Please keep in mind that you will need to create your own system that works for you.  Feel free to borrow these ideas, but you’ll need to make your own tweaks to make it your own.  :o)

The Envelope – For years, I carried a small, laminated envelope around in my purse.  (I believe it was an extra “thank you note”-sized one.)  This worked fine for my needs at the time: it fit in my purse (which was exponentially smaller in my younger, pre-mommy days!), and held about two or three dozen coupons.  Being the hyper-organized person, I still had them in a categorized order, even within the small envelope.

NOTE: Some people use a more complex “envelope system” to store and organize their coupons.  Most will keep a set of envelopes in a shoe box, or similar sized container.  Each envelope will hold a category of coupons.

The Expanding Coupon File/Accordian – I found a plastic  expanding coupon accordian holder for about $3 at Big Lots a few years ago, and happily used this for quite a while.  Even with the small(er) pre-mommy purse, the coupon file was portable enough to fit in my purse.  It had about 13 sections, which I labeled based on categories that made sense to me.  This worked when I was still heavily buying store brand items, but occasionally kept my eye open for deals on select other products.  You can pick one up at Target for under $5.

The Petite Coupon Binder – Once my coupon file literally started bursting at the seems, I knew it was time to upgrade.  The need for something more occurred around the time I started picking up my parents coupons, and occasionally my mother-in-laws.  Also, around this time, I began to understand how to play the drugstore games, read the sales cycles at grocery stores, and exploring the blogosphere for deeper savings.  I found myself no longer boxed in to store brand versions, and in order to maximize savings, clipped coupons for multiple brands for the same product.  Oh, and I discovered the delectable joys of printable coupons!

The petite coupon binder was a find from Target.  (I know, I’m like a walking Target ad!)  Initially, I took some Ziplock freezer bags (because I thought they’d be the most durable), hole punched them, and made these my zipper pouches for each coupon category.  What I quickly discovered, however, was how darn THICK this system became: the bags filled with coupons, and the zippers themselves proved to be just too bulky for my needs.  I started searching around the house for old Day Runner-type planners, and found a handful.  Thus, I was able to replace the bulky Ziplocks with the zippered pouches that come with the planners.

But I still had a darn rubber-band holding it all together.  I reluctantly realized I needed something more….

The Full-Fledged Coupon Binder –  Equipped with some business card holder pages, baseball card holder pages, sheet protectors, and photo pages – all from Goodwill!- I stepped up to the Big Leagues!  As I said before, my organizational style requires that I categorize, and then subcategorize.  Plus, I’m highly visual.  Thus, having a page per subcategory (or a few subs per page) allowed me to better SEE my coupons.  I will post specifically about my coupon binder, complete with photos later and a category list.  :o)I digress.   If you do the bulk of your shopping with coupons, including restaraunts, general store coupons, and use printables, OR if you collect multiple copies of coupons, I highly recommend the coupon binder system.  With a coupon binder, you put your coupons in either picture sheets (wallet size, 4×6 size, or 3×5) or baseball card holders.  Each sheet comes three-hole punched and is a standard “sheet” size.  You can use dividers to tab off each category.  Again, there are several ways to categorize your coupons — some categorize by the isles in the grocery store, some go in alplabetic order.  You must find a way that makes sense to YOU.

If you haven’t the time, desire, or resources to create your own coupon binder, OR if you wish to surprise a couponing friend with a gift,  I suggest The Coupon Clutch.  It’s a super cute, highly fashionable binder, and available in various styles.  It remains on my wish list.

Another option is the Coupon Magic Organizer.  This is a system, including a 2″ zippered 3-ring binder, comes equipped with all the materials you’ll need to get started.   You can buy individual pieces for an existing coupon binder you may have, or purchase the entire system — all in one place.  With both The Coupon Clutch and the Coupon Magic Organizer, there are almost always coupon codes floating around — I suggest trying Retail Me Not, or a good ol’ Google search.

There are, of course, many other ways to organize your coupons.  Some use an envelope and box system, as I mentioned earlier.  This is a modified version of the coupon binder, in my eyes; it just uses envelopes instead of binder pages to hold the coupons.  My friend Heather, over at Family Friendly Frugality, uses a large accordian folder to hold entire inserts — she eliminates the clipping all together by keeping track of her coupons on the Coupon Database!

Whichever way you choose,  you need to make it a system that works for you.  Don’t make it more work than it needs to be for you.  Most importantly, keep your eyes on the prize: having a method in which to store and organize your coupons, to help you save more money each and every time you shop!  :o)

**This post may contain affiliate links.**

Aside from (what should be) the obvious “rules” that come with couponing, there can be some gray areas out there.  Further, if you are a true couponer, you will find yourself in a situation where there is no one to police you and your coupons, only your conscience and moral compass to guide you.  Here, I’ve composed a few couponing tips, based on my personal experience, my observations of others, and anecdotal tales on the blogosphere.

• Let the little guy go  If you’re in line, with your stack of coupons and full cart, shouldn’t it be second nature to let the person behind you, with only a scant few items, go before you?
• Give fair warning!  Again, with full cart and you coupon stack, let the people behind you -or who may want to get behind you- know that you’ll likely take a while.  Yes, the full cart should be a dead give away, but  still…
• Sometimes, just suck it up!  I implore you not to haggle or fuss over less than a dollar, especially when the line behind you continues to grow longer.  This is a tough one -trust me!- but sometimes we get so clouded with our desire to save every last penny, that we lose sight of what’s important.  IF you know your coupon is valid, and cannot get it to work -either because of a reluctant cashier, a fault with the register’s system, or whatnot- and a manager has to get involved, ask yourself if this is an item you absolutely MUST have at that very moment at the couponed price, or if you could 
• a) purchase at another time and/or place, 
• b) –gulp!– pay full price (seriously, it hurts to type that!), or 
• c) not purchase the item at all.
• Be nice to your cashier.  Again, you’d think this would be a given, but I’ve witnessed some nasty, nasty customers (couponers and non-couponers alike) lashing out at the cashiers, and 99% of the time things that were out their (the cashier’s) control.  We are all human.  As such, we are known to occasionally make mistakes.  I’ve very politely pointed out to cashiers when they were in the wrong, but always with a warm smile, and let them know it’s “ok”.  Nastiness only ensures nastiness in return — kindness, however, can invoke more kindness!
• …and be nice to the store managers, too!  On the occasion when a manager must become involved with your transaction -either because of a dispute, for clarity, or to simply do an override- try to maintain your composure.  While the squeaky wheel may get the grease, store employees do and WILL remember you and your disposition. I’ve found that being pleasant to the employees makes them more likely to help me out in the future, whether the manager becomes involved or not.
• Printable coupons have rules, too!  I’ve touched on this before, but it bears repeating: most printable coupons should only be PRINTED twice!  That’s the way “bricks” coupons from coupons.com are set up to work.  
• Don’t be a copy cat.  EVER!  Further, it is completely unethical to COPY printable coupons.  Don’t be that one bad apple.  Manufactures set up a limited number of printable coupons, and if you’re making copies, you’re hurting much more than your guilty conscience.  Stores do NOT get reimbursed for fraudulent coupons, manufactures lose money on them, and with each fraudulent coupon that passes through,  the chances of stores accepting printables AND the chances of manufactures publishing printables decreases!
• Check the date.  There can be some gray area if a coupon has just expired a few days ago.  Some stores will allow you to use a very recently expired coupon, at their discretion.  (Remember what I said earlier about being NICE to people?  This is when it can pay off!)  ..but, don’t try to pawn off that coupon from 2006.  To be honest, that’s just dumb!
• READ the fine print.  If a coupon is meant for two items, don’t try to use it with just ONE item.  That’s unethical.  If a coupon is for a specific product by a company, don’t try to use it for a similar item, not specified on the coupon.  That’s unethical.  …on the flipside, sometimes coupons will have a PICTURE of one particular item in a product line, while the coupon is good for any or most items in that line…  Yet another reason why it pays to read.