DIY Coupon Organizers

If you are an avid coupon clipper like I am then you can understand the frustration of having coupons in one giant pile that you'll later have to dig through as you enter checkout. When I first started clipping, I did this and soon after regretted it. I actually lost money by doing this because coupons will frequently expire if not organized properly. So, I finally had enough and created my own organizer that makes things easier. Here's a tip for those of you who are organizing coupons for the first time: You want to make sure they are sorted according to your needs/and or grocery store. So if you can, chunk them into categories that are concurrent with the aisles in your grocery store. I did mine like this:

Household Msc.
Frozen
Cereal/Juice/Breakfast
Canned Goods/Pasta/Ethnic
Meat/Dairy
Baking/Dressing/Spices
Snacks/Chips/Crackers
Tea/Coffee/Bread

Once sorted, you need a place to keep the coupons neat and orderly. There are a few different methods to creating coupon organizers. It all depends on the portability and cost that you prefer.

• Binder - Many people use and swear by the binder system. How it works is you take a regular three ring binder and add clear sectioned sheets to hold your coupons. People like this because it allows flexibility of how many categories they can break their coupons down into. Tip: to save money and frustration, make sure you sort the coupons by expiration date so that none get thrown away.

• Recipe box/tupperware - Many people like this method as well because it's a little less costly than the binder system. Basically you use the box as a holder and organize the coupons inside through use of index cards.

• Envelope - This is my personal favorite and what I use for my coupons because it's effective and cheaper to build. You're basically connecting multiple envelopes to make an accordion style holder for your coupons. The project below is to build your own accordion style envelope coupon holder.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN ACCORDION STYLE COUPON ORGANIZER




THINGS YOU'LL NEED:
Hot Glue Gun
Cardstock
Ribbon
Envelopes (All the same size)
Glue



DIRECTIONS:

Lay two envelopes face down, with flaps open

Apply glue to the flap of the second envelope. Paste the flap on the front of the first envelope, creating a chain of envelopes with their flaps glued to the previous envelope. Be careful to keep them perfectly straight.

After you have added all the envelopes you need, it is time to make the cover. Using an open envelope as a pattern, cut a slightly larger shape, including the flap, out of cardstock. Glue this to the front of your first envelope

Starting at the beginning, fold up the first envelope so that you see the front of that second envelope. Now fold the next envelope the opposite way so you see the back. Continue to do this until you reach the end. It tends to work best if you see the front of the last envelope so that no coupons fall out. If you need to add one more envelope to finish yours this way then do so.

Cut a length of ribbon long enough to wrap around your entire organizer. Hot glue a section of the ribbon to the back of the organizer. Leave the rest loose for easy tying. Then write your categories on each envelope, and you're finished. My homemade organizer has lasted over a year




Happy couponing!

-Mr.Crafty