Coupon Clipping

I know what you're thinking... because I used to think the same thing. Why clip coupons? They only have coupons for icky processed stuff or expensive brands, right? Nope. A friend practically dragged me to a couponing seminar so I could learn how to shop sales and use coupons to get super great deals on everything from clothes to organic food. Imagine my surprise to find that Mambo Sprouts had coupons for my favorite Organic Valley coffee creamer! I was amazed to find coupons in the newspaper for my kids' favorite Tom's of Maine Strawberry-flavored toothpaste and the Newman's Own salad dressing we like. I took the class taught by Amber of CouponConnections. Yes, she's the local woman who was on the show Extreme Couponing - a fun show, if you can take it with a grain of salt.
There have been a lot of changes for our family over the past year. I am very thankful that Phil wasn't one of the many who lost jobs when his company downsized... However, we did move to accommodate Alice's special needs and were unable to sell our old house. I started thinking about the money I could save with couponing (and gleaning) so we could still buy what we like to use every day. With the economy being so bad, couponing is becoming quite popular and since attending one of these classes I've seen many of them being taught by others in my community. Here is my biggest issue with coupon clipping though:
The incredible waste of paper. There are many people who order multiple newspapers so they can have multiple coupon inserts. There are printable coupons all over the web that can be printed twice by each computer, and many couponers will use multiple computers to print and clip every one just in case a sale on that item happens. If it doesn't go on sale, or the coupon expires before it does - the coupon goes in the recycle bin... hopefully. I'm not naive. I know there are some places in the US that think recycling is too new-age for them and don't even bother with this. That means many hundreds of thousands of coupons winding up in a landfill (or recycle facilities, or compost containers, or burn bins) every month as coupons expire. Nevermind all the newspapers that no one reads because they only bought it for the coupons... The thought of this makes me both furious and ashamed. Why can't they just give us the lower prices electronically? In this digital age, why can't we just be part of a club that has some kind of special card that is loaded with all the coupons available at that time and just swipe it at the checkstand? Oh wait - that's what the store club cards are supposed to do... but now they have coupons as well as the club cards! So if you swipe your club card, and give them a store coupon, and you have a manufacturer's coupon on top of that... Well, you might just walk out of the store with a free item. And that is a huge motivator for people who struggle with the bills.
So, how do I counter this? How do I live with the guilt of wasted paper? I try to only print coupons I'm very sure I will use. I try to print three to a page so I don't waste a whole sheet of paper. And I only order one newspaper per week. I asked people at my church if they'd be willing to participate in a coupon exchange. I knew there had to be people who read the paper, but didn't use the coupons. I was right. I've also read on FrugalLivingNW that you can even send your expired coupons to military bases where they can still use them... I usually just recycle mine because that would require an envelope and stamp.
Anyway, there's my rant. I can't really say I feel any better. I'm conflicted about it. Couponing has without a doubt saved me money while shopping. I love showing off my "trophy" receipts to Phil where I saved 87% or something crazy like that. I love shopping the clearance section for random and exciting finds like 8 bottles of organic apple cider vinegar for $3 each! I like that I now have what couponers call a "stockpile" of items I know I will use or can cook from... toilet paper, healthy snacks for after school, pasta,  beans, rice, and toothpaste (NOT a 10yr supply, mind you - we don't have the space!) I admit when I first started couponing things got a little crazy... We had boxes of cereal in our bedroom closet, and canned goods on our bookshelves... We have now reached some kind of equilibrium. Phil built me some shelves so I could have a real pantry.

And, I still understand that the best way to save money and reduce waste is to not buy it at all.