My Binder and How I Use It

          I LOVE my binder!  I believe I have a great system and it works very well for me.  My binder is a two-inch three ringed zippered binder, with a strap so you can carry it like a messenger bag.  Since I have been using this system; I can always find the coupons I am looking for, I always know before a coupon is going to expire and by the time I make it to the checkout; all of my coupons I am using for that store are together and very accessible.
          The front of my binder has a zipper.  This is where I keep all of my store loyalty cards.  This is also where I tend to stash my receipts for the day until I get home to file them.

          The next section is a Velcro flap that holds my pens, highlighters, dry-erase markers, and a small pair of scissors for coupon clipping on the go.  

          Inside the binder I have a zippered pencil case, sheet protectors with label tabs for each section, and of course the baseball card sleeves.

          My tabs/dividers in order are:

• Oral Care
• Deodorant & Shaving
• Personal Care
• Paper Products
• Cleaning
• Household
• Health & First Aid
• Beauty
• Boys (Kids/Baby)
• Pets
• Office
• Produce
• Condiments & Seasonings
• Beverages
• Canned & Jarred 
• Baking & Breads
• Breakfast
• Dairy
• Meats
• Frozen
• Pasta/ Sides/ Boxed
• Snacks/ Candy
• Misc
• CVS
• Rite Aid
• Walgreens
• Meijer
• Walmart
• Kroger
• Dollar General
• Family Dollar
• Dollar Tree
• Restaurants

          Every Saturday, I go through each section of my binder and get out all my expired coupons.  This is made easier by always filing them with the soonest expiration date first.
          The next step, is clipping the new coupons and filing them in their category.  I then use my dry-erase marker to note how many of each coupon I have right on it's sleeve.
          Now it's super easy to go through and look at all my coupons while I am going through the sale ads.  When I find a match-up, I just make a "C" in the ad with my highlighter, and then use an ink pen to note how much my coupon is for.
          From my coupon match-ups I make my shopping list by store.  I also make note of how many of each coupon I will need for my transactions.  Now with my list I go through and pull the coupons I plan to use and file them under the appropriate tab in the back with the store name listed.  That way as I am going through the store I can move them to the zippered pouch for use at the checkout, and if they happen to be out of something and I get a raincheck I won't have to dig through all of them, it will just stay under that store's section for next time.
          Then it's just come home and put away all my wonderful stock additions...  And start all over again on Saturday.
          This is just my process, it works for me.  Feel free to tweak it to meet your own needs.  And you can always comment with any questions, or email me at: aturtleamouseandamonkeyohmy@gmail.com
          Have a great day!  And as always:  Happy Couponing!!!