How to Organize Your Coupon Stash

A friend of mine, Katie, asked me how I organize my coupons.  Each person is different - I've tried a few different ways to organize them, and so far this is what works best for me.  But as you can see, that stash is getting quite full - and I usually don't throw away coupons because Cub Foods accepts coupons 3-6 months past their expiration!  LOVE that store!  It never fails, 1-2 weeks after a coupon expires, it can be matched for a fabulous deal at Cub - so if it's an option for you to shop there, DO NOT THROW YOUR COUPONS AWAY!  If Cub is not an option for you, then mail them to me, Sister C. ;o)

This is my "main" coupon organizer.  As you can see, it's full.  Really full!

I use index cards for the dividers, with the following alphabetical categories if you are interested...

Air Fresheners

Baby

Bacon

Baking

Bars (snacks)

Batteries

Beauty

Beef

Body wash/soap

Boxed dinners

Bread

Candy/gum

Cereal

Cheese

Chicken

Chips

Cleaners

Condiments

Contact solution

Cookies/crackers

Dairy (incl. eggs, sour cream, milk, etc)

Deodorant

Detergent

Dish soap

Drinks (pop, coffee, juice, etc)

First Aid/Medicine

Fish (any seafood)

Frozen dinners (or refrigerated items)

Fruits

Fruit snacks

Gas

Hot dogs/Corn dogs

Ice cream

Kitchen supplies (ziploc, syran wrap, aluminum foil, etc)

Lotion

Noodles/pasta

Office supplies (tape, envelopes, ink, etc)

Outdoors (bug spray, sidewalk salt, etc)

Peanuts (any nut)

Pizza

Pork/ham

Razors

Salad dressings

Sandwich meat

Sauces (spaghetti, alfredo, etc)

Sausage

Shampoo

Soup

Syrup

Toilet paper (and Kleenex)

Toothpaste (brushes, mouth wash)

Toys

Turkey

Veggies

Yogurt

Then I have this new guy (because my other one got ruined).  Each tab will be a different store.  And in that slot is where I'll put the coupons I will be using for that specific store this week.  So, under the "Target" tab I'll have coupons from both the manufacturer and also the Target coupons that I can use also, along with my list for that store.  This helps me so that when I get to a store, I'm not looking through their ad and matching my coupons there, I did that the night before or days before I even go to the store, so I'm in and out of each store usually in under 30 minutes.  I also have a mini calculator so that I stick to my budget to spend in that store, if I didn't tally it earlier or if I come across non-advertised deals.  It's tiny so it can hide on top of my purse so I don't feel weird :o)  You can get this at Target this week for only $1 in the Dollar Spot right when you walk past the carts!  I'll have tabs for...Cub, Hy-Vee, Walgreen's, CVS, Target, Misc Stores, Office Max, Restaurants, Gas Stations, and even Walmart since I'll go there for items I get for free. I will also have a slot for all my "Freebie" coupons.  Sometimes I like to store these up and use them all at once for fun!  I'll talk about that in the near future (how to get coupons for free items). 

How do you organize your coupons?