My $1 Solution to Organizing Coupons at the Grocery Store (Now, I Don’t Lose Them When I Shop!)

How many times have we all:

Preparing for my shopping trip to Stop & Shop... — Preparing for my shopping trip to Stop & Shop…(if you look closely, you’ll see how I organize my shopping lists with coupons.

putting it together — Gathered all my coupons/lists and clipped them together.

The whole thing fit in my purse (admittedly my purse is kinda large, but it is a mini-clipboard…).

at the store ready to shop — At the store ready to shop. The clipboard leans nicely on the shopping cart. It wasn’t perfect, but it helped 100%. In other words, I didn’t lose any coupons along the way.

a) lost or dropped on the grocery store floor a high-value coupon
b) lost an envelope filled with coupons (yup, my “paper towels” envelope! Luckily it was turned in at the Customer Service desk :–) c) searched for a coupon at checkout which made its way to the bottom of the purse!
d) forgot coupons at home and realized it at the store
e) all of the above

I was tired of doing “e”–all of the above. So are other TFF readers and workshop attendees I’ve spoken with. A coupon binder at the store doesn’t work for me; I don’t like those coupon organizers. I take a highly edited shopping list with a small envelope of coupons. But…everything tends to slip out of the cart as I shop. Call me butterfingers. I kept thinking …if only there was a clip for coupons hanging on the grocery cart so I wouldn’t lose the darn things as I shopped.

So, I decided to create a DIY solution. I searched for a couple of months (seriously) for a mini-clipboard. Couldn’t find one till the other day at Target where I spotted a ton of them in the $1 section. I bought one and immediately put it to use at ShopRite. Didn’t lose a thing (for once, nothing flew or slipped out of the grocery cart!), I felt organized, the clipboard fits in my purse, and I just love it.

Other suggestions for readers are very welcome! Leave them in comments below.

~Marilyn, TFF