Domesticating it up.

So, I promised a domestic goddess type entry, and so you shall have one.

Today's topic is my coupon binder. Yes, I have an entire binder for coupons. It's an addicting habit, ya know.

So. Let's start with the front of my binder. That front pocket there is used for miscellaneous coupons (the ones you see there are for McDonald's and a local diner); I also often toss my wallet, cell phone, and keys in there so that I don't have to carry my purse as well. There's another pocket there in the front where I keep envelopes to mail out coupons I'm trading.

Open up the binder and this is what you see. To the left is a built in accordion file with three pockets; I keep copies of rebate forms and the receipts I used for them in one pocket, ads in another, and receipts in the third. In the pencil case, I keep pens, extra address labels and stamps, scissors, and the calculator you see. You can't see it very well, but there's also a sheet protector there that I cut in half - I put coupons in there that I plan to use during that trip. You'll notice that I have dividers; I have different sections for different types of coupons. I won't go into my categories, because they're simply what makes sense to me and may not work for everyone.

I keep the coupons in baseball card sheets. If I have multiple coupons for the same product, that are worth the same value, I place them in the same sleeve. If they have different expiration dates, I place the ones that will expire first on top, so I'm sure to use it first.

For coupons that are too big to fit in the sleeves, I keep regular sheet protectors at the back of each section. I also keep another sheet protector in each section for the coupons I want to trade - it makes it easier to locate them this way, rather than keeping them all in one big stack.

And last, but certainly not least, I keep loose leaf paper in the back. I write my lists here, and jot down random notes. Easier than carrying around a separate notepad. Also in the back of my binder, but not pictured, are baseball card sleeves containing my store loyalty cards; I also keep copies of store coupon policies back here.



So, there you have it. If you have any questions, feel free to ask! And if anyone would like to trade coupons with me, come find me on Hot Coupon World - I'm stacym.