My goal this week was to get organized. I have been letting a few things slip here and there and it was starting to catch up with me…so it is time for a change!! I totally cleaned my desk–I had piles of coupons…some that expired last year! I sorted all the loose coupons and filed my inserts into the filing cabinet! I don’t think my desk has ever been this clean!
As you can imagine I spend a fair amount of time on the computer but I am not always on the same computer! Some of the things I post to my sites are done in between me pushing the boys on the swing or while waiting for macaroni to boil 😀 I love my laptop but prefer my desktop since the screen is huge and it is so much easier to have lots of window open!! I have had issues lately finding my “stuff”!! I bookmark and save tons of information so that I can go back and reference it later. It can be something for the blogs or even a recipe that I want to try…well if I save it on my desktop I can’t then access it on my laptop. So if I am out and about I have to take the time to go back and search. Just the other day I was cooking a recipe that I found online and THOUGHT I had saved the recipe to my laptop. It was a fairly simple recipe so I started cooking when I realized I needed to know a measurement –so I open my laptop only to find that I had apparently bookmarked the recipe on my desktop–UGHGH!!
So a buddy of mine told me to try Springpad. So far I am loving it! I have not yet joined the cool kids and still have a Blackberry rather than an iPhone, but apparently Springpad works on iPhones too! I wanted a simple way to keep my info in one place without having to pay for it 😀 So far so good!! I thought I’d pass it on as so many of you have asked about organization methods AND they have some fabulous recipes in the public section (Friends Stuff).
Lots of you have asked about how I organize my coupons. I did a post a while back about my methods but I have tweaked it a bit so I hope to have it finished in the near future–for now tell me what you guys do as far as coupon organization!
OK–so my poll didn’t work…I will see if I can find a different one that will 😉
17 Comments
I did a post a couple of weeks ago about my organization system. I do a combination system–I file the inserts whole and clip what I need, but I also have an envelope filing system for all my loose coupons. Check it out! http://quidquidquidquid.blogspot.com/2010/02/coupons-my-organization-system-this.html
I bought some bright colored accordion files at the dollar section at target! And I file whole inserts by date and have them color coded by month. I keep those in a recycleable grocery bag for the most recent months and then I file the older inserts at my desk after clipping anything we will use. I have another soft accordion file for booklets and flyers. I also have a binder fir peelies and tearpads and a smaller accordion file that I keep organized by store. I keep a basket just for random things that need to be filed. I’m realllllly loving my iPhone so if I need to find out about a price/deals/coupon database. I am over organized and i love it!
How do i connect it to my blackberry?
I don;t think it works with Blackberry yet–just for the cool kids with iPhones 🙁
I could be wrong–I just have not had a chance to play on my phone–I just use it on my laptop when out and about!
Hi,
Springpad is accessible on your mobile phone. Just point your mobile device to my.springpadit.com. If you’re still having trouble, try this link: http://my.springpadit.com/m
Hope you get a chance to check us out. You can easily save anything you want to remember. Springpad will then automatically organize and enhance your stuff with useful links and offers to save you time and money, and you can access your stuff whenever and wherever you need it. (http://springpadit.com).
Thanks Josh! I will check it out!!
I, too, have different desktops (home & work), but Google’s browser Chrome now lets you sync your bookmarks across all computers! Once you download and install Google Chrome, just log in with your Google ID once on each computer (free, of course!), then merge and sync! All bookmarks are automatically updated across all computers 🙂
Download Google Chrome here:
http://www.google.com/chrome/?utm_campaign=en&utm_source=en-ha-na-us-bk-gen&utm_medium=ha
Learn about syncing bookmarks here:
http://www.google.com/support/chrome/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=165139
Hey Val
Do you like Chrome?? Any chance you will give me a list of advantages/disadvantages (your opinion) and do you have to change the url to print coupons?? I am not a tech person so I fear the unknown a bit 😀
I bought a tall photo album binder with plastic pages that have divided space for 3 photos on a page (not the sticky overlay kind, the kind you slide in from the side (about $10 at Wal-mart). I LOVE it! I got sticky tabs that you can write on to divide all my categories. Now it is a breeze to carry it with me and find anything I need. I have enough pages that I can place groups of coupons in each slot. For example, instead of lumping all my cereal coupons together, I can put Cheerios coupons in one holder, Kellog’s coupons in another, etc. It makes it so much easier to find what I want instead of sorting through a whole pile of “cereal” coupons.
My husband has turned me on to Evernote. He used to be quite the unorganized kinda guy. But now, he’s more organized than I am, and it’s all because of Evernote! He was introduced to it at work, and uses it at work and at home, and they have a mobile phone version.
The best part is that it’s all FREE! You can access your evernote from anywhere! Literally ANYWHERE on ANY computer! It syncs online, and you just log in (if you are on a different computer) and can access all your files.
What does it organize? Literally almost anything. Websites, links, screen shots, imported files/documents, images, emails, whatever! You can do searches within your evernote to find anything even if you only remember a keyword about the file. You can organize in any way you want. It really is great! go to http://www.evernote.com and check it out.
As for coupons? I am making the move from the box method to the binder. I am excited to see how it all works for me. I’ve done lots of research and I’m really anxious to get it all organized!
I am a fan of filing my inserts and cutting only as needed. I actually just posted about binders vs filing inserts. Feel free to read my Intro to Coupon Organization post here: http://www.addictedtosaving.com/2010/02/24/intro-coupon-organization/
I have a deep 4 drawer file cabinet with hanging file folders that I use for organizing inserts, IP’s, booklets, mags, etc. at home. I only take an envelope with the coupons I’m using, a photo binder with various clipped and sorted coupons and my spreadsheet list to the store.
The binder is the same (I think) as Jenn mentioned above…with clear plastic pocket pages that I’ve added divider pages and tabs to. I carry this binder with me almost everywhere (in a large shoulder bag)…cause you just never know when you’ll stumble onto a deal. I also keep a caculator and small scissors in the bag for quick figuring and clipping on the go!
About once a month, I go thru the file cabinet and binder to remove expireds and file any new stuff.
If you’re looking for a great internet bookmark site, you should look into Delicious (http://delicious.com/). You can make bookmarks from any computer and access them anywhere where there’s internet access. I love it! Plus you can make your own categories for everything, so you always know where to find your recipes vs. your couponing sites vs. blogs, etc. I use it all the time – it’s wonderful and free!
For the coupon organization. I’ve done all 4 popular methods…I started out with the cancelled check holder/coupon holder, then moved to the “shoe box” style where it sits in the top of your grocery cart. Then I moved to the 3 ring binder and now I’m doing the file-the-whole-insert-in-a-hanging-file-folder method. I love it the best. Much less time consuming. I wrote a blog post a few months ago about the pros and cons of each method.
Hello!I used to use an envelope. Now I use the couponizer. It was a gift from my sister for all of the money that I have helped her save! I love it. My favorite part is that it fits in my bag so I always have all of my coupons with me. This way if I missed something, the coupon is right there! It also saves me about 20-30 minutes at the grocery store. I think she got it on amazon. but you can google couponizer. I am a huge fan!
I do a slight combo of these..I go through each insert and clip the ones I would defiantly use. After a week is clipped, it goes into its own hanging file which is labeled by week. I have 2 letter sized accordion holder that I file all clipped/IPs in alphabetically. I find it saves me the most time not having to clip and file a Q I may never even use…And should I find myself short on time I have been known to just file the insert and just clip as needed. Thanks for everything!!