Why is the one day of the week, 2 weeks in a row, that I have no real place to be can I not get myself going? Today was an early out for the kids so that just totally threw me for a loop. I don't do well with early outs because I can get a ton done in those last 2 hours of my quasi-childless afternoons.
The only organizing I did today was cleaning out old coupon inserts! There was a day in my life when I was a Queen Bee Couponer. I would spend Sunday afternoons clipping and filing them away in my neat little organizer. I would look at Hip2Save to see what the best deals at Walgreens and Target were for the week. I'd gather all my coupons up and make my list and be ready to hit the stores on Monday or even later on Sunday afternoon. I loved the thrill of bragging to Jake about how little I had spent out of our account on the bags I would throw on the kitchen table!
Over the past few months or the past year or so really, my routines have changed. One of the major changes was the birth of precious little Wade #4. My life has never been the same since and I have yet to figure out any sort of routine. Another change was the opening of Aldi in Temple, not far from where our church, Vista Community Church, currently meets or from our Sunday after church eating spot, Taco Cabana. Aldi doesn't accept coupons, but my grocery bill has actually decreased since starting to shop there regularly. After we eat our delicious lunch, Jake will drop me off to get groceries and will cruise around with the kids. It takes me 30 minutes or less to get in and out with a week's worth of groceries. Hence, I don't have such a pressing need to clip coupons.
I still like getting great deals on whatever I can, but have lost my groove of having a good coupon organizing system. I currently am using a broken face powder because I am too cheap to just go buy a new one! I know if I will put in a few minutes of work searching for a sale and a coupon,I can get what I want for a great deal! My lack of current organization of my coupons hinders me though! So for now, I have decided not to clip every coupon like I once did. I just save the inserts each week (I actually haven't purchased a Sunday paper for coupons in 3 weeks), write the date it came in the paper on the front of it, and file them in a file folder by insert type (red plum, smartsource, etc.). This works okay if I do it. Doesn't everything?
My hope is that I will figure out something that works for me in my situation. That is how all organizing systems work best - - what works best for you! I read a little today about this No Clip System today on Fabulessly Frugal and am thinking about giving this type of system a shot. I will still need to figure out what to do with coupons that I print off of sites like Coupons.com or Target's website, though, and also all of the random coupons that I clip out of magazines or that come in the mail. There is also the issue of all the random restaurant coupons. I am thinking a few little accordion files labeled specifically for the different types of random coupons may work.
I am still on the prowl for something that isn't too bulky or cumbersome. Someone I follow on Pinterest has an entire board dedicated to coupon organization. I think I need to start stalking it!
Are you a couponer? What system works best for you?
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