Organizing your Coupons: The Velveeta Cheese Box Method

OK, so you have started clipping coupons from the paper and printing coupons online.  They are stuffed in your purse, in your kitchen junk drawer and on your nightstand.  You have built up quite the stash of coupons.  You will soon discover you need to organize those coupons or you will never use them.

Years ago, long before “Extreme Couponing” was all the rage, I started out using a Velveeta Cheese box to hold and organize my coupons.  It was cheap and easy.  I made cute little dividers to keep my coupons organized by type.  I had five main categories:  frozen foods, cold foods, pantry, cleaning and personal products.  Later, I added a few more categories.  I would set my little box down on the seat of the grocery cart and off I would go.  Near the front of the box, I added a small section for coupons that I would use on my next shopping trip.  As I placed the item in my cart, I would transfer the coupon to a separate divider section in the front.  When I was ready to checkout, all my coupons that I was using were ready to hand to the cashier.  I kept my Velveeta Cheese coupon box in a little tote bag.  That was my coupon organization system for years.  It was cheap, and it worked for me!  Another cheap idea I used was a baby wipes container.  It was a convenient size and had a lid that snapped shut.

I have now moved on to a coupon binder method organizing my coupon stash (can I recommend the Coupon Magic Organizer?).  I will go over some binder organization tips in a separate post.  The most important thing to remember is this – the most organized system won’t work if you won’t use it.  It doesn’t have to be expensive or elaborate, it just has to work for you!

P.S.  I still save the Velveeta Cheese boxes.  They are just good, sturdy little boxes that I just can’t bear to throw away.  Yes, I know, I am inching toward being a guest star on “Hoarders”.  :-)