Shredding documents containing sensitive or confidential information is crucial to the privacy of your business and clients.
Documents such as identity cards, credit card statements, tax-related documents and any private or personal information should be safely disposed of without causing the business, clients, or yourself any financial loss or emotional harm due to negligence, data breaches, or identity theft.
Knowing what documents to shred and the different ways of safely shredding those documents is essential when running a successful and secure business. Before we get into the various forms of shredding your documents, here are a few examples of documents that must be securely shredded and disposed of.
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Documents that should always be shredded
Legal Documents
Credit history reports
Investment, property, and stock transactions
Documents containing names, physical and work addresses, phone numbers, or email addresses
Payroll information
Expired visas and passports
Identification cards
Expired credit cards
Bank statements
While one must safely destroy these documents, some records are better left in a locked safe or safety deposit box. Here are a few examples of documents that should not be shredded but kept secure.
Documents that must not be shredded
Vehicle registration papers
Home Deeds
Death Certificates
Birth Certificates
Marriage & divorce papers
Citizenship paperwork and work permits
Adoption papers
Now that you’re clued up on all things “to shred or not to shred”, The Document Warehouse has put together a list of five easy ways to shred your documents.
Five easy document shredding methods
Pierce and Tear Shredding involve a machine that uses multiple rotating razor blades to pierce and tear the paper apart. Pierce and tear shredding machines are perfect for quickly and efficiently disposing of large amounts of documents at one time. These shredders are also ideal for bulky materials such as thick binders and cardboard boxes, and they are also the most secure method of document shredding.
Shredding scissors are also an easy manual way of shredding your documents. These multi-bladed scissors will have your documents shredded in no time as opposed to conventional scissors. It would be good to note that this easy method of document shredding is best left for home use and will not be suitable for disposing of large volumes of documents.
The most common way to shred your documents is with the strip-cut shredding machine. These shredders are most commonly found in office environments and are an easy and convenient way to shred your documents.
The cross-cut shredder is a quick and easy way to shred your documents and utilises horizontal blades that paper into hundreds of tiny pieces and is considered a safe and secure document destruction method.
An easy and unorthodox method to shred documents at home is to use the paint mixing drill method. Soak your documents in a bucket of water for at least 15 minutes, use a paint mixing drill to shred your documents, drain the water and allow the shredded paper to dry before discarding it.
If you’re looking for local shredding services at affordable prices, check out The Document Warehouse for their document shredding offerings!
