Do you scan and shred, or just shred?

inkycatz wrote:Do you scan and shred, or just shred?

Edit: Originally posted the Russian cover >.>

inkycatz wrote:Do you scan and shred, or just shred?

Neither, I pop everything in a "to be destroyed bag" near the shredder and ignore it for years on end. That bag is getting kind of full/overflowing into a shoebox on top of it... time to employ one of the minions...

Okay, first things first- don't buy a strip shredder if you have any need for confidentiality whatsoever. It's ridiculously easy to reconstruct strip-shredded documents. If you're going to spend money on a good shredder, make it a cross-cut at minimum. For more information about shredder types and security levels, read this.

With that said, I'm sorely tempted by the cross-cut shredder offered here, given that it retails for $749 new and has excellent reviews on Office Depot's site. This might be overkill for a home shredder, but a home-based or small business could probably benefit from one of these.

I purchased a Fellowes shredder which did a great job of turning full sheets of paper into unreadable confetti. The problem was, however, that it couldn't for run more than 6 minutes without overheating and just seizing up. In just over a year the gears shredded themselves under relatively light use. That's a lot of cheddar for mediocre longevity and performance. My advice is to buy a much cheaper shredder which will render your papers to the same unreadable level. If it craps out, well, you can still buy 2 or 3 more for what you'll pay for a Fellowes.

I have a Fellows shredder that cost $29, cross cuts, and is less than a foot tall. It's incredible! The motor lasts longer than my attention span to shed stuff, although obviously it couldn't run continuously for days-on-end.

These are obviously not for the casual user. My $40 cross-cut shredder I bought many years ago still works fine. Of course, it's only occasional use for just a few sheets of paper.

But, really? Companies still sell strip-cut shredders? That's so 20th century! No one in her/his right mind would ever use a strip-cut shredder.

Yeah, skip anything that says "strip cut" as that's just a joke. Seems like only the first one is cross-cut. I have a cheap one from Staples and it's fine for home use (forget how much, probably just over $50). So really only consider the first one and only if you're looking at using it at the office, otherwise it's just overkill.

inkycatz wrote:Do you scan and shred, or just shred?

I scan nearly everything except junk mail. If it has any confidential information on it, it goes into a shreader. Then, when it gets full, the small pieces of paper are put into a 30 gallon garbage bag and is recycled.

For those mentioning that strip cut is old technology, you're right. However, there is a cross cut version for sale at $299 if interested.

Actually, as demonstrated in the movie 'Fargo', a garden chipper is a much more effective tool for shredding fellows...

dingleb wrote:I purchased a Fellowes shredder which did a great job of turning full sheets of paper into unreadable confetti. The problem was, however, that it couldn't for run more than 6 minutes without overheating and just seizing up. In just over a year the gears shredded themselves under relatively light use. That's a lot of cheddar for mediocre longevity and performance. My advice is to buy a much cheaper shredder which will render your papers to the same unreadable level. If it craps out, well, you can still buy 2 or 3 more for what you'll pay for a Fellowes.

What model of Fellowes shredder did you purchase? I'm betting it was a consumer model, which is not what these are. MOST shredders can only run for short periods of time; one of the reasons office shredders are so expensive is that they can run for long periods of time.

I've killed some shredders that cost around $150, and have had others that cost less and lasted far longer and performed better. In some ways it's a crapshoot, but you can't judge all shredders of a brand as equivalent. They aren't. My current rock-solid shredder is a Fellowes, and as I posted, the reviews on the cross-cut model offered here are excellent. Unless the shredder you bought was one that retails for about $750, you're making an apples-to-oranges comparison here.

Was researching shredder standards (I really just need to go to sleep at night) and came across these:

http://www.papermasher.com/

Anyone see these before? I kinda like the idea... Wonder if you could damage your washer with one.

I never understood shredding. Did you know there are warehouses that actually "store" shredded documents? It doesn't take a magician to put them back together - all it takes is patience.

I'll tell you how I dispose of my sensitive trash and it's quite simple: Crumple in a ball and soak in water. These documents will never be reconstructed after this and it's perfectly legal (compared to burning). If you're feeling dangerous - soak in water first then crumple.

Only fools shred documents.

Shredding adds a level of security. I have had a 12 page crosscut shredder ($149 at BJ's) for a few years and it has never given me trouble. I do maintain it... I clean out the paper from the cutters and oil the machine once every two months. Never runs hot, even my annual new years 4 hour marathon where I shred all my tax info from 5 years before.
Oh, yes, I split the confetti from the shredder across multiple bags before sending to the garbage, no need to make it easy for someone to steal my info or identity.

CaviMike wrote:I never understood shredding. Did you know there are warehouses that actually "store" shredded documents? It doesn't take a magician to put them back together - all it takes is patience.

I'll tell you how I dispose of my sensitive trash and it's quite simple: Crumple in a ball and soak in water. These documents will never be reconstructed after this and it's perfectly legal (compared to burning). If you're feeling dangerous - soak in water first then crumple.

Only fools shred documents.

That could be an option if I only had to destroy a few sheets of paper but the amount I shred each month makes soaking them impractical.

What do you do when them after you're done soaking them? I can imagine if they don't dry out quickly they can start to smell. Also, are you sure all the ink will run or will be removed to where you cannot see the information? I'm not so sure water will do that to everything I need to shred.