Shredding Year-End Documents

[allanc]

Does size matter... in terms of shredding documents?

I am in the process of shredding about a banker's box full of year-end documents from 2008.
This includes credit card statements and other documents with account numbers.
I just measured one of my 'shreds' and it is about 1.5" x 3/16".
Perhaps I am being paranoid, but I am worried that the shreds are not small enough.
Should I spend about $400-$500 (shredders are on sale now) and purchase a different unit with a smaller shred?

 

[Mercenary Roadie]

That's about the size my cross cut shredder makes and I find it's a good size.

 

[Larry Sabo]

Should I spend about $400-$500 (shredders are on sale now) and purchase a different unit with a smaller shred?

Not unless you wanted one anyway and are just looking for an excuse. By time you throw those sheds into a large plastic bag and they get all jumbled up, odds of someone deciphering a credit card number and name are infinitesimal, IMHO.

 

[allanc]

Not unless you wanted one anyway and are just looking for an excuse. By time you throw those sheds into a large plastic bag and they get all jumbled up, odds of someone deciphering a credit card number and name are infinitesimal, IMHO.

Yes, I would like to have a shredder with a smaller shred but no, I do not want to spend the money unless I really felt compelled.

 

[Markverhyden]

Yes, I would like to have a shredder with a smaller shred but no, I do not want to spend the money unless I really felt compelled.

Larry is correct. If you shred everything plus a bunch of fluff and stir it up no one will bother. That is unless you have offended some 3 letter organization.

 

[allanc]

Larry is correct. If you shred everything plus a bunch of fluff and stir it up no one will bother. That is unless you have offended some 3 letter organization.

Fluff as in the stuff that gets caught up in a lint filter?

 

[Markverhyden]

Fluff as in the stuff that gets caught up in a lint filter?

Sorry, should have been more specific. Fluff is just random pages from anything mixed in. Like junk mail, printed stuff not needed, etc. I have a cross cut shredder from Staples which produces similar sized pieces but a bit smaller, 1" x .125". I think I paid something like $130 for it. After each session I'll pop the top and stir things around for a few seconds.

No one wants to feed single sheets. The problem feeding multiple pages is the bits tend to stick together. So the same piece on each page may all be together. Personally I shred everything that may have an impact, including all the offers I get in the mail. But for critical stuff I'll mix pages, including the "fluff", random pages.

 

[allanc]

Sorry, should have been more specific. Fluff is just random pages from anything mixed in. Like junk mail, printed stuff not needed, etc. I have a cross cut shredder from Staples which produces similar sized pieces but a bit smaller, 1" x .125". I think I paid something like $130 for it. After each session I'll pop the top and stir things around for a few seconds.

No one wants to feed single sheets. The problem feeding multiple pages is the bits tend to stick together. So the same piece on each page may all be together. Personally I shred everything that may have an impact, including all the offers I get in the mail. But for critical stuff I'll mix pages, including the "fluff", random pages.

I shred only the address part of the offers as well as anything that is bar coded.
The rest goes in regular recycling.

It's the annual shredding of the year-end Banker's box that throws me off.
Tonight, I shredded perhaps 5% @ 10-15 pages per feed.
My shredder handles your normal business staples.
However I have thicker/longer staples that I use for deeper stacks such as credit card receipts.
Those staples I have to remove with a heavy dutyt staple remover before I shred.

One of my clients just bought a shredder (on sale) for about $1,000 CDN.
They were quoted a minimum charge of about $1,200 + for one of those mobile 'secure shredding' companies to go onsite.
I think that I incorporate both @Larry Sabo and your ideas in my daily and yearly routine.

 

[Porthos]

Back-yard Bonfire

 

[allanc]

Back-yard Bonfire

Not in Toronto.

 

[Porthos]

Not in Toronto.

It is cold up there, Got a fireplace??

https://www.amazon.com/Northern-Tool-and-Equipment-Paper/dp/B005VSB3J8

 

[Markverhyden]

My shredder handles your normal business staples.
However I have thicker/longer staples that I use for deeper stacks such as credit card receipts.
Those staples I have to remove with a heavy dutyt staple remover before I shred.

How thick are those CC bundles? Rip the corner off when you handle it? Maybe pinch clips instead of staples? You can remove them when you handle for shredding and reuse.

 

[allanc]

No one wants to feed single sheets.

I remember when we used a dot matrix printer in house.
The accounting s/w that we used printed out a g/l report that was at least 100 pages long.
I did not tear the pages on the perf.
I suppose you know where this is going?
I remember having a big smile on my face as I fed the first page into the shredder and watched as page after page were automatically gobbled up.
Now, that is what you call a sheet feeder!

 

[allanc]

How thick are those CC bundles? Rip the corner off when you handle it? Maybe pinch clips instead of staples? You can remove them when you handle for shredding and reuse.

Yes, I am going to buy a few boxes of those pinch clips.

 

[allanc]

It is cold up there, Got a fireplace??

https://www.amazon.com/Northern-Tool-and-Equipment-Paper/dp/B005VSB3J8

Our current house does not have a fireplace.
However, I remember using something similar to your gadget in one of my homes.
Very useful!

 

[Porthos]

Our current house does not have a fireplace.

BBQ pit? lol
Next he will say gas grill....

 

[allanc]

BBQ pit? lol
Next he will say gas grill....

I am a long-time fan of charcoal grilling - runs in the family.
However, I have given into the dark side and now have a charcoal grill and gas grill.
Unfortunately, the gas grill is the primary BBQ.

 

[Porthos]

charcoal grill

Let me fix that for you.....

Old documents Grill....

 

[Rocco]

I remember in the military, classified documents at the end of a deployment would be shredded, then either burned, or soaked in buckets of water. Burning was more fun, of course, but it wasn't always a option. The water trick works.

 

[katz]

Fluff as in the stuff that gets caught up in a lint filter?

Fluff is that stuff they put on peanut butter sandwiches up where Mark lives...oh wait, that's Marshmallow Fluff...never mind.