Free Coupon Organizer

Want a great free coupon organizer? Here's not just one, but several to try...with items you probably already have around the house.

You can easily make a great free coupon organizer with common household items that you already have on hand, like:

• a box of envelopes (or recycled envelopes from holiday cards you have received, if you prefer) - to use envelopes for your coupon organizer, it can be as simple as writing the coupon category on the envelope flaps, tucking the coupons inside the envelopes, and keeping them all together in the original box or held together with a large paper clip or binder clip.
• a 3-ring binder and some plastic sleeves - take a 3-ring binder and some plastic sleeves (the kind to hold CDs or business cards work well; you could also use the larger 8 1/2 x 11" size). The sleeves can be divided into coupon category, with labels attached to the sides or written across the plastic sleeve. 
• an old recipe or index box - this is a great option, because most recipe boxes have already been divided into sections. You will need to label each section, with on the tabs from the recipe box design or adding your own labels, and then file each coupon in its appropriate section.
• an accordian file - each slot in the accordian file can be used for a different coupon category. Some accordian files come already labeled alphabetically; you could either use that format, or affix sticky labels over the top of the existing labels. 
• hanging file folders - this type of grocery coupon organizer is similar to the accordian file method; you'll want to label each folder accordingly.
• a shoe-box sized plastic bin or box with a lid and some index cards as dividers - very similar to the recipe box idea, except that you will need to create some kind of dividers...index cards or pieces of stiff paper cut to size will work well.
• large-sized paper clips or binder clips - can be used to either group coupon categories, or group coupons by expiration date.
• labels - use to label your divided categories.
• Sharpie pen or marker to write on your labels - great for writing on all surfaces.

The idea is to categorize your coupons in a way that makes sense to you (see how to organize coupons to see some of the most popular ways to categorize coupons).

Once you have chosen your free coupon organizer container, the next step is to set it up and start using it.

Whichever container you use, you need some way to label the divided sections into the categories you have chosen. You may need to affix labels to your index cards or envelopes, or write on the hanging file folders...whatever makes your categories easy to see.

Then, sort your coupons and put them into the divided sections of your free coupon organizer...and you're all ready to go shopping!

---