For the record, I'm not a coupon guru. I have followed some coupon gurus and implemented just about every system, but they didn't work for me. I ended up buying more, all for the sake of a good deal. And I realized that spending an extra twenty, thirty, fifty dollars on stuff I wouldn't be buying anyways was not really saving us money. It was too easy for me to legitimize splurging! Which doesn't work, because buying very little that we don't really need- then thrifting and saving for the rest- is how we survive on one budget. So here's how I organize only the coupons I know we'll use. I created this system for myself over two years ago, and it's worked really well ever since.

I didn't say it was fancy! For this system you'll need a three-ring binder, plastic sheet protectors, and lined three hole paper. A Sunday newspaper and a large cup of tea won't hurt either (wink). You'll want to devote a plastic protector and three hole paper for each coupon category you choose. 

My coupon categories (in order) are:

*Eat Out Coupons

*Canned Goods

*Dry Goods

*Meat & Dairy

*Freezer

*Health & Beauty

*Misc. 

I'll be sharing some ways we've been getting organized for baby this week, including Free Printables (hooray for last minute nesting energy!) and a review of the awesome book "Organizing You" by Shannon Upton. With baby arriving soon, the first thing we've had to consider is where Isia & Billy will go. When we left our city tribe behind a year ago I wasn't sure how long it would take build one up here in the woods. Not to replace our city one- you can never replace friends- but to complement it. And now, a year and a month later, we have four beautiful families close by that are graciously awaiting the phone-call to take care of our little ones. There aren't words for what a blessing it is, to know not only are they willing to... but they want to. We've been surrounded by so many people who enjoy our kids- who are far from perfect, just as we all are- as much as we do. To make sure the kids were ready to head out, I had their suitcase packed long before my own hospital bag. I also revamped the old babysitter sheet I had created years ago with this new one. 

I three-hole punched the new babysitter sheet and put in the middle of our three-prong folder baby-sitter folder. I love three-prong folders and actually keep one for each kid (more on that another time). On the baby-sitter folder, I wrote the kids' full names, our house phone number and address on the outside cover for easy reference. Then I fastened the babysitter sheet, along with medical consent forms for long trips away, on the interior prongs. I usually tuck a note with any other information that might be needed in the inside pocket, but everything else stays put so it's ready when we need it. 

Here's the printables in case you want to create a babysitter folder, or revamp one that you already have too!

For one kid: Babysitter Folder Printable

For two kids: Babysitter Folder Printable

For three kids: Babysitter Folder Printable

It's so easy to look at a series of photographs and think that a project happened in the span of a day, or two, or maybe even a week. Not with these pictures. The time period between coloring the initial butterfly sheets (that I created & am including for you!), to making them into stickers, to including them in an artwork was one month... perhaps even two. This is a great project to do incrementally, to pull out on rainy days or according to attention span, and the results speak for themselves!

Sticker Glue Recipe