Confronted with Coupon Choas....

Last weekend, I ran into a bit of a snag while clipping my coupons.  My adorable niece had decided to add some color to a few, clip corners off of others, and apparently flush the rest.  Mind you my hubby was supposedly caring for our niece as well as our own kiddos while all this was occurring!

Now, thankfully the mess was cleaned up when I returned from work that evening, but I knew as I began to clip the new coupons that old ones were M.I.A! Apparently, the hubbs gave our niece one of my expandable folders that he thought only contained scrap paper we use for crafts. That would be the blue folder dear, not the purple...

Anyhow - He salvaged what he could and tried to reorganize the folder before my return.  He actually did pretty well I must say.  As far as the coupons I lost :( I may never know what they were for sure!

I went almost the entire week without tackling the coupon dilemma, how to reorganize and ensure this NEVER happens again.  I began on the task at hand yesterday and still have things to finish today.  Here are just a few things I learned about coupon chaos this week:

One, I have been a low key couponer for several years.  I am now a full blown, will not buy without a coupon, never paying retail price again couponer.

Two, sorting coupons by product types takes FOREVER.

Three, I love ziploc bags.

So, here's what I have accomplished thus far;

I managed to sort through the pile of madness and split the coupons into product types. They are now safely in their pockets in the purple folder.  I also use the ziploc bags to sort the newest coupons by insert date.  It allows me to notify my readers which insert & date the coupon was from a lot faster than the old way, charting every coupon. Those are placed in the green folder.  Lastly, any expired coupons I placed in an envelope that will be sent to a military family this week.  Military families can use expired coupons up to 90 days later.  As soon as I get the details, I will pass along the information :)

Bottom line, I learned to hide my folders from everyone including my husband.  And that I may very well need to invest in a binder!

Any coupon madness stories to share?