No matter how beautifully they are illustrated or how much money you spend on them, a calendar is only good for one year. Once that year is up, you may feel as though you have no other option than to toss or recycle the calendar. But before you do, take a look below at 10 uses for old calendars. Those old calendars can in fact have a second life and prove to be quite practical. Here is how you can get started.
10 Creative Uses for Old Calendars
1. Use them for decoupage.
Cut out the pictures and illustrations for use in decoupage projects. Consider applying the pictures to plates, plaques, and even coasters.
2. Make your own bookmarks.
Cut out the weeks into strips or cut the pictures into strips. Punch a hole into the end and add a ribbon or string. You can then use your bookmarks anytime you need your place held.
3. Frame them
Use old calendars to make instant art. Take the nicer pictures and illustrations and frame them in a pretty frame. No one will know that it came out of a calendar!
4. Create a keepsake
Did something special happen during that calendar year? If so, save that month from the calendar and add it to your scrapbooks or memory boxes.
5. Make your own puzzles
Take one of the pictures or illustrations and cut it into thick strips. Give the strips to a child and let the reassemble the picture like a puzzle. For older kids, you can make the puzzle more challenging by cutting the strips thinner.
6. Create colorful placemats
Take pages from the calendar and laminate them. You now have placemats perfect for kids to craft or snack on.
7. Use them as teaching tools
Even when expired, old calendars can be used to teach children the days of the week and the months of the year.
8. Make a vase wrapper
Take one of the pictures or illustrations and wrap it around a cylinder vase. Secure with tape or glue. It is a quick way to cover an old vase for centerpieces, parties, and more.
9. Make fire starters
Use the paper from the calendars as fire starters. Roll the pages into tubes, stuff with dryer lint, then tape the ends shut. To use just light and toss into your fire.
10. Use as gift shredding
Run the colorful pages of the calendar through a paper shredder. Use the shredding in sensory tables or as gift bag shredding.
See how practical old calendars can be? Give these tips for reusing old calendars a try and see how much you can enjoy them, long after the year is over.
More Creative Uses for Household Items
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10 Creative Uses for Old Socks
10 Frugal Uses for Paper Clips
7 Creative Uses for Old Board Games
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Abbey Metcalf says
You can also make envelopes to make snail mail prettier 🙂
Liz@HoosierHomemade says
I used to save calendars all the time and couldn’t figure out what to do with them, now I know.
Thanks for sharing!
~Liz
Pauline Wiles says
My husband uses glossy calendar pages to wrap small gifts for me; scenic pictures can be surprisingly effective when used for stocking fillers.
But I confess, for the last 2 years I have splurged on a terribly expensive PaperSource calendar (I look at it all day every day, so cost per glance isn’t too bad) and that has templates for craft projects on the back. Because it’s designed to be re-used, the results are really pretty and very easy.