How I’m Keeping Track of Coupons & Receipts This Shopping Season
In preparation for my Crafsty class, I did some serious shopping over the last few months. As I brainstormed and executed projects right and left, there were times when it felt like a day didn’t go by that I wasn’t at the craft store to either get or return some item for some project. And while I am fairly decent at holding onto receipts for purchases, I’ve never really been in a situation where I needed to hold on to each and every one and track my purchases so closely. After a few panicked trips to the return counter without a receipt, I hastily implemented a pouch system into my wallet…simply to give myself a place to intentionally put my receipts. Well, it worked so well that I (of course) formalized and expanded my improvisational system a bit. With the season of shopping upon us, I thought it was a good time to share this simple system for keeping track of coupons & receipts. If you’re headed out shopping this weekend (or anytime!), try this simple, effective (and cute!) way to keep all those little papers in check!
I’ll preface this post quickly with the fact that I’m not one to shop with a binder full of coupons or a snazzy portfolio organized by store. I’m more the stuff-the-reciept-in-my-pocket-to-file-later and the I-swear-I-had-a-coupon-in-here-somewhere (as I dig through the diaper bag) type gal. But even though I am not a die-hard couponer or overly organized shopper, I still like to get a good deal and am very big on returning items to get my money back. These two desires meant that my purse/diaper bag always had a sea of wrappers, coupons, and receipts floating around it; and it was beginning to feel like I could never find the one coupon or receipt I needed when I needed it.
I bought these cute little canvas pouches for some of my Craftsy projects. You’ll see them eventually, but I had a bunch leftover that didn’t get used. After stuffing receipts into my pockets (and losing them!) for the hundredth time, I grabbed one (quite hastily as I ran out the door!) and noticed it slid right into my wallet oh-so-perfectly.
Instead of another item I’d have to fish out of the bottom of my diaper bag or a binder I wouldn’t bother to use, the size and ease of these pouches meant they were there every single time I opened my wallet. Putting my receipt into the red pouch was as easy as putting my credit card away. And if I had a coupon, there was no need to look in the dozen pockets lining my bag…it would be there in the coupons pouch. These two pouches gave me a dedicated place to put paper items; which meant they weren’t getting lost, and the paper sea in the bottom of my bag finally dried up!
Admittedly, I used two blank ones for the last few weeks; solely relying on colors to keep coupons vs. receipts straight. Last week, I decided to whole-heartedly commit to my system by “labeling” each one with some iron-on vinyl. I couldn’t resist adding a cute pattern to the backs… (Dying to know more about how I did this and what I used? I have some really fun iron-on projects coming your way in the next few weeks that will answer all your questions!)
You certainly don’t need cute little canvas pouches to implement this concept. Basic envelopes or any pouch can certainly do the same thing. However, the canvas lined pouches are certainly a little more durable than a paper envelope. The zippers keep everthing contained. And the cute details (such as the colored zipper, label, and pattern) make them fun to use (which means I’m more apt to actually use them!)
The key for me though is that everything fits into my wallet. So no more digging (yes!), but also…if I choose to not drag the whole diaper bag into the store, just grabbing my wallet ensures I still have everything I need!
I love stumbling upon simple, inexpensive and sanity-saving solutions like these! I am (obviously) loving this pouch solution for receipts and coupons, but it would also work great for cash envelopes (for budgeting), kids cash/allowance, or club/member cards. (Hmmm…I might be making some more pouches here soon!). Do you use pouches in your wallet or purse? What do you put in them? I’d love to get more ideas, so feel free to share in the comments!
Have a very, very Happy Thanksgiving (to my American friends!). If you need a break from your Black Friday shopping, be sure to stop by – I’ll be here 🙂
Megan
5 Comments on “How I’m Keeping Track of Coupons & Receipts This Shopping Season”
I should really do the receipt thing. I have so many floating around my purse. And my husband helps me….he hands me all of his! He says I love paper. Whatever. This would help me to keep things together and clean it out more often!
This is a great idea – I am also drowning in paper! I do beer rebates – these are rebates for buying certain products plus certain kinds of beer, but in several states they have laws against forcing you to purchase alcohol, so in those states “NBPR”, which stands for No Beer Purchase Necessary. So for spending $5.01 on say, meat or produce, you get a rebate of $5. It’s a wonderful thing, but you really have to stay on top of the the rebate dates, your receipts, your stamps, mailing them on time, etc. I always mean to stick the receipts in the side pocket of my purse, but, you know where good intentions put me!? I’m definitely on that road. So glad you are back! Happy Thanksgiving!
Those zip pouches are cute, and just what I need to get my coupons in order. I currently have them in an envelope in my purse, and is deteriorating over time/wear and tear! The pouches are almost the same size as the envelope… hello, genius! And I can also use the pouches in my car to corral hair bands, pens, etc… Have a great holiday!
Hi Megan
I do use a lot of pouches, in my purse or in a suitcase. It’s so easy to corall tiny things by subject and to find them easily then. My mother used them for cash when we traveled abroad. Guess what my youngest daughter does so too and knows why. For the receipts I directly put them in a place in my wallet and we don’t have as many coupons as in the United States in France so it wouldn’t be relevant for me for such a use. I have some transparent pouches which is quite nice to see through them without tyhe need of labeling !
Have a great time to celebrate.
Michèle
Great tip! Lucky you to find sturdy pouches in the size of your clutch purse! I am trying to use the two back-to-back plastic pockets of a small wire-bound binder for a similar scheme. The pouches require a zip-unzip; the binder doesn’t, but takes up more space. I find I need to carry a small arsenal of things in addition to an L-zip wallet, so I am using a larger tote-style bag to hold the L-zip and whatever other things are needed at the moment. Sometimes I feel I need a more copious purse organizer so I can change outer bags more quickly and keep items upright so that they don’t get buried. It’s nerve-wracking to have keys descend into the depths, and not all purses have a key lanyard 🙂