[Kelly569]

I am new to couponing and am starting to have coupons everywhere. Any ideas on how to keep what I'm not going to use organized in order to trade/sell them? Do you clip everything you're not going to use and then organize them or not clip them? How do you know what you have that you're willing to trade/sell? I am confused. Any ideas or tips would be welcome. Thanks!

[jessl]

If you clip all your coupons, you can then separate out the ones you don't want and keep them in a separate coupon box. This is what I used to do. I don't clip anymore but I order my inserts from another member here on AFC and she emails out a pdf file with all the coupons typed up so I use that list to keep track of what I have.

[A20SomethingMother]

Welcome to AFC!

1. I bought a Case-It binder and filled it with the baseball card sleeves (the 9 slot ones). Then, I seperated my stuff using tab dividers and labeled them by category, like Grocery, Tolietries, Cleaning, Pet, Baby and Misc.

2. I clip all my coupons. It's like my Saturday morning ritual-sit down on my bed, put on Food Network, and clip all my coupons. I make a seperate pile of what I keep based on what I use regularily and what I would use, and then a pile for FSOT, auctions, or RAOK's. The best way to find out if your coupon will be hot enough to get a good trade is by going to CVS and Walgreens and seeing what the upcoming deals are. I don't have a lot of money to stockpile right now, so I trade the coupons that are going to be popular for coupons that I do need every week. Like, this month at Walgreens, they are doing a buy (2) Theraflu, get a $3 RR. That is going to be popular all month long. I have enough Theraflu, so any additional Theraflu coupons I get, I will probably trade. Or like when I get formula coupons, I trade those because I don't need them anymore, etc.

I hope that helps you some! I have only been couponing for almost 4 years now, and I think I am just now getting it perfected down to a science that works best for me How one person coupons doesn't work for the next--you'll get there! Feel free to ask questions anytime

[DebB831]

I agree that everyone has their own system. I do clip almost every coupon - except for the ones I know for sure I will not use at all, even if the item is free. If I am buying more than two or three papers, I separate out each page of each insert and line them up. Staple the coupons together and then cut them out so each coupon is stapled into a group of them. This is way easier for me to file, keep track of, etc. I have multiple coupon holders and since my local grocery store takes expireds, I have a separate holder for those. It took me a while to see what worked best for me. I know a lot of people have good luck not cutting them out and keeping their inserts whole, but that system just wasn't what worked for me. It is a lot of trial and error, good luck!

[Kelly569]

Thank you DebB8...very helpful!!

[couponmom1956]

I am new to couponing so I'm not sure how much help I will be but here goes:

I use a 3 ring binder with baseball card inserts divided into category sections. I clip all coupons and carry my binder with me when I go to the stores. I have found many deals at the store that weren't listed on the circulars and was able to save even more because I had my coupons with me.

If an item can be purchased for FREE (even if I don't personally use the product), I purchase it anyway. There is always someone in need who can use the product. During the recent floods in Georgia, cleaning products were in great need. I could just go my stash and get whatever was needed. The same works for giving food to those who are less fortunate than we are. Items purchased with baby coupons, i.e. diapers, lotions, etc. make great gifts for the mom to be. I think you can see where I am going with this

I have been throwing my expired coupons away **gasp** but now that I have found this site, I can send them to someone who can use them.

Good luck & happy couponing!

[Kelly569]

yeah big duh to me on the expired coupons....I have been throwing them away too and didn't even think about it until I just read your post........my goodness...call me clueless!!

[sar1]

One thing that has helped me corral all of my coupons is to use those clear plastic zipper pockets for binders. I got several for less than $0.50 each during back-to-school sales. I use a sharpie to label each one something like "Keep", "Trade", "Sort" - very broad categories - so that when I'm clipping I can use these as a preliminary sorting method instead of having one huge pile of coupons ot sort through after clipping. The Keeps I know are going right into the accordian file I carry w/me when shopping. The Sorts are ones I'm not sure about but don't will figure it out later. I keep them in a binder so I have the appearance of being neat and organized at least!