The Notebook

No, I don't mean that notebook.

My apologies to my English major friends and those with good grammar skills. I write, much like I talk (ramble, ramble, ramble), so when you read my posts, you'll have a good idea of how I tell stories. One night, an English teaching friend welcomed parents into her class for conferences. An attending mom declares, "I don't be knowin' no grammar." While that mom wasn't me, I can identify with what she said. So please give my regards to my native language as you plow through my posts. :)

Three years ago while on a group camping trip, my friend, Sandra, started talking about how much money she was saving by couponing. I, being the ever-so-savvy shopper thought, "there's no way you're saving more than me". Although I was not brand loyal, I was store loyal, which is almost as bad. At the time, I was using a this system: 1) clip coupons 2) put coupons in an envelope 3) rifle through envelope on every aisle (after miserable aisle) at the store, only to 4) find the coupon had expired. Grrr. Did I mention I was doing this with our twin boys and the Sisternator in tow? Double grrr.

So Sandra pulled out her version of the 'Holy Grail' and my jaw dropped. Hers was a 3-ring binder with baseball card holders and subject dividers inside with sections like: DAIRY, BABY, CEREAL, etc. It was a 3" job and she was planning to move up in size! It would be like an SUV of coupons! All those coupons were sitting patiently in their sleeves, just waiting to be plucked and used. I felt so inadequate with my measly envelopes... I honestly think I saw a light shine down on it from above. Wait, maybe that was just a flashlight. Like I said, we were camping.

For a couple of years, I've been following Crystal at the Money Saving Mom. She organizes her coupons like this. While this system works for many, the thought of flipping through scads of coupons in the aisles comes flooding back and it kinda wigs me out. However, I was also pretty intimidated by the notebook method too, when I first saw it.

While my notebook is not nearly as thick as Sandra's, it works. Some of my sections could still stand to be divided again (an all-encompassing HBA --health and beauty aids-- section is way too broad). If you are serious about couponing, you're going to need more than just one of those cute, little organizers. So whatever method you choose, get to organizing! It can be a coupon jungle out there!