Guest Blogger - Crafty Mama of 4 - Kim

Kim and I met on Twitter and have become twitter/blogging buddies! We both knew that we were going to be at Blissdom but I had no idea how we were going to find each other in the 250 woman that were there. Ali and I no sooner walked in but Kim and Beth (Plus Size Mommy) spotted us and said hi! We had a great time with them. Kim has been more than generous with me in teaching me things about this blogging world. You will have to visit her site Crafty Mama of 4. Thank you Kim for being my guest blogger today.
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I want to start this post by saying I am honored that Sandy asked me to do this for her! Sandy was one of the first people I "clicked" with on Twitter and we became instant friends. Thanks Sandy, I hope your readers enjoy my input.

I recently started "couponing" after hearing lots of people talk about how much money they save using coupons. I used to do it a little, but this time I jumped in full force and I have had great results. When I said I jumped in full force I really meant it, I made arrangements with the manager of the convenience store down the street from me, and every Monday morning I go pick up the leftover Sunday papers. This results in me having around 25 copies of each coupon insert per week, that's a lot of coupons to organize and keep track of and here's how I do it!

I use a coupon binder.

Here are the steps I took to set up my binder.

I started by buying (or finding around the house) the following items:
*A zipper binder (I actually have to use 2! One for food and the other for everything else)
*Sports card album pages (9 slots per page)
*A cheap 3 ring photo album (remove the pages to use)
*Clear plastic page protectors
*Tabbed dividers
*Address Labels
*Zipper Pouch for Supplies

In the front of my binder I have a zipper pocket where I keep pens, sticky notes, scissors, and paper slips. I also keep the current store ads in the accordion section in the front.

I have divided my album with tabs into main categories. Each section then includes sports card pages (on right) and photo album pages (on left) to hold the coupons. I sues the photo album pages to hold oversize coupons and when I have too many of one coupon to fit in the baseball card slot.

I use address labels to label the first pages in each subsection so I can quickly find what I am looking for.

I have the coupons in order by the layout of my primary store which is Giant Eagle. Here is how I have organized my categories and subcategories:

*Baby and Kid
-Diapers and wipes
-Bath/hygiene items
-Food
*Food
-Bread
-Baking
-Beverages
-Candy
-Snacks
-Cereal/breakfast
-Soup
-Canned
-Fruit
-pasta
-Rice
-Potatoes
-Sauces
-Mexican/Chinese
-Dressings
-Seasonings
-PB&J
-Frozen dinners
-Frozen Veggies
-Frozen Sweets
-Frozen (whatever else is left)
-Meat
-Dairy
*Pharmacy
*Household
-Paper
-Plastic
-Dish washing
-Laundry
-Cleaning
-Air fresheners
-Batteries/light bulbs
*Health and Beauty
-Dental
-Shaving
-Feminine
-Make up
-Hair Care
-Soap
-Deodorant
-First aide
-Lotions
*Pet Products
-Cat
-Dog

I also have a section for rebates where I keep the receipts, upcs and forms, I need to send in mail in rebates. Each rebate has its own clear page protector where I put all the required documentation for that rebate.

*Restaurant/Store coupons

When I am ready to go to the store I look through the ads and match up my coupons that I want to use. the site I like to use for coupon match ups is Deal Seeking Mom . I make a list on a large sticky note of the items I want to buy and I stick it to the front of the ad. Then I take out all of the coupons I have cut out for a particular item and paperclip then together and place them in a smaller coupon file that is divided by store with one section in the back where I put the coupons I don't use that need refiled. Then it's off to the store for me and my coupons! I take my large binder to the store with me also jut in case I missed something or find a great deal that was not advertised.
Organizing my coupons this way had made it very easy to find what i need quickly and efficiently. I have saved so much money with my coupons in the last few months I have even surprised myself! The best tip I can give you is to stock up when things are on sale and you have coupons for them. You may not need scalloped potatoes this week but when you do you will be glad you bought them with your coupons!
There is SO much more I could go into about how I use my coupons, but I am sticking to just the organizing aspect of my couponing adventure since this is an organizing site! If you have any questions about something I didn't cover in this post (or something I did) please e-mail me at craftymamaof4@gmail.com

KIM