"Help: I'm Drowning in Coupons!!"

Over the past few years I have had many friends tell me that they feel as though couponing is hard work.  First you have to get the coupons (either in the Sunday paper or print them out), and then you have to cut them out to use them.  While this is the case, after a while couponing becomes second-nature.  You can clip coupons while you watch TV at night or while you chat on the phone to your friends.

Let's say that you already clip coupons.  Then the question becomes how to best organize them.  I've moved through different "coupon stages" in my life.  The first stage was the envelope/plastic baggie method.

With this method, I would put all of my "food" items in one envelope/baggie, all of my "cleaning supplies" coupons in another, and so on.  Then I would carry these around in my purse at all times (you never know when you might spot a deal!).

Eventually I had too many coupons to continue to use the envelope/baggie method.  I then moved on to the accordion file.

I had a smaller accordion file that I would carry in my purse.  Eventually the accordion file wouldn't close anymore!!  So then I moved on to the "box method."

This method worked well for a while too.  I had each section organized by type of food.  Eventually I needed 2 boxes.... then 3!! (I collect a LOT of coupons!)  Yesterday I finally gave in.  It's time to move to the final coupon organization method.... the coupon binder.  Now these little puppies can get expensive ($30!), but you can see all of your coupons when you shop instead of going through them in the store.  I decided to make my own instead of purchasing an expensive version.  I found this cute little recipe binder for only $2.50 at Michaels. 

So which method works best?  It really depends on how many coupons you have.  If you feel like you are drowning in coupons (like I sometimes do), the binder method may be best.  If you are only starting to coupon, the envelope method might work best.  It's all a matter of personal taste. 

I'm sure that there are other methods out there that I haven't tried.  What method do you use?