What to Do With Your Old 2013 Calendars?

Be honest: are your old 2013 calendars still tucked in a drawer because the pictures were “too pretty to toss”? You’re not alone. Many home and craft bloggers admit they keep outdated calendars for their sturdy paper, gorgeous art, and serious upcycling potential. From DIY coasters to gallery walls and gift wrap, U.S. craft and home sites are full of creative ways to turn those forgotten pages into something you’ll actually use and love.

In true Hometalk spirit, this guide walks you through practical, fun, and easy projects for your old 2013 calendars. We’ll cover simple ideas you can knock out in an evening, plus more involved crafts that earn a permanent place in your decor. You’ll also see how to recycle or compost what’s left when you’re done. Grab those calendars, a pair of scissors, and maybe a jar of Mod Podgelet’s give 2013 a glow-up.

Why Old Calendars Are Secret Design Gold

Before we get crafty, it helps to think of your old calendars like free designer paper pads. Most wall calendars are printed on thick stock that’s durable enough for bookmarks, drawer liners, envelopes, and decoupage projects. U.S. publishers and bloggers routinely suggest framing older calendar pages as affordable artwork, using them for notebook covers, or turning them into scrapbook backgrounds because the print quality is usually high.

There’s also the eco-friendly angle. Reusing paper products cuts down on waste and gives you extra mileage out of something you already paid for. Several sustainability-focused blogs encourage people to flip calendars over and use the blank backs for notes before finally recycling or composting the paper when it truly reaches the end of the line.

Fast, Low-Effort Ways to Reuse Old 2013 Calendars

1. Frame the Art for Instant Wall Decor

If your 2013 calendar has scenic photos, botanicals, or illustrations, framing them is the quickest win. Home decor sites often recommend slipping calendar pages into ready-made frames to build budget gallery wallsespecially for kids’ rooms, home offices, and hallways where you want color without overspending.

Trim the page to fit an 8×10 or 11×14 frame, pop it behind the glass, and you’ve got art. Mix different months on one wall for a collected look, or group by color (all blues, all florals) to create a curated vibe.

2. Use Pages as Drawer and Shelf Liners

Several stationery brands suggest lining drawers and cabinet shelves with retired calendar pages. The idea is simple: the thick paper helps protect surfaces from scratches and crumbs while adding a surprise pop of pattern.

Measure the inside of a drawer, cut your calendar pages to fit, and tape or lightly tack them in place. This works especially well in bathroom vanities, craft storage, and kitchen utility drawers.

3. Turn the Backs Into Everyday Notepads

Minimalist and zero-waste blogs love this tip: flip each page over and treat the blank side as scratch paper. One eco-minded retailer even recommends turning old calendars into household notepads for grocery lists, to-dos, and kids’ doodles before recycling them.

Stack several pages, cut them into smaller sheets, clamp with binder clips, and you’ve got a homemade notepad that didn’t cost a cent.

Build a Gift-Wrapping Station From Old Calendars

Old calendars practically beg to join your gift-wrapping bin. A lot of U.S. DIY and frugal-living sites recommend them for wrapping paper, gift bags, and tags because the art often looks “boutique” once it’s off the coil.

4. Gift Wrap With Oversized Calendar Pages

Use larger images (think landscapes or big floral prints) to wrap slim gifts like books, small boxes, or candles. Some bloggers pair calendar-wrap with simple twine or plain ribbon so the artwork takes center stageperfect for holidays or birthdays.

Pro tip: if the paper is slightly small for your gift, combine two pages with washi tape down the seam. The decorative tape looks intentional and adds extra flair.

5. Fold Custom Gift Bags and Envelopes

Paper-craft tutorials show how to fold calendar pages into small gift bags for jewelry, soaps, or treats. Remodelaholic and similar sites highlight projects that use two pages per bag and add ribbon handles for a boutique-style finish.

For envelopes, you can trace an opened envelope onto a calendar sheet, cut along the lines, and glue the flaps togetherexactly the method described in envelope-recycling tutorials on maker-focused platforms.

6. Make Gift Tags, Bows, and Coasters

Craft and paper-goods blogs love turning leftover scraps into gift tags. Cut small rectangles or circles from the prettiest areas, punch a hole, and add string. Some step-by-step guides also show how to cut narrow strips and loop them into layered paper bows to top your presents.

Need hostess gifts? Several U.S. DIY sites recommend decoupaging calendar art onto ceramic tiles with Mod Podge to make coaster setsan especially popular project for scenic or vintage-style calendars.

Craft Projects That Give Calendar Pages a Second Life

7. Bookmarks for Every Reader in the House

Bookmarks might be the most beloved calendar project online. Home decor and upcycling blogs show how to turn calendar images into slim strips, backed with cardstock or laminated for durability.

Cut your favorite artwork into bookmark-sized rectangles, round the corners if you like, punch a hole at the top, and add ribbon or twine. Some crafters add inspirational quotes or reading goals on the back, creating thoughtful gifts for book-loving friends.

8. Scrapbook, Journal, and Vision-Board Backgrounds

Mixed-media and collage artists often mine old calendars for color, typography, and imagery. One U.S. artist-blogger suggests using calendar art as collage pieces or as background layers for journaling pages, while others recommend them as ready-made scrapbook backdrops.

You can cut shapes (hearts, circles, banners) or tear the pages by hand for a textured look. Glue them into journals, memory books, or sketchbooks, then layer photos, ephemera, and writing over the top.

9. Origami Boxes, Bowls, and Tiny Trays

Upcycling communities regularly mention using old calendar pages for origami. On one popular upcycling forum, people fold calendar squares into little gift boxes for holiday treats.

Choose sturdy pages, trim them into squares, and follow a basic origami box tutorial. These small containers are perfect as desk organizers for paper clips, jewelry dishes on a nightstand, or party favor boxes.

10. Kids’ Collages, Coloring Pages, and Puzzles

Family-focused craft blogs and library programs encourage using old calendars as kids’ art suppliesespecially for rainy-day projects or school-age craft hours.

• Collages: Let kids cut or tear calendar images and glue them onto construction paper to create scenes, mood boards, or story prompts.
• Coloring pages: Many black-and-white or line-art calendars can be repurposed as coloring sheets.
• Puzzles: Glue a calendar image to thin cardboard, draw puzzle-piece shapes on the back, and cut them out to make a custom jigsaw puzzlean idea that appears in upcycling and maker tutorials.

Use Old 2013 Calendars to Get (Even More) Organized

11. Turn Old Calendars Into a New Planner

A clever idea from a sustainable-planning blog involves using old wall calendars as a base to refresh an outdated planner. The author suggests cutting calendar images and monthly grids to fit over pages in a spiral planner whose dates line up with a current year, effectively “re-skinning” the planner for another year of use.

You can adapt this idea with your 2013 calendars by cutting out boxes, headers, and art to embellish a bullet journal, binder planner, or even a homemade family command center.

12. Create a Household Command Board or Vision Board

Several craft blogs talk about using old calendars as memory boards or dream boards. Because they’re designed to hang, wall calendars make an easy base for inspiration collages.

Use your 2013 pages on a corkboard or foam board: pin important dates, habit trackers, quotes, and photos over the old grid. The artwork becomes your background, and the board doubles as decor and life-organizing tool.

13. Labeling and Household Organization

Don’t overlook small strips of leftover paper. Cut narrow bands from calendar borders to make labels for storage bins, magazine files, pantry jars, or moving boxes. Colorful strips taped or glued onto plain containers make everything look thought-out instead of thrown together.

When It’s Finally Time to Recycle (or Compost) Old Calendars

Once you’ve harvested the best images and paper, what’s left of your 2013 calendars can still be handled thoughtfully. Zero-waste and eco-conscious sites recommend a three-step approach: reuse, recycle, then compost where possible.

1. Separate materials: Remove any metal coils or hooks and take them to scrap-metal collection points if your curbside program doesn’t accept them.
2. Recycle paper: Most calendar pages are just glossy or matte paper and can go straight into mixed paper recycling, as long as there’s no plastic coating.
3. Compost when appropriate: If the paper is uncoated and printed with non-toxic inks (check product details if you still have them), some eco blogs note that you can shred and compost it as “brown” material to balance your kitchen scraps.

Hometalk-Style Project Ideas Just for 2013 Calendars

Hometalk is all about real people sharing real projects, so think of your 2013 calendar stash as the start of your next community-worthy DIY post. One Hometalk-featured project shows a floating acrylic calendar inspired by a high-end West Elm designsleek, modern, and totally customizable.

To bring that spirit into your old-calendar projects, try these ideas:

• Seasonal gallery sets: Use all 12 images from a 2013 calendar to create a massive seasonal gallery wall across a hallway or staircase. Frame each month and subtly rotate them to match the current month for a “time-travel” effect.
• Calendar-collage tabletop: Decoupage images from your 2013 calendar onto a thrifted side table or tray. Seal with multiple coats of clear sealer for a durable surface that tells a visual story of that year.
• Calendar art in floating frames: Use clear acrylic frames or floating frames so the calendar edges stay visibleyour guests will love realizing the “art print” was once a hanging date-keeper.

Each of these projects has serious Hometalk energy: approachable, budget-friendly, and totally shareable. Snap photos, document your steps, and you’ll be ready to inspire other calendar hoarders to follow your lead.

Real-Life-Style Experiences: How People Actually Use Their Old Calendars

To make this feel even more practical, imagine a few real-world scenarios pulled from how crafters and communities talk about old calendars online.

The “Holiday Box” Crafter

Every January, one avid upcycler goes through her holiday decor bin and sorts out old calendars with winter scenes. Inspired by upcycling forums and tutorials, she trims them into squares and folds them into little gift boxes for the next holiday season.

By December, she has a stash of handmade boxes ready for jewelry, cookies, or teacher gifts. The best part? Friends assume she bought fancy boutique packaging, when in reality she just reused something that would have been tossed years earlier.

The Library Craft Program

Public libraries across the U.S. host “upcycled calendar crafts” days where teens and kids can make mosaic art, gift bags, magnets, and more from donated calendars and maps. One Massachusetts library advertised an event specifically built around old calendars, complete with materials and instructions for multiple projects.

If you have several 2013 calendars, consider donating some to a local school, youth group, or library makerspace. They’re always looking for sturdy, colorful paper for low-cost group projects.

The Memory Keeper

Another common story: someone finds an old calendar filled with handwritten notesbirthdays, appointments, “first day at new job,” “baby’s first steps.” Instead of recycling it outright, they cut out the monthly grids and glue them into a scrapbook, sliding photos from those same months next to the dates.

Scrapbooking and art-journal bloggers often recommend using calendar pages this way, turning them into chronological memory spreads that make it easy to see what happened when. The 2013 calendar becomes both a visual timeline and a built-in journaling prompt.

The Zero-Waste Household

In eco-conscious households, old calendars almost never go straight to the trash. First, they become notepads and kid doodle sheets. Then they’re cut into strips for labels, bookmarks, and seed packet envelopes for the garden. Only after the paper is written on front and back does it head to the recycling bin or compost heap, following the reuse-recycle-compost ladder many sustainability sites recommend.

This mindset shift is simple but powerful: every object gets asked, “What else can you do for me?” before it’s discarded. Your 2013 calendars can be the perfect training ground for that habit.

Bringing It All Together

Whether you’re a dedicated DIYer or just calendar-curious, the big takeaway is that your old 2013 calendars are far from useless. They can become art, organization tools, kids’ activities, gift wrap, and even eco-friendly soil food. With a bit of creativityand maybe a hot glue gunyou can transform what used to mark your days into projects that brighten your home for years to come.

A Neat Wrap-Up (Unlike That Junk Drawer)

Your 2013 calendars don’t have to haunt your storage bins forever. Treat them as a free stash of premium paper and artwork. Frame your favorite pages, fold gift bags, craft bookmarks, organize your life with DIY planners and vision boards, and then responsibly recycle or compost what’s left.

If you share your creations with the Hometalk community, you might even inspire someone else to rescue their own stack of “too pretty to toss” calendars. Who knew that an old date grid could spark so many fresh ideas?