Paper - files, shredding

applecruncher

applecruncher

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Location
Ohio USA
For several years I’ve been trying to cut down on the amount of paper I keep. I don’t get a newspaper, Only 1 magazine. I only get a couple of paper bills (irregularly), I pay most bills online, I try to shred things as they come in the mail if I don’t need/want them. Irritates me how CVS gives receipts that are a yard long.

I do have a filing drawer and yesterday noticed a few files are getting a bit thick (medical and insurance files) so I need to set aside some sorting/shredding time. I always put the shreds in the recycling bin.

Do you shred regularly? I used to do it on New Year’s Day but that’s not often enough.
 

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Yes we shred almost everything that comes through our door with our name on it...if I leave it and it builds up then it's an onerous task , so if that happens then I get a big bucket of hot water and washing soap, and put all the paper in the water until it's soft enough to mulch into a big pulp (which incidentally is always a good idea for thick paper that won't go through the shredder) ..but otherwise yes I try and shred as much as possible
 
We shred every thing that has our name and or details on them with a cross shredder, then we give it to our neighbour for bedding for his dogs.

Roy
 

I wish I could shred!!!!!!! My wife is a paper hoarder. She saves any piece of paper including junk mail that has anything printed on it. We have an entire room filled with paper. She has every memo and e mail she ever received through out a 34 year career, I found an owners manual and warranty for a vacuum we bought in 1979.

I put my foot down when it comes to the public rooms ,we have had more than one hoopdedoo over that, but have come to terms.

I sneak a bag full out with the trash each week, but I think I am only treading water. She fully is aware that this is a problem but refuses to address it. Every few years she will , under duress, throw away a fair bit,but that is replaced before long.

She tells me that she won't mind if I order a dumpster at the same time as her casket!
 
Oh dear Robusta..a whole room????? :sorry:...of course it's not normal to have such a hoarding issue as we all know ,..and it's clear that those who do hoard have some kind of emotional issues ...but one has to wonder why apart from any of the other ephemera why she'd want to keep hold of old Junk mail, leaflets and pamphlets? I'm so sorry you have such a problem with this, it can't be easy for you..
 
I keep as little paper as possible. Most things are accessible on the internet if you need them. I pay my bills online, so I don't get bills in the mail. I shred everything.

I think my aversion to paper comes of my many years of working for lawyers and dealing with their great piles of paper.
 
I've finally learned my lesson and stopped collecting bills and mail, and my huge backlog of shredding is finally done. I read everything digitally now, so there are no newspapers or magazines collecting dust and junk mail goes straight into the recycling bin. Anything worth keeping is carefully filed away.
 
hollydolly said:
Oh dear Robusta..a whole room????? :sorry:...of course it's not normal to have such a hoarding issue as we all know ,..and it's clear that those who do hoard have some kind of emotional issues ...but one has to wonder why apart from any of the other ephemera why she'd want to keep hold of old Junk mail, leaflets and pamphlets? I'm so sorry you have such a problem with this, it can't be easy for you..
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Well, she is not a drunk, she don't run around, she is scrupulously honest, she is my best friend, she is hot, she is not a Republican. I love her!
 
We shred a lot. We have eight cats, so we just put the papers down in the garage floor with some fresh catnip on them. Boom!

The job's done in about a day and a half. Sweep it up, put it in the trash can, done.

That's how these little monsters earn their food here.
 
I shred things with account numbers or ID numbers on them, but if it's just my name and address, I trash it. Once a year, usually during tax time, we'll clear out some files and shred some thing we no longer need.
 
We have the Old Paper Show and Sale here yearly, selling old calendars, magazines, posters, cards, envelopes, prints, tickets, everything under the sun you can think of made of paper -- collectors' paradise. Many artists and designers keep these sorts of things to use in their artistic creations.
 
Robusta said:
Well, she is not a drunk, she don't run around, she is scrupulously honest, she is my best friend, she is hot, she is not a Republican. I love her!
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No doubt about it..never questioned it for a moment..however by your first posts it sounded like you were having a hard time understanding the paper hoarding..but if you have no problem with it, then certainly no-one else will :)
 
SeaBreeze said:
I shred things with account numbers or ID numbers on them, but if it's just my name and address, I trash it. Once a year, usually during tax time, we'll clear out some files and shred some thing we no longer need.
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1 ditto.gif...I do not put out our garbage until trash day, our garbage truck is sealed and compacted and goes straight to the secure dump. No pickers are allowed in our dumps or scrap yards.
 
I shred papers on a regular basis and after awhile I have a clear bag full of clean shredded
paper that can be recycled here.
I don't like clutter and paper bills and receipts sure add up. About once a month everything
I don't need any longer is shredded.
 
Yes, shredding is necessary. I never put anything in the trash that even has my name and address on it. I made the mistake of donating to a couple of charities a while back, and since then I've been inundated with appeals from all sorts of charities, some of which I had never heard of. The charities apparently sell each other the names and addresses of suckers who are a soft touch. And another of their practices turns me off: they think that that must use your name as many times as possible, so you have to go thru the stuff and find the additional places where they have used your name, so you can cut out that part of it and put that into your "For shredding" folder.
 
I'm not a shredder, my trash goes into a secured communal dumpster at my apartment complex then directly into the garbage truck and on to a garbage burning steam plant.

My mother lived in the country and she was not a shredder either, she hid all of her sensitive information in the bags of used cat litter!
 
Not a shredder here either. Sort out stuff with info on it and put it in the trash, which has to be in tied plastic bags. Automated truck picks it up from the curb. Weighed the odds, versus the trouble. I'll take my chances. :)
 
My son bought a very large shredder and has it in his workshop. About once every two months I go to his shop which isn't far from home and just sit and shred. I think I do it more to have some extra time with him and see what projects he is working on.
 
I am a paper hoarder. When I moved into my home in 1990, I didn't have room for my 1972 telephone bills. I never thought of shredding stuff until I found someone's car rental agreement after a storm. If I wanted to be that guy, I had everything-mother maiden name, SSN, driver's license #, credit card #. I thought about what I was throwing out. I bought my mom a Xmas gift via the internet. They sent catalogs,I'd toss 'em. UNTIL I looked at the order form. It said they saved all my information, and whatever I ordered would be put on my credit card-and i was tossing this out! Now, anything with my name gets shredded.
 

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