There are a number of different ways to organize your coupons, my favorite is using an accordion or hanging file system to keep the inserts whole. For some of you though you love to have your coupons with you in the store. There are only a few ways to have all your coupons cut and in the store…a coupon binder or a large category filing system.

I’m not silent on my contempt for coupon binders. They take hours of work each week and in my honest opinion are never worth the time that you put into them if you think about your savings in terms of an hourly salary. If I can save $100 in 45 minutes and you save $200 in 3 hours…  I win.

The large category system is worth a second look for some folks though. This is an organizer that keeps all the coupons cut and in sections that are easily searchable. Instead of having 13 categories like a small coupon organizer you have 40+ sections. I can have boxed dinners, condiments, baking goods etc. This speeds up your time to find individual coupons.

Before we go through how to make one, please know that this system will take an easy 45 minutes each week to get your coupons organized. You’ll cut all the coupons from the Sunday paper and take over the living room floor. Lay out everything by category after you’ve cut them and then put all the categories in the organizer. Keep in mind that you aren’t ready to go shopping yet… you just have organized coupons. You’ll still have to put in another 45 minutes to get your shopping list together. (Folks organizing in an accordion system, not cutting anything till they need it, only take 5 seconds to organize and 45 minutes getting ready for store).

What you’ll need to make a category system:

(1) Insulated lunch bag or small box (like this one)

(3) Coupon folders with 13 pockets (like this one)

Now take your gorgeous new coupon folders and cut the tops off of them.  This way they stay permanently open.   Now lets label them…

Here are some ideas:

Baking
Beverages
Boxed Goods
Breakfast
Breads
Canned Goods
Condiments/Sauces
Refrigerated
Frozen
Produce/Meat
Pasta/Rice
Snacks

Baby
Pet
Bathroom Cleaning
Kitchen Cleaning
Generic Cleaning
Air Fresheners
Laundry
Paper/Plastic

Facial Care/Cosmetics
Oral Care
Hair/Shaving
Deodorant
Soap/Lotions
Pain Relief
Stomach Relief
Other Medicine
Vitamins

That leaves 7 sections unaccounted for.  Use those for store specific pockets to hold rain checks or make your own categories for these.

Then, take all three of them and put them in the bag!