What Do You Shred And What Do You Keep?

Lee

Lee

Senior Member
Location
Chatham, Ontario
My hill of paperwork is slowly turning into a mountain so I am now undertaking the task of getting rid of a year of paperwork. It was easier last time as I could have an outside fire and burn the stuff, now prohibited from doing that so it must be the slow and steady shredder.

I do shred debit slips, anything with my name on it, medical stuff, and am debating how long to hang on to deeds from two homes ago. Advice is to keep tax returns for 7 years.
 

Since I started doing most of my business online I really don't have much paper to worry about with one exception and that is checks that I deposit into my bank account using my phone. I've been working to eliminate them as much as possible by having money automatically wired into my account instead of having to worry about paper checks.

I don't own a shredder but I do attempt to destroy financial records, pharmacy prescription labels/information, etc... by tearing them up and placing them in the trash with coffee grounds or other goopy garbage. In my apartment complex, I'm able to deposit my trash bags directly into the dumpster just before the garbage truck comes so I don't worry too much about anyone dumpster diving.

I keep at least 7 years of tax returns and legal documents. The reality is that I keep them until the box is full then I purge everything over 7 years.

I wouldn't worry about the old deeds unless I was holding a mortgage or had some other connection to the property involved. The originals along with the transfer information and new owner's deed should be recorded in the courthouse where the property is located.

Switching my finances from paper to online has given me more time to worry about being hacked.

I always manage to find something to worry about!;)
 
Last edited:
Anything sensitive and anything with my address on it, I sat
and shredded several years worth of pension stuff a couple
of weeks ago.

Mike.
 

We always ensure that anything with our name, address, or account numbers on it is destroyed, aside from that all goes to the landfill the same way as the rest of our garbage.

Every fall we get-together with family and have a bonfire, usually around Halloween, and it's then that any/all paperwork that escaped seeing it's way into a plastic garbage bag and sent off to the landfill, is gathered up and brought with us to the bonfire party and burned.

I've noticed that a couple of bank in town have shred bins inside the bank where people can deposit their private and confidential paperwork in the slot, and the bank takes care of the shredding, etc.

Me personally, I prefer to destroy my own personal and private paperwork.
 
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