Do you have trouble keeping your utility bills organized?

Well, I'll show you how you can make a utility bill holder from old calenders in a few steps.

You can also find a similar article on my website

Here's what you need:

   - a large calender (preferably one with a four month layout per sheet)
    -a pair of scissors
    -ponal office glue
    -a pencil and ruler

Step 1: Gather All Your Materials and Select Your Preferences

For this project, an old 2010 calender with a dimension of 36" x 24" was ideal because the width of the months were wide enough to glue a pocket over to hold the bills.

In this case, the width was about 7 inches.

Step 2: Marking Out the Outlines for the Pockets

To make the outline for the pockets, you must first determine the style and shape you want your pockets to be.

For simplicity sake, you can make a simple louver pocket, that is, one that slopes outwards from bottom to top.

The height of the pocket is about 5" on my model and the width is 7". The pocket will cover the entire month leaving the name of that month below it. This may not be the case for your design.

Draw two lines representing the sides and one representing the bottom. The dimensions on the paper for the side allowance is 2" and 1" for the bottom.

That makes the total dimension (5"+1") 6" x (7"+2"+2") 11"

You then draw a line parallel and 1/2" in between the bottom lines. Where the 1/2" line intersects the side 2" line, draw a diagonal line from the point and to the top edge of the outline.

A bend line for the bottom of the pocket is made of equal length to the gap formed in between the side diagonal and the vertical line.

You should also create a tab that will be folded flat against the calender's surface to hold the pocket on. On my design, I offset a distance of about 1/2" from the side edges.

Step 3: Cut and Shape

After the dimensions are outlined, the patterns can be cut out of the paper and folded along the bend lines for preparations of the next stage.

I've used some old calenders to make the remaining 11 pockets from. The paper is strong enough and I had a few of them lying around.

Using solely recycled old calenders to do this project makes it a 100% calender utility bill holder/organizer.

Step 4: Gluing the Edges

The ponal glue is applied to the overlapped tabs. Ponal office glue bonds paper together well and gives the corners additional strength.

But I guess you can use any appropriate glue you have.

Glue is then applied to the surface area of the remaining tabs and is placed at the selected location on the calender.

Step 5: Placing the Pockets

Place the pockets on your selected location on the calender. In my case, it covers the entire month leaving the name of the month below it which is quite convenient.

Apply pressure to the tabs especially at the corners until it dries for maximum surface contact.

Wipe away any excess glue.

Step 6: Personalization / Customization (optional)

You can add your own personal touches to the pockets such as coloring, stickers, etc.

I choose to leave mine plain to keep the project as simple as possible and because it wasn't really necessary.

Another customization option was to separate the three 4 month sections into individual parts, but for me that would take up additional wall space and the current configuration for fine for me.

Step 7: Your Done!

Here are two photos of the final result of the project.

Now I can keep all the bills in one place and organized by month, paid or unpaid.

I hope this article has been useful to you.

Here are a couple of links to my other instructables:

Pencil Holder

Cologne Flower Vase

Fine Mist Spray Bottle

Reviving an Electric Shear

EFPU

Case Safe