Build-It-Yourself Coupon Organizer

Mom's Build-It-Yourself Coupon Organizer

Mom's Build-It-Yourself Coupon Organizer is simple to make.

Start with a standard 3-ring binder. I recommend at least a 2" binder with a hard cover. You probably have one laying around the house. I started with one left over from my son's high school days, but later moved my pages into a nice new zippered version. It was FREE on sale with a rebate from Walgreens drugstore during their back to school sale.

The next thing you need is coupon holder pages designed to fit in the 3-ring binder. If you read the story of how I discovered this great coupon organization system you know I'm talking about clear vinyl pages with pockets to hold the coupons. (To read the whole story start with Coupons and follow the links until you get back to this page.) I started with the 9-pocket pages used to hold collectible trading cards. Now I've converted to a more user-friendly version with various sizes for different types of coupons. Here are the different types of pages I use:		9-pocket clear vinyl trading-card pages Good for small coupons - but a little hard to get your fingers into
	3 Pocket Photo Style I use a couple of these in the front of each coupon binder. As soon as I place a product in my cart I put the coupon in one of these pockets. Then when I get ready to check out it's easy to pull out the coupons I want to use. All three pockets open at the top.
3 Pocket Horizontal This coupon page is great for those long, narrow coupons like Maybelline and the Catalina coupons you get at checkout. I also use them for rebate forms. The pocket will hold the form and my receipt until I'm ready to mail it in. Each of the three pockets open from the top.
	4 Pocket This page works for oversize coupons and larger quantities. Some people use these like the envelope system. Each pocket holds a category - All of your Baby coupons in one pocket, Baking in another, Bread in the next one, etc. It's a good way to go if you only get one or two sets of coupons each week and don't want a large binder.
6 Pocket When I first saw these I thought about all those skinny little coupons that you have to fold to fit into the 8 or 9 pocket type pages. But after I started using them I discovered they are PERFECT for "blinkies" - those coupons that come out of the little red machines on the store shelves.
	8 Pocket If I could only have one size page - this would be it. I like these pages so much better than the 9 pocket because the opening is larger (top opening). And, since there are 8 pockets on a page you can see 8 (or more) coupons at once. If you like to see each coupon individually you will LOVE these!

One of the big advantages of this system is that you can arrange the coupon pages in a way that works for you. I bought a set of A-Z dividers at Office Max and sort mine alphabetically by product type. Some people sort by brand name. My daughter has hers sorted by the layout of the store where she shops.

Once you decide how you are going to organize your coupons you can add product headings to each page or area of a page to indicate the type of coupons. Product headings are up to you. You can leave them off, hand print them or print them out from the computer like I did. I would be happy to share my Microsoft Word document that has a list of the category headings I use. Just email me mom@momsaves.com and I'll send it to you.

Headings on the 3 pocket horizontal pages.

You can also use tab dividers for your categories.

Put it all together, add coupons and start saving $$$!

Optional Additions There are other things you can add to personalize your coupon organizer. Watch the sales at your office supply store - you never know when you will find something special for your organizer. I've added a couple of slash pocket dividers for store flyers and some tiny reusable dots I use to flag coupons that match rebate/refund offers.

Local Restaurant, Store and Service Coupons
I also have a separate binder for restaurant/entertainment/service coupons. That binder usually stays at home. If the sink backs up I look in it for a plumber coupon. If we want to order pizza - all the current coupons are right there. If the grandkids are coming over there's usually a coupon in there for bonus tokens at Chuckee Cheese. I constantly save on food, entertainment and services by having the coupons where I can find them when needed.

So what are you waiting for?
Get started on your Build-It-Yourself Coupon Organizer NOW!

**If you can't find the vinyl coupon pages in your local stores
you can order them in Mom's Shoppe.

Mom Talks About Rebates