I know this topic has been posted countless times but now i'm ready and I need HELP getting my huge, random, unorganized pile of coupons in some kind of order. I'm sick of going through every single page to find one coupon. I've been going back and forth between the following methods...

-Cutting all coupons and filing by type.
-Cutting all coupons and filing alphabetically.
-Keeping the inserts intact and filing them by date.

Does anyone have any input on any of these methods? Once I decide which one to use I'm sure I can take it from there.

Thanks in advance!!!

I group mine by what it is.... Drinks snacks breakfast/baking Frozen cleaning paper products meat dairy sauces/condiments "helpers" (like pasta and diner mixes) Health and beauty and Baby. It also helps if you have like more than one say cheerio coupon put them all together and you can group all the cereals together for say the breakfast group

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Mom of one kangaroo!

I group mine by categories. IF you email me privately: yvettejj@bellsouth.net, I'll send you my list. It is in Microsoft Excel format.

Thanks,
Yvette

I group mine by aisle(I know my store well )and dairy case...freezer section etc

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Avoid Fruits~N~Nuts....you are what you eat!!!

So do I.

I also do my grocery shopping the way that I have my coupons organized.

Like the dairy isle is the first isle in my store and that is the first coupons in my pile. Then is snacks & drinks, then household cleaners etc....

I have a coupon organizer that I keep all of my coupons in. By catergory.

When I go to the grocery store, I go thru the coupons and get out the ones that ones I need based on my grocery list.

The list and coupons (in order) go into a plain envelope. With a closepin.

Then as I get the items that match the coupon the coupon gets clip on the outside of the envelope with the close pin.

This keeps all of the coupons together and prevents any from failing or flying away.

I also find it easiest to group mine by categories, in the order of the rows at the grocery store that I shop the most often.

For me the hardest part is I rarely having time to go thru my coupons before I get to the store. So I end up taking my entire stack of coupons with me each time. Then I end up having to flip through the coupons while I am shopping. My husband has complained that he hates shopping with me as I take forever and he always ends up having to run across the store for things that I have forgotten. So if anyone has any suggestions about what type of organizer works best, I would love to hear about it as well as other ideas for organizing.

I shop at different grocery stores so categorizing by isle does not help me. I file my own coupons just like the ones that I post on here for trade. Take a look if you get time to see what I mean. If not then these are most of the categories I have:
Cold and frozen items
Canned items
Boxed items
Bagged items
Candy and gum
Medicines
Paper products and feminine items
Laundry and dish washing items
Other chemicals and cleaners
Pet items
Baby items
Drinks
Misc. (For restaurant coupons, rebates, specific store coupons, etc.)

I can't think of any more categories right off hand. That system works great for me though. Especially when I separated the laundry and dish stuff from the bazillion other chemicals and cleaners.
Good Luck!

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Mommy to Nolan 7, Trevor 5, Kayley 4, Jessica 2, and Rebecca 1, and the newbie not born yet. Don't have a name picked out.

THANKS everyone for your advice! I can't wait to get organized!!! Looks like I have a weekend project ahead of me

I have my coupons organized in a plastic organizer that I think is designed to file checks. Its long enough so I rarely have to fold the coupons. I have mine in these groups -
Food
Laundry & Cleaners
Storage & Paper
Health & Beauty
Diapers & Wipes
Cats
Misc
Giant Eagle (store coupons)
BJ's (store coupons)
Other Stores/Restaurants
I keep the first 2 slots empty - I put coupons in one until I get a chance to file them and the second slot is for coupons I pull to use when we're at the store.
I keep my coupons in date order in each of their slots (closest date in front) - that way I can easily take out the ones that are going to or already have expired.
Also, when I have a bunch of different coupons for one thing - like laundry detergent or toothpaste (I'm not hooked on one particular brand), I write on my grocery list what all the coupons I have so I can compare with the prices at the store to get my best price.
I hope that helps - Good Luck!

Do you have like a big binder at home you organize by and then just take out the ones you need? I'm suffering from the flipping back and forth thing while I'm at the store.