I Need Ideas on the Best Way to Sort and Carry Coupons.

I too use plastic accordian files that I got in the Target $1 section a while back. I use a big one (size for regular sheets of paper) and sort out the coupons when I get them between misc. (things like Linens and Things, haircuts, outings), restaurants, groceries, dog/portraits, toiletries and meds, cleaning and supplies (supplies like batteries and paper towels), and diapers/baby. Then I have the little one that I take with me that I divide by store. I labeled them with stores I go to most often and in the front goes any atypical store I have coupons for that I need to go to that week. I shop by ads, so I put the coupons that go with the store in the correct slot and then just pull them out when I go into the store or take the little binder with me. To weed out expired ones, I go through them monthly and throw out the expired ones. Works well for me. :)

A friend of mine told me about the Couponizer. It is a small binder notebook with pockets for all types of coupons separated by categories. It also comes with this mat that you lay down on the table and it makes the initial separattion and categorizing kind of fun! I love it and am always referring to it before shopping for everything at home. Before this my coupons would get lost in piles of 'to be filed' or in the car or deep in some kitchen drawer. Always to be found expired! The website is www.thecouponizer.com. Check it out. It may be what you are looking for!
Good luck!

After years of trying many different systems, I bought the Couponizer (couponizer.com). Yes, it costs more than the other ways but I think it's worth it. It's easy to keep all my coupons (and I go through hundreds a week) sorted and neatly organized. I can find anything I need within seconds. When I prepare to go to the store, all the ones I'll be using go in the "use this shopping trip" pocket. When the item goes into my cart, the coupon moves to the "use at checkout" pocket. At the checkout, I just remove the stack from that pocket. I'll use 20-40 coupons on a typical twice-a-month shopping trip -- usually cutting the bill 50%-75%. So for me, it was worth the money to buy this system.

I use the plastic picture protector sheets in a small binder. The plastic ones that cover the 4x6 pics. I found them at Walmart. I turn my binder sideways and label a piece of paper that comes in each one so it corresponds with each isle. My grocery store offers a list of what is on each isle, so I can sort my coupons, in order, by isle. Each little picture slot is an isle. I have also used just plain white envelopes the same way. Just use a hole punch and turn them sideways in the binder. HTH.

I just keep them all together in a baggie in the car. Before I go in the store, I see if there are any that I will need. It works for me...

I recently saw a really cute (and inexpensive) coupon organizer at Hallmark. It was about the size of a 5X7 photo and could easily fit in a purse. Next time you're near a Hallmark it may be worth stopping in...

Colored clothes pins work well. Just use a different color for each category. . . groceries/oil changes etc. It's pretty easy to flip through them that way and see what you have without dropping them all.

I use different paper clips for the different stores I shop at. For instance, I have one group of coupons for "Target" and another for "Jewel". Be careful to only cut coupons that you will actually use and weed out expired coupons on a regular basis.