Declutter Expired Coupons & How To Avoid Wasting Coupons In The Future

Today's mission is to declutter expired coupons. Here's my article on not only what to do with those expired coupons you declutter today, in this 15 minute mission, but also how to avoid having expired coupons that you've got to deal with in the future.

Using Coupons Is Exchanging Time For Money So Use Your Time Wisely

We almost all have them. The clipped pieces of paper lovingly cut out with the hope and expectation of saving ourselves a bit of cash in the future on a purchase by using a coupon.

There is nothing wrong with using coupons. But you have to realize that when you coupon you are exchanging time for money.

Again, exchanging time for money is fine. That's what jobs are, after all. But whenever we engage in any exercise like that we need to make sure that the time invested actually makes sense for the return you're getting.

For every coupon you clip and then have to throw away, because it is expired, you've gotten zero return for your time investment. In fact, the fact that you've got to declutter the expired coupons, on top of already wasting time cutting that coupon out, makes it a double time waster.

That is the type of actions that gives couponing a bad name. It makes people feel like couponing is more trouble then it is worth. And if all you're doing is cutting out all kinds of coupons, never to actually use most of them, then yes, it is more trouble then it is worth.

How To Avoid Having Expired Coupons In The Future

So here's what you can do to avoid wasting coupons in the future, so you don't end up with huge stacks of expired coupons!

Only Clip Coupons For Items You're Likely To Use

It stands to reason that if you aren't going to use a coupon then you should not use your time to cut it out. There is zero gain in such an exercise.

So if you see an awesome coupon for half price _________ (fill in the blank) but you hate that product, just pass that coupon on by. No use clipping it to begin with.

Gather All Your Coupons Together In One Central Location

Once you've clipped coupons that you plan to actually use, such as for products you buy consistently each week or month, then you need to be able to actually find them.

Have you ever been to the store, ready to make your purchase, and then remembered you had a coupon, but it was at home? Yeah, me too.

Or maybe you actually did think ahead, and knew you were buying something, and you had a coupon for it, and then spent way too long searching for that coupon amongst your various stashes in your house? Yeah, me too.

Both of those actions waste your time, and lead to expired coupons.

So you need to designate a single place in your home for all your coupons. Gather them all up from places like the bottom of your purse, in your wallet, the glove compartment of the car, your kitchen junk drawer, or wherever else, and put them all together.

Organize Your Coupons

Finally, once all your coupons are in one location, the final step toward avoiding expired coupons in the future is to organize the coupons you've clipped and collected. You can read my article on how to organize coupons here.

Only when you know what you have, where it is, and can readily access them when you need them, can you actually maximize your savings with your couponing efforts.

Once you have done that all of a sudden you'll see that couponing isn't a big waste of time, because you're not spinning your wheels wasting time on things that don't save you money. Instead, for the time invested you'll find out how much you can really save with coupons, making it completely worth your time!

And yes, I know that today's 15 minute declutter mission is to declutter expired coupons. So see below for my suggestion of what to do with expired coupons!

Top photo courtesy of Carol Pyles, and collage image photos courtesy of two readers, the top from Brandy and the bottom from Sherry

What Is The Oldest Coupon You Found While Decluttering?

When you're decluttering these old coupons you may come across some really old ones! Instead of worrying about it, treat it like am amusing game.

That's what happened with a reader, Christy. She said, "Found in my junk drawer. I think my Decluttering is WAY overdue!! (Expiration date: 1986). YIKES"

I'd love to hear what the oldest coupon is that you across. Tell me below, in the comments!

What To Do With All Those Expired Coupons

Once you've done today's declutter mission you'll most likely be left with a big stack of expired coupons.

You need to get them out of your home. They're paper clutter, since they're no use to you.

At first, these may seem like trash (or recycling actually, please!) but don't be too fast in chucking them all out the door.

Did you know that although these expired coupons won't do you any good they can be used by someone? Well, at least some of them can.

You can donate these coupons for up to six months after expiration for military families to use in commissaries. Here's my article on how to do it.

So don't feel guilty for letting those coupons expire before you could use them. Instead, bless someone else with them and still get them out of your home!

Want To Do More Decluttering Missions? Get Started With Declutter 365 Today!

Once you declutter one type of item in your home I bet you'll want to declutter some more. After all, decluttering gives you a great reward for even a small investment of time and energy.

The Declutter 365 system is designed to help you declutter, over the course of a year, your entire house, with just 15 minutes of decluttering each day!

Hundreds of thousands of people use this proven system to get rid of their clutter, and bring peace and calm back to their homes.

Declutter 365 works to guide you to clear the clutter without overwhelm, focusing on just one small area at a time, and without making a huge mess in the process, so you see consistent forward progress without all that "messy middle" that makes it even harder to function in your home than before you started.

In addition to building a daily decluttering habit, the Declutter 365 program, along with the accompanying 52 Week Organized Home Challenge, teaches you the skills, habits, routines, and mindsets necessary to maintain the clutter free and organized state of your home from now on, so it'll never be as messy and cluttered as it is right now, ever again.

If you haven't already, make sure to get your copy of this year's Declutter 365 annual calendar here (it's FREE!), find today's date, and do 15 minutes of decluttering on the day's mission. Then, repeat again tomorrow, and again and again. Over the course of the next year, if you do this 15 minutes per day, you'll declutter your whole house!

Get This Paper & Filing Decluttering Checklist + 32 Other Decluttering Checklists For Your Home

Right now you're decluttering your papers and files, and there's a lot of types and varieties of these around your home.

Get your 2 page paper and filing decluttering checklist, plus 32 other decluttering checklists, to help you declutter your entire home here.

I've done the hard work of breaking down these tasks into smaller more manageable steps for you, so you don't get overwhelmed or worry you're forgetting a task, and you can go at the pace you want, whether that's fast or slow.

In addition, you can tackle these decluttering tasks in whatever order you want when you use these checklists!

Top photo courtesy of EvelynGiggles

Related Pages You May Enjoy

Getting Clutter Free 15 Minutes At A Time Hall Of Fame

Free Printable February Declutter Calendar With Daily 15 Minute Missions

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