How to Shred a Document at Home
Identity theft, fraudulent charges and false authorization are common things that almost everyone has a story about. Whether it’s noticing a $500 charge on your credit card, or learning for the first time that you authorized a specific activity, your personal information can be used by the wrong people all too easily. Security experts recommend you shred all mail and financial statements as a precautionary measure for protecting yourself from theft and damage to your identity.
Tips to Shred Your Document at Home
Once your information leaves your possession, you have lost full control over what happens to it. Shredding your personal documents at home is the greatest method in ensuring your information is securely handled before being transferred through multiple stages of garbage disposal. At home shredding solutions are easy, but it is recommended that you don’t take shortcuts in destroying your private statements.
Purchasing a paper shredder at the local office supply store is the most popular option in safely disposing of your personal information. Household shredders are often the size of a small trash can, and take up minimal room in your kitchen, home office, or loft. These affordable household options come in cross-cut shredders, and strip cut shredders. Experts suggest using cross-cut shredding over strip-cut because it is more secure in destroying all traces of the initial document.
If purchasing a paper shredder is not an option for you, an age old solution for destroying personal information is burning it. For safety reasons, we recommend you only burn documents in a controlled and safe burning environment like a wood-burning fireplace, your grill, or a contained fire pit. This option can be messy, and often takes longer than feeding paper into a shredder, but if it is convenient for your lifestyle, burning your documents before disposing of them is an at-home option for shredding personal information.
Community shredding events are great for disposing of any amount of personal documents. Local financial institutions and community organizations often hold weekend events with a certified shredding company. Some people save private documents for months at a time in boxes in their home. Dropping those boxes at a community shredding event can save you time and money.
No matter which approach you take, it’s imperative that you ensure the most secure handling, storing and disposal of your personal information.