Create Your Coupon Notebook

Once you get all your supplies together to create your notebook, you can start preparing your system of organization to make your coupon experience more profitable.

The first thing you need to do is set up your categories. There are two main categories followed by multiple subcategories.

NOTE: My notebook is organized based on the layout of the grocery store that I visit most often. I recommend that you create your notebook to follow the flow of your favorite store so that it is easier to locate your coupons when you are shopping. Most stores have a floor map available, or you can write out a list of the departments in the order that you visit them. The subcategories below are listed in the order that they are found in my notebook.

**The categories that I use work for me and my family. If you don't have pets or a baby in the house, you will not need those categories. Make any necessary adjustments to suit the needs of your family.**

***The number [-] listed by each category indicates the number of insert pages that I have in that category.***

----------

Main Category: FOOD

Subcategories:

Produce [1]
(anything that is found in the fresh fruits and vegetables area)
Cereal [2]
(oatmeal, granola bars, cereals - anything on the breakfast aisle)
Fruit [1]
(canned fruit, apple sauce, fruit bowls)
Soup [2]
(soups, broths, etc)
Spices [2]
(sugar, flour, spices)
Condiments [3]
(jelly, syrup, dressings, marinades, spaghetti sauces, steak sauces, etc)
Dessert [3]
(cake mixes, frosting, brownie mixes, cookie mixes, ice cream, pies, etc)
Bread Mix [1]
(Bisquik, pancake mix, muffin mix, cornbread mix, etc)
Pasta [2]
(rices, pastas, Hamburger Helper, etc)
Vegetables [2]
(canned vegetables, boxed potatoes, etc.)
Candy [1]
(chocolate, gum, bagged candy)
Snacks [4]
(chips, crackers, cookies, pickles, popcorn, peanuts, etc.)
Frozen [3]
(pizzas, vegetables, dinners, convenience foods, etc.)
Canned Bread [3]
(Pillsbury biscuits, pizza dough, cinnamon rolls, etc.)
Dairy [3]
(butter, milk, cheese, yogurt, etc.)
Meat [2]
(canned tuna, frozen fish, fresh meat, hot dogs, bacon, etc.)
Drinks [1]
(sodas, juices, water, etc.)
**I put milk in dairy, but that could be in drinks.**
Miscellaneous [1]
(vinegar, oil, everything else)

Main Category: NON FOOD

Subcategories:

Medicine [3]
(First Aid, medications, etc.)
Dental and Vision [2]
(contact solutions, toothpaste, toothbrushes, etc.)
Soap and Lotion [2]
(bar soap, shampoo, lotions)
Shaving and Deodorant [2]
(razors, deaodorants, shaving cream)
Pets [2]
(food, treats, cleaners, litter, etc.)
Paper [2]
(tissue, paper towels, feminine needs, etc.)
Baby [2]
(food, diapers, etc.)
Cleaning [3]
(laundry, dishes, cleaners, etc.)
Storage [1]
(foil, plastic wrap, storage bags, trash bags, etc.)
Makeup [1]
(makeup, beauty products, etc.)
Other [3]
(batteries, candles, air fresheners, everything else)

----------

I also have a section where I put my receipts and a section where I store restaurant coupons. Both of these are placed at the very back of my notebook. There is a piece of card stock placed in a paper protector for each one.

----------

Here are the steps to creating your notebook.

1) Write the name of each category on a piece of card stock paper. (I also used a corner punch decorator tool to make my card stock a bit prettier. This is not necessary, though.)

2) Insert each piece of card stock into a paper protector.

3) Attach a label holder to each paper protector. Be sure to stagger the label holders so you categories will be easily visible.

4) Write the category on a label insert. Be sure to write the category on BOTH sides of the paper label insert. (Trust me on this one....I learned the hard way.)

5) After your categories are set up, put them in your notebook. Include the appropriate number of inserts within each category.

6) Start filling your notebook with coupons.

What You Need

In order to really make your coupon experience useful, you need to have a system of organizing those coupons so that you can quickly and easily find them in the stores. I am going to teach you how to create a system that will be completely effective for making your shopping experience using coupons as easy as possible.

Here is a list of the items that you will need in order to create your coupon organizing system.

1) You need a good quality paper cutter. I have a Fiskers paper cutter that I got at Walmart. It's relatively small and was relatively inexpensive. You need scissors for some of the coupons, but mostly it is better to use that paper cutter because you can cut more at one time. It's much faster.

2) 80 - photo insert pages for a 3-ring binder album. You can get these at Wal-Mart in the office supply section. You want the least expensive type. It will have 3 photo pockets with a piece of paper on the inside of the pocket so you can put one photo on one side and another photo on the other side. You will probably have to make more than one trip to get as many as you need. Yes - you really need 80 or more. I currently have 64 pages in mine and will be buying more this week because I've determined that I need to break down my "cleaning" category into areas of the house.

3) 40 - 8X10 sheet protectors.

4) 1 pack of the sticky tabs that can be attached to the sheet protectors to make them like file dividers. You can get this in the office supplies section. They have those tiny bits of paper that you write on. I hope you know what I'm talking about because I'm not sure what they are called. They're with the labels and stuff.

5) Cardstock - You will need enough cardstock to fill those 40 sheet protectors. You can get whatever color you want. I have mine color coordinated - sort of. There are 2 main categories - Food and NonFood. All my "Food" subcategories have purple cardstock. The NonFood categories have pink and blue. Really, this one is up to you. I also used a corner punch tool to make the edges of my cardstock decorative. It takes more time, but it makes me smile a bit because it's prettier than the standard corners.

My next post will explain how to create the Coupon Book.