Coupon Binder Show & Tell

I'm participating in the Coupon Binder Show & Tell over at Keeping the Kingdom First, so here are a couple of pictures of my coupon "binder"...


It's actual more of a 4x6 photo album than a binder. I've tried many different types of coupon organization units in the past, including a index card filer and actual binder, but this album has been the best thing so far. When I first started using it, I attempted to keep some sort of filing system, reserving certain pages for certain types of coupons. Well, that got tedious FAST, so now my system is simply to drop them into the first open available page.

I'll use post-it notes (that I got for free from Walmart) to mark pages of like-coupons, or to make notes on where I can get that particular item for "free".

As for shopping trips, I plan out ALL of my purchases beforehand, so I will pull out those coupons and put them into envelopes along with my shopping list. I have an envelope for each store, and 2 index cards as dividers in the envelope. If I'm not unsure about something (i.e. if the store carries the item, or if the pre-coupon price is low enough), I put the coupon in my envelope anyway and file it behind the first index card. All other coupons get filed behind the second index card. As I shop and put the coupon-related item in my cart, I move that coupon to the front of the envelop. When I go to pay, I just grab all of the coupons in the front of the envelope. By using the index cards, I prevent myself from presenting a coupon for an item I didn't put in my cart for whatever reason (i.e. out of stock).

Depending on what store it is, I take either just the envelope, or my entire bag:
I keep everything I need for that day's errands in the bag, along with a calculator, current ads, and a pen. It fits perfectly next to the car seat in a cart, and allows me to grab and go when I leave the house. For places like Walmart and the Commissary where I might run into deals I didn't plan for, I take the whole bag. I only take the store-specific envelope into places like Target or CVS. Either way, the bag is in the car, so I can always just go back out to the car for it.

My coupon album has gotten to be rather fat lately, so I really need to declutter it. I think I'll make it my target for day 14 of my declutter challenge...