I posted earlier about how I have changed my whole insert method organization method to a collated version and Wendy S. emailed me & I am so glad she did!
This is from my friend Wendy S.
“I use a similar whole insert method, but with a binder…
I sort and collate all the inserts.
Then instead of stapling, I place each sheet into a sheet protector in the binder.
I use sticky tabs labeled with which insert and date to separate.
I flip through the book, pull out the coupons, clip the ones I want and put the rest back.
I do not take this binder to the store…It is a 3″, but could very easily stand to be a 6″. I love how easy it is to flip through, find the coupons, clip and move on! IT does take about 20 minutes a week, but there is no excess clipping of coupons.
It is also very easy to go through the binder to find the dead coupons. Which I can then send to the troops!
I really love the whole insert method. The addition of the binder aspect has made it neat and tidy. ”
What a great way to organize! If you have a different organizational method (or any other tip!) please feel free to share it with us!
This is the method I started using – I write the date and insert initials on the front and back of the stack before I slip it into the page protector. This is particularly nice if you are only going to clip say 2 of your 4 coupons for a product – no staple to make it difficult to cut only 2 out of your stack of 4. I actually do put the big binder in the car when i go shopping, so if I see an unexpected markdown in the bargain bin that I have a coupon for, i can clip the coupon and go back in the store to pick those items up. My Harris Teeter has been doing a lot of rennovations (adding a pharmacy, starbucks, pizza center) and some nice deals have appeared in the bargain shopping cart at the front of the store.
I keep another, smaller binder with “coupon” pages that is by category. i use it for clipped coupons i didn’t use, to store rainchecks and internet coupons that I printed out but haven’t used yet It is also where i put the coupons I clip in preparation for the next super coupon deal.
What I take into the store is a small plastic sandwich bag with my clipped coupons for that particular store, my note pad, my moolasaving mom list, calculator and pen.
I currently use the blinder and carry all coupons in with me and it is heavy….so, I am wanting to understand how you do this……I understand putting the whole insert into a protected sheet…now what if you are in the store (like harris teeter) and you come across something on sale. How do you know which insert is it in? do you make a list of all the coupons in each insert and post in on the outside of the insert? I have been looking for another way to handle this……..please help me understand…..thankyou
Most of us using the whole insert method don’t take all the coupons with us in the store. If we come across something on sale we may just make a second trip. You could print out a list of all the coupons in it and bring it with you- but I bet that will be very heavy too. I make a list before I go into the store and only bring the coupons I plan on using.
After spending 20 minutes stuffing the page protectors, and removing expired pages, I generally have an idea of what is in there. Since it is in a binder, it only takes about a minute to grap the edge of the pages and flip – most coupons are on a page or half page with an ad about the product, so if I see what I recognize as the product, I then stop and look at the page to see if it matches the product I noted down. Perhaps this works for me because I am very visually oriented – I don’t look at each individual page when I come out of the store and want to check something.
It seems to me a binder full of inserts would be difficult to handle in a store, but I’ve seen other people with some really large binders that were almost the size of one in the picture
I keep my inserts whole as well. I keep my inserts in manila folders. I put the date of the inserts on the front of the folder. I do keep these in a bag which I tote everywhere I go. My coupons are usually handy in my car just in case. I usually have a general idea of what coupons are available but if im in the store and need to know where to a
Locate a coupon I just pull up a coupon database online on my phone.
I do the insert method as well, and now with this binder tip, I’m excited to have it more put together and neat! Thanks for the tip!