosmetics (4) Chapstick, Nail products, Make-up
Oral Care (4) Toothpaste, Floss, Whitening, Mouthwash
Facial Care and Lotion (6) Face Wash, Body lotion, Acne Care
Soap and Bodywash (4) Handsoap, Bar soap, and Bodywash
Hair Care (4)
Shaving and Deoderant (5) Shaving Cream, Razors, and Deoderant
Feminine Hygiene (3) Pads, Tampons, Depends, Pregnancy Tests
Baby, Kids, and Toys (5)
Office Supplies and Batteries (2)
Misc. (6) Automotive, Pet, Insect Killers and Repellants, and anything that doesn't fit in the above categories!!
Invidual Store Sections (for stores that offer store coupons, ex. Target)
Store Coupon Policies (Stored in sheet protectors)
Mail-In Rebates (I keep the ones--in sheet protectors--that I haven't bought all the required items for yet so I know the exact items required)

*I put the coupons that are too big for the baseball card slots (I'd say at least 97% of coupons can be folded to fit into the slot.) into the sheet protectors that are dividing the sections. Some people buy photo pages for the big coupons.

Between the notebooks I have a folder with a large manilla envelope. I keep 5x7 manilla envelopes inside the big one--one for each store that I shop at. As I'm shopping I take the coupons out of my binder and put them into a manilla envelop. I also keep rain checks in the manilla envelopes according to what store I got the rain check at. I also keep my lists and the ads in that folder in case I need to show someone the price or in case I decide to price-match at Walmart.

I keep a calculater, pair of scissors, and a pen in the pockets.

I didn't begin with this binder. I mostly used what I had on hand. I bought a binder that zips closed (for $2 at a used store). I was only getting one newspaper at the beginning, so I just put the coupons in a pile for each section and stored them in the sheet protectors (that I had leftover from my college days). Once I started getting more newspapers I used some of my birthday money to upgrade to the baseball card protectors. Then I used some of the money I saved to buy more sheet protectors. etc. It didn't take too long for me to bust out of the binder, so I bought a 3" Binder at the same used store for $2-3. Then every week or two I bought a few more baseball card holders from a local card shop. I ran out of room in the 3" binder, so I bought an additional 2" binder that also came with the baseball card protectors. I bought the big black bag at the used store for $2-3 so I could have my notebooks side by side.

For some reason the majority of other couponers I see aren't carrying around as many coupons. I don't know why my bag is so big, so if yours isn't that big, then don't worry!! Just do what works best for you!

See what you can find around your house, at the dollar store, or at a used store. There are many inexpensive ways to store your coupons.

-Recipe Box
-Shoebox (use like a big Recipe box divided into sections)
-Accordian Style notebook things
-You can make your own accordian style notebook with some envelopes and tape...
-Picture Album
-etc.

Finding a method to store coupons takes some trial and error. Only you can decide what works best for you!! :)