Pallet for Home

Happy New Year!  2013--not sure if I am ready to write that!  Thank you all for your wonderful feedback on my etsy shop.  I loved the idea of adding the Shoppe--but shop names can only be 20 characters long.  So, at this point I am Beyond A Picket Fence with my shop header and shop title being Beyond The Picket Fence.  I plan to open Friday or Saturday--I set this week as the goal, so definitely by Saturday!

There are a few ways to organize coupons that I know of.  There is the "Filing Method," "Clipless Method" and "Binder Method."  With each method, you may also include a coupon-insert list of the coupons for each week.  This is my favorite place to get one.  (The coupon website I look at has a printable list.  I live in the northwest, and my favorite couponing site is Fabulessly Frugal.)

Filing Method

The Filing Method utilizes manilla folders.  Each week, you create a new folder for each coupon insert (Smart Source (SS), Red Plum (RP), and Proctor & Gamble (P&G)) that includes the date and name of the insert.

Binder Method

The Binder Method is where you clip out all the coupons each week and put them in baseball card protector sheets.  The coupons are categorized so it is easier to find the coupon you are looking for.  If you are interested in making your own, I have a little tutorial here.


Clipless Method

The Clipless Method is a mix between the Filing Method and Binder Method.  Each week you would take the inserts and put them in 8.5" x 11" sheet protector and write the date on the front.  The sheet protectors are organized in a binder.



There are pros and cons to each method.  I have tried the Clipless Method as well as the Binder Method.  I prefer the Binder Method. It does take time to clip coupons each week, but I think it makes couponing go much smoother.  (Different people prefer different methods.  You may have to try different ways to see what works for you.)

Here is a link I found that goes more in-depth with each method.

I've mentioned before that my mother is a world-class collector.   And not only that, but she has impeccable taste.  The great thing about this is that pretty much any time I get a bee in my bonnet, I can count on her to have just what I'm looking for.  (That is if I can sweet talk her out of it.)





I have been wanting a vintage silver trophy cup for a long time now - okay, let's be honest,

There are a variety of ways to get coupons:

Newspaper

My personal favorite is my subscription to the local newspaper.  Some newspapers offer deals to couponers.  My local paper does.

I get 5 Sunday papers as well as a daily paper for around $20 per month, which is a lot cheaper than buying them from the newspaper dispenser.  So each week I get 5x each coupon insert.  I live in the northwest and also get Albertson's Double coupons some weeks (more info later in the post).

Online

There are also websites that allow you to print coupons.  My favorite is coupons.com.  You can print each coupon twice per computer.  So if you have 2 computers you can print 4 coupons.

Clipping Service

Another way to obtain more coupons is a clipping service.  That means someone else cuts out the coupons for you to buy on ebay or other website.  This comes in handy when you want to buy a large quantity of items (like they do on Extreme Couponing).  I personally haven't tried this before, but have heard that if you do this it is a good idea to call the store manager to make a special order so they have enough of the product for you.

Double Coupons

Albertsons puts "double coupons" in the newspaper also.  These are my absolute favorite!  That means I can double a $1 or less coupon, taking up to $2 off of an item.  Most of my sweet deals (freebies) come this way!  (I live in the northwest, and I'm not sure where else these are offered.)

I write a 2-week meal plan so I know what to buy before I make my coupon list.  That way, if there are things on sale that I need, those become priority items.  I shop every other week for actual groceries, but coupon shop every week.  I am always on the lookout for items that would be good for food storage as well as extra hygiene items.

Here is an example of my meal plan:

Each week I check my favorite coupon websites to find the coupon matchups (what sales + coupons are a great deal).  I write down what I want to buy (under each store) along with the price, coupon to use, and what the price will be after coupons.  I also write the quantity of each item that I want to purchase.

a: store underlined b: product to buy (I write the quantity in the left margin) and coupon to use below c: cost after coupons

As you can see in the example above, the first store I wrote down was Albertson's. I bought Purex detergent which was on sale for $2.99.  After the coupon it was $1.99.

After I write down my list like this, I pull the coupons out of my binder and organize them in a small expandable file, which makes things easier when I get to the store. That way, I have the coupons I want to use all in one place.  I still bring my binder in just in case I find a different deal.


I have found that if I am prepared a couple of days before the actual shopping trip, the stress of shopping is drastically reduced.  When I first started couponing I would wake up early and try to get everything ready before I went.  I ended up anxious, frazzled, and exhausted by the time I was ready.

Have a plan before you go and how you would like each transaction to be (Albertson's only allows 3 doublers per transaction).  It won't always work out perfectly, but having an idea helps out a lot.  I try to arrive at the store within a few hours of opening so I can get the deals before they are gone.  If the item is gone, ask for a raincheck, but just make sure to go back before your coupon expires!


I frequently check fabulesslyfrugal.com for deals and I also like thekrazycouponlady.com and iheartthemart.com.

I LOVE my coupon binder!  It holds all the great coupons that save my family so much money!

Chris and I found an amazing piece during our antique ventures( a cabinet door!). We wanted to some how hang it in our kitchen and make the piece useful. We decided to make a shelf and memo board.

We painted the middle part of the door with chalkboard paint. sorry I dont have a before picture without the tape. This is a before picture of our kitchen and we removed the painting and replaced it with the shelf.
We made our own shelf and painted the wood in a creamy white color..


We are thrilled in how it turned out! Thanks for stopping by!
Have a great day!

Amy & Chris