New Year, New Deals

Here's how I spent my Saturday... Going through my coupon organizer and throwing out expired coupons. So, I'm a little OCD. Deal with it.

Yeah, I was sad to see that Starbucks ice cream one go...

Anyway, with the end of 2010, I thought it would be a good time to go through all my coupons, get rid of the expired ones and also, pull out ones to use right now before they expired. I know I talk alot about getting deals on here, and much of that has to do with my coupon system. So here we have my little pink coupon organizer:

It helps me not to look like such a coupon freak in the grocery store

I must say I'm happy to have this organizer. It is much much cuter than my old one, which was alot bigger and was grey plastic.... totally NOT cute. Fortunately I lost that one earlier in the year, and was forced to replace it with a much prettier model. Yeah, so I lost all the coupons with it too, but hey, once you start clipping again, you can easily stock up your arsenal. It just goes to show you, you can start coupon-ing from scratch very easily. All you need is an adorable little plastic folder thing-y and a Sunday newspaper. I think mine's from Walmart and it measures about 6" x 4".
Next we talk about organization.

For me, the best way to categorize was to separate the sections of the store into different tabs. I put them in the order that I shop them in my store. So I have: Produce, Refrigerator, Freezer, Bread, Pantry, Drinks, Dogs, Cleaning, Home, Toiletries, Makeup, and Eating Out. Whatever makes the most sense to you will probably end up being the most practical for your use. For comparison, my old coupon folder had less tabs, and so I had less sections, which were: cold stuff, regular groceries, personal care, and home care. I much prefer having more sections with the new method.

And lastly, coupon hints:

• Make sure you keep up with it! There's no use in paying for a paper each week, only to have it sit on your kitchen table. By the time you get to the coupons, half of them are expired. If you are going to coupon, commit to it! Now don't tell me you don't have time all you whiners! Clip in front of the TV or in the passenger side of the car. It's FREE MONEY. If you are paying for the paper, make the time.
• When you are cutting coupons, cut the ones you think you'll use. If you are unsure, (like hmmm do we need batteries?) cut it anyway. You never know when you are going to need a coupon for something that pops up like cold medicine, batteries, light bulbs, or tampons.
• Always keep your coupon folder in your car! After you cut coupons, file them and stick the folder somewhere that you'll remember to bring it back to your car. I put mine in my purse.
• Before visiting the store, go through your coupons and pull the ones you'll use. Sometimes, I'll stop in the front of the cafe of the store and just sit down for a couple of seconds to get organized. Your coupons can't help you if they are stuck in your folder at the bottom of your purse.
• And finally, clean out that folder once in awhile. I go through mine every couple of months or while I'm sorting through it picking out the ones I want to use before my visit. I just sift out the ones that are expired or are about to expire and I know I won't use.

So to anyone who is brave enough to embark on this journey, let me know how it's going for you. Or if you are already coupon-ing, give a girl some tips!