Effective Coupon Organization: How to Make a Coupon Organizer

One of the most important aspects of using supermarket coupons effectively is coupon organization. In this post we will be talking about how to efficiently organize your manufacturer coupons to maximize your savings.

There are all kinds of mehtods for coupon organization. Systems range from free coupon organizers, to file coupon organizers and box coupon organizers. The key is finding a coupon organization system that will work for you.

Methods of Coupon Organization

There really is no “best type” of coupon organization system. What will work best for you is a system that is logical and will help you to quickly locate your manufacturer coupons.

That being said, I wanted to give you some information on how you can make a coupon organizer.

The Envelope Coupon Organizer

The most basic system for organizing coupons is to go to the office supply store and buy a box of #10 envelopes. Create one envelope for each main section in the store.

Advantages: This method is cheap and fast to create and does a respectable job of keeping coupons organized.

Disadvantages: You will have 6 or more envelopes to keep track of and it’s easy to leave one sitting around somewhere as you shop. This system is a little disjointed, and you will waste some time getting into and out of each envelope making your shopping trip last longer. Envelopes tend to tear and wear out quickly and they will need to be replaced often.

The Recipe Box Coupon Organizer

Recipe boxes with a set of dividers are another solution. Recipe or index card boxes keep things organized, but also have a few drawbacks.

Advantages: The recipe box method is also inexpensive and relatively fast to create. Another advantage over the envelope coupon organization method is that you can see what coupons you have more easily.

Disadvantages: The recipe box coupon organization method can be cumbersome and a bit bulky to handle in stores. This system works better if you don’t have small children with you to sit in the front of the care. Still, if you spill the box (this has happened to me on more than one occasion) it will take you hours to sort through the mess and put things right. Not a fun job when you run into this type of fiasco.

The Shoebox Coupon Organizer

If you ever get really heavily into coupon shopping and rebating, the shoebox coupon organizer will give you all the space you need and then some. Like the recipe box coupon organizer. The shoe box coupon organizer method is inexpensive and fast to create. All you really need is a shoe box or plastic shoe box and a set of dividers.

Advantages: You can put this type of organizer together quickly and inexpensively as I’ve said, and this method offers the additional advantage of room to grow. Most of us will never outgrow the space that the shoebox coupon organizer will offer.

Disadvantages: The shoebox coupon organizer really is a bit of overkill for most coupon shoppers. This method is bulky and cumbersome to manage while shopping. Did I mention that my big spill in the grocery store was with a full shoebox of coupons? Not only was I embarrassed beyond words, but it took me hours upon hours to clean up the mess once I got home. I switched methods after this experience.

The Binder Coupon Organizer

This is my favorite method and the one I still use today. I love the expandability of this system and its ease of use. Go to the office supply store and get a nice binder or full sized leather portfolio. I have one with a zipper to keep things contained when I’m not shopping just in case. I also bought a set of dividers and several packages of clear protectors with pockets. You can either use the kind for collecting baseball or trading cards or clear pages with pockets to hold business cards for creating your coupon organizer.

Advantages: Binder coupon organizers offer easy and quick access to coupons without needing to thumb through every coupon in a section to find what you are looking for. This system is easily expandable just add extra pages as you need them. This type of coupon organizer is also fast and inexpensive to create, and minimizes the potential for spilling coupons as you shop.

Disadvantages: This system is a bit cumbersome to manage while shopping due to its size, but not considerably more that some of the other methods.


In selecting a coupon organizer to meet your needs, it really depends on what you are comfortable with. You need to consider what will meet your storage needs and help you to locate your coupons both easily and efficiently.

Whichever system you select, make it easy on yourself and your grocery shopping trips will be much more enjoyable while your savings grows.