To Clip or Not to Clip....that IS the question....

Ugh...I have been tossing the idea around in my head of finally making the switch to the coupon binder. I know, I know...I said that the thought of it made me cringe (which it does)....that I have NO room for it when I go shopping (which I don't)...that I wanted the easiest route (which I do)...a number of reasons why the coupon binder just isn't for me. Here's what I DO know.... a.)my coupon pouch that I carry with me in my purse, is getting bigger and bigger and more difficult to manage. b.) it is a pain in my you know where to FIND the coupons I need quickly...especially while at the store c.)I am more and more frequently missing out on deals because I left my coupons at home d.) I just don't feel organized enough. I can't SEE at a glance what I have and don't have.

If you remember, THIS is how I currently organize my coupon inserts and some of my straggling individual coupons. I also posted THIS a while back. I had come up with a simple spreadsheet (so I thought) that would help me keep track of the coupons I had, how many, when they expire, and this was especially helpful for IP's and tearpad/blinkie coupons that I had that I didn't want to forget about. It was working great for a while and still works OK, but I am CONSTANTLY getting new coupons, both in the mail, from the internet, from the store...I just don't have that kind of time to sit and enter all the data in all the time. I get behind constantly and have a big stack of coupons on my desk that just continues to pile up, and when I finally DO get around to entering them all...it's just in time for a new stack to come in. Bleh. Soo...that's not really working out as well as I planned.

If you are not sure what I am talking about when I say "coupon binder," go HERE to learn a little more about another system of filing and storing coupons. This is the method that I think is most commonly used throughout the coupon-clipping community. Every time you walk in to Albies....you're bound to see at least one coupon-mom with her coupon-binder in tow, spread wide open across the seating part of the cart. :)

But, despite all of those things that are frustrating me...am I REALLY ready to make the jump to a coupon binder? The idea of it is great. Always have all of my coupons neatly organized and always have them with me wherever I go, so that I can always take advantage of great deals...be able to tell, at a glance, what coupons I have...have all of my materials, lists, policies, tools, etc. right at my fingertips in a ready-to-go case. It really is functional and efficient.

HOWEVER...I have to think of all of the other things that I just, honestly, don't know will work for me. I seriously don't know how I would be able to carry it around when I am usually hauling a carseat on one arm and holding a toddler (or at least his hand) with the other one...which is a chore IN AND OF itself. I simply don't have a third arm to carry it! Then, even if I DO manage to get it into the store (maybe I could bribe my 6 year old to do it?) where does it go? My 1 year old usually sits in the seating part of the cart and my infant's carseat sits in the main part of the cart where the groceries (are supposed to) go. Let me tell you...I barely have room for the stuff I'm buying as it is...and I KNOW my toddler won't hold it for me on his lap while I galavant around the store....I mean...these may seem like silly reasons, but they are issues of practicality. What good is it going to do to put the time and effort into doing the binder if in the end I am going to decide that it's a bigger pain in the you-know-where than just dealing with the overflowing purse?

Any way...I am just so at a crossroads. I actually wound up going to Walmart yesterday for some things and saw all the super-cute binders there and, on impulse, bought one. I brought it home and decided I was going to do it. That's it, I'm doing it. BUT, after the impulse of the purchase wore off....I'm just not so sure anymore. So it's just sitting there in the same plastic bag waiting to either be returned or be brought out and have the tags ripped off...

So, I ask you guys...my readers...what you have decided to do? Have any of you made the plunge to decide to make your own coupon binder? If so, how is it working for you? Is it worth it? Do you regret it? What are the pros and cons? Anything and everything you have to add would be greatly appreciated. If you haven't made the switch, have you thought about it? What are the reasons that make you want or not want to do it? I am just really struggling with this and am curious what everyone else thinks...