Sunday, June 29, 2008

As giddy as a school-supply-shopping 4th grader!

So the envelope method works. But with flaws. Not only are they flimsy, clumsy, and prone to major coupon-spillage, but they are sort-of old school. I can no longer call myself a frugal "newbie". It's about time I upgraded my coupon organization method.

I needed an all-in-one tote with easy access and enough slots for my growing number of categories.

Well, and something stylish. I mean, I don't want to actually look like a coupon shopper, how lame is that? And especially in the presence of hard-core competition. So I also needed discrete.

And if you want to know the truth, losing 20 envelopes containing 8+ insert weeks worth of painstaking Sunday afternoon cutting, sorting, and filing is enough to motivate any cheapskate to reassess and hone her coupon organization skills!

Yeah, I wanted to CRY. I left them in the paper towel isle in, of all places, CVS! The utmost capitol of coupon competition! I couldn't believe it.

I can just imagine the squeal of glee bursting from the lips of some red-eyed ECB-clutching mad woman who, while scouring shelves for the insane Viva deal, stumbled upon the said pot of gold.

Well....you can have it, lady! I hope you enjoy your good steals - I mean deals!!!

Losers weepers, I guess. The incident is already an entire month behind me. I have almost completely recovered. Although, it's still painful to walk through the paper towel isle without shedding a couple crocs.



It was time to ditch the slippery envelope system.




So then I was wandering around Staples one day, and this be-U-tiful blue and yellow file carrier jumped right into my cart and begged me to take it home. And WITH A HANDLE!!!!!!

I mean, relentless. What was I to do but relent?




And here it is.




Perfect.

Oh, and don't you go thinking anything is "up" just because yes, I have a category slot for diapers. I'm serious. You'll be the first to know. Or at least the third or fourth, depending on the circumstances. :)




Not too professional of a job with my category labels, but hey, it works for me. (I suppose now I'll have to participate in Shannon's WFMW this week. First time.)

I must admit that I still use envelopes for my "food" categories. I had to double up each section as it was. If any of you have a suggestion on how to organize my food coups (all 14 envelopes worth), I'd love some suggestions. My tote has more than maximized its category capacity (or CC - we could come up with all sorts of frugal lingo!). Granted, it's not as difficult hauling around 14 versus 45 envelopes, at least without them either slipping through the grocery cart cracks or spilling all over the sticky produce floor (this is WalMart, people), I suppose I just need something less white and without flaps.

Plus, I'm quickly approaching a crisis. My "freezer isle" category desperately needs expanding, and that could easily mean 4 or 5 more categories! I'm not super keen on shelling out another $10 for an additional tote (I am trying to save money, after all), but there's got to be a better way.




You know, coupons are to deal lovers as baseball cards are to little boys.

6 comments:

Amanda said...

Oh my goodness, girl. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE your coupon tote. I would love to buy one for myself. We'll see.

I use a binder for my coupons. I use photo sheets to divide my categories, and actually found a category list in the free message board section of The Grocery Game. I just copied and pasted the list into a Mail Merge document, printed tags, and set to organizing.

I love that tote, though, and need to think of how I could make something like that work for me. I'd probably need two for my current divisions, but that could be more convenient (like when I don't need all the grocery stuff in CVS or wherever).

Hmmm... You've got my mind working here.

Sandi said...

Tara....the coupon queen....where do you get all these coupons?

I have a small binder for my coupons. If you let me in on your secret coupon websites I may need to move on to a better oranization system like yours.

tsh said...

That is hardcore! LOL. Every little bit helps! I love your enthusiasm for saving. Your husband must be proud.

Amy said...

What a pretty coupon tote! I also did a WFMW on coupon organizing for my food coupons. Check it out at http://craftydevil.blogspot.com. Thanks for sharing this! I just might have to find a use for one of those pretty totes!

Audra Krell said...

I am so sorry that you lost your "Stuff" that kind of thing drives me crazy. I guess you'll have to hope that someone found them and is getting all kinds of incredible use out of them, remembering that you served someone just like Christ wants you to. Plus your new caddy is adorable!

Unknown said...

I use a binder for all of mine. But if you love the case, I would suggest a second one for food coupons. Oh and I would cry too if I lost all of mine!