How to Turn a Calendar Into Posters

Have you still got calendars laying around from twenty years ago that you wouldn't throw away because you didn't want to trash those pictures? Well, there's really no point in keeping old calendars -- last year (or the year before that, or the year before

that

...) is never going to happen again. But instead of throwing them away, you can consider turning your calendars into posters for your room. That way, you can recycle those pictures, and you won't feel guilty about throwing away what's left.

Open the calendar to the page with the staples.

Using your fingers, or perhaps scissors (to pry under the staple), pull the staples out. Do your best to pull them out cleanly instead of just ripping two long holes. When this is done, you should be left with a bunch of papers, and each side of each paper should have a picture and a calendar (the back of the calendar half should have another picture, and the back of the picture half should have another calendar).

Carefully cut along the folded line, separating the calendar half of the page and the picture half. Do your best to make the line straight. Or, you can use a paper cutter, if you have access to one.

Throw away (or recycle) what's left of the calendar. That would be the front cover (unless the picture on the front cover isn't located in the calendar itself anywhere, in which case you may want to keep it), the backing, and any pages that don't have a picture on either side.

Take the pictures, and hang them up. Put the picture in a frame, if you'd like to dress it up a bit. It will make it look more formal and less dorm-room.

Enjoy your new, improved living space, and look forward to next year, when you will have another calendar to salvage.

Tips

• This is a great way to get fairly good-quality "posters" for little money.
• Try asking friends to donate old calendars to you. They'll probably be happy to be rid of them.
• Since all the calendar pages will be about the same size, consider using them as a border for your walls.

Warnings

• For best results, don't use...
  
  
  • Calendars that display the month of the year on the picture.
  • Calendars with pictures such as trees, nature trails, etc, that don't really have a "subject matter" -- unless you are really into this kind of stuff, the posters will not look very good.
  • Calendars with dark, "old fashioned" pictures. These are not very nice to look at.
  • Calendars that display the (optional) caption for the photo, photographer's name, and picture copyright on the picture.

Things You'll Need

• Old calendar(s)
• Scissors
• (Opt.) Cutting board
• Extra wall space