I quickly figured out that this wasn't the ideal way for me to keep my coupons. I am a very visual person and I need to be able to see all my coupons without shuffling through the inserts. I did some research online and found many other bloggers who keep a coupon binder.
I bought a zippered binder (a.k.a. Trapper Keeper) and sleeve protectors in 2 sizes (baseball card size and photo size). I had some write-on divider pages in the house and used those to create categories. I have approximately 15 categories (i.e. baking, dairy, frozen foods, etc.) and clip each coupon I come across. I put them in the sleeves according to category. You can put coupons on both sides of the sleeves. Here is what a page of my coupon binder looks like:
Yes, it does take time to clip each coupon, sort into the appropriate categories and then file in the binder, but this saves time when I'm at the store. The binder fits easily in the front of the cart for those trips when I decide to bring it with me.
Don't want to get the Sunday paper and clip coupons? You can order coupons from CentsOff or Coupon Clippers. Both charge a small fee but will send you as many copies as you specify of only the coupons you ask for!
