I worked on my “New binder” last night and got a lot done…still working on it though and I think I need to get a 5 inch binder! Mine is 3 inch but I can tell I am going to need more…..

UPDATE: Reader Noel, just came up with a great idea…putting what is in each insert in the front of that weeks inserts. You could copy and paste that info from Sunday Coupon Preview (which I post every Saturday) onto a word document and then print it out and stick it in front of each weeks inserts in a sheet protector! AH, I love it! Thanks, Noel!

Thanks to reader Dannie, who left a comment on the binder video…I believe that now I have the most “Perfect” binder (remember, this is perfect in my brain because of the way I like to find my coupons, do my shopping, etc but you may feel differently). 😉 I explained every detail below (maybe a little too much)….please read through it and let me know if you get confused on any parts….

You can see above that I have a section for “Store Policies” Now, I will be taking these with me into the store so I also keep an extra copy in my tote that I bring with me. I like to have them in here in case I need to refer to something on a policy.

Next is a “Free Items and Printed Coupons” section. The way I’m going to do this is when I know I’m going shopping, I will check this area for any coupons I need to bring with me! I like to have these in a separate section so I don’t forget to use them! ALSO, I am using baseball card protector sheets in this section since that’s my favorite way to organize single coupons.

Next comes the “Restaurant” section. I often get coupons for local restaurants in the mail, through printables, restaurant.com certificates, etc..this is where I will store them.

The next section is a little tedious and you could easily just use sticky pads, but I liked this because I can re-use them when the coupons from that week expire. Basically each TAB has the date in which the coupons came. So, 5/1 will hold ALL of the inserts that came in the 5/1 newspaper. Now, here’s the tedious part….inside each TAB they are organized by INSERT. So, Red Plum, Smart Source, Proctor & Gamble. I just wrote on a paper RP, SS, cut it out, and taped all the way around it and stuck it on. This way the paper is stronger and won’t break. I can VERY easily find which insert I am looking for in the date it came out.

So now comes the actual organization of it….which will be done EVERY Sunday (or whichever day you choose to organize your Sunday inserts). Also, this is where I used reader, Dannie’s piece of advice (Thank you!).

Here are the instructions:

*Pull each page from the insert and match them with their extras. So lets say you have 5 newspapers and there are 10 pages in one of the inserts. This means you will have 10 stacks laid out on your floor and each stack will have 5 pages (which will all be the exact same pages).

*It’s basically like turning the insert into a book. You put each stack of pages into a sheet protector and then you can easily flip through the pages in your binder as if it’s a book of the actual insert. I hope I’m making sense….

*This also makes life easy when you go to clip them. Here’s an example of why….Let say I tell you to use the $1 off Pedigree coupon pictured above found in 5/1 RP. Here’s what you would do:

• Go to your binder and find the tab “5/1”.
• Then find the tab RP under 5/1.
• Flip through each page (sheet protector) until you see your coupon.
• You will then be able to pull out all the pages in that sheet protector and they will all be the $1 off Pedigree coupon so you can clip from there!

REMEMBER: I would not take this binder with me to the store…I follow shopping lists so all of my lists refer to coupons like “5/1 RP”. So that is why this way is easier for me. =) Some people like to take the binders to the store and find the deals that way….I don’t do that, I plan exactly what I’m getting before I go to the store.

Also, here is my binder video (if you haven’t seen it) BEFORE made it last night….