How would you like to lose 783 pounds in one day? My client just did. Do you have multiple boxes of many years' worth of papers in your garage or basement that really should be shredded and discarded, but you have no idea how to approach the project? You probably don't want to sit there with a household-grade shredder for hours going BZZZT, BZZZT, BZZZT. No, you don't.
Here's the answer: Hire a mobile shredding truck to come to your house and get it all done in about 30 minutes or less. Here's my little tour of the process, and I'll give you some tips at the end on how to make sure you choose the right company. All of these photos can be clicked to view in a larger size.
First, let me just say that when I witness the destruction of these papers I do it with the relish of a little boy seeing a big red fire truck. I think this is terribly interesting and cool! The truck arrives and the shredder technicians start loading the paper into these bins. We had about 20 file boxes of paper, which weighed in at 783 pounds when we were all done. Each full bin is about 300 pounds, and we had 2.5 of them.
As they are filled, they roll the bins to the truck and send them up the chute to be dumped into the shredder. It all happens inside the truck, and there are cameras inside so you can watch what is happening.
The truck's console has a monitor where you witness the destruction. Here are pictures of the console and views of the blades and the papers getting chewed up. If you are old enough to remember Dudley Do-Right, the evil villain Snidely Whiplash used to use dastardly blades like these-- I always think of that when I see them spinning menacingly in there. :)
You can even see a view of the back of the truck from another camera and see your actual pile-o'-shreds back there.
When investigating options for shredding companies, here are some questions to consider:
- Does the company seem legitimate with sound business practices?
- Ask for specifics on what they will be able to take (3-ring binders, hanging folders, binder clips, CDs, floppies).
- Will they take it off-site, or shred on-site? (Mobile shredding trucks are most secure because you can witness the destruction)
- What are their payment terms (invoicing, check or credit card)?
- How do they charge– by weight? By box? For mobile shredding trucks, cost is usually a minimum per trip charge plus an amount per pound. (This project was about $230.)
- Do they provide a Certificate of Destruction immediately?
- Are their employees carefully screened? Do they do background checks and drug tests?
When you've decided on a strategy, here are some tips for coordinating the project:
- Make general notes about what is being shredded as you gather the materials. Type up, print, and file afterward with the Certificate of Destruction.
- Centralize all of the items to be destroyed. Make sure it's very obvious what is supposed to be shredded and what is not.
- Witness that the documents are secured or destroyed, and make sure you get the Certificate of Destruction.
If this project is too big for your needs, look for other options for shredding smaller quantities--you may be able to take a few boxes yourself to the shredding company offices, and you may find that there is a community "shred day" where you can take your papers (usually for one free box).
Whatever you do, PLEASE SHRED. Identity theft is a huge problem and getting worse. Do you have any fun stories of losing that many Clutter-Pounds(SM) in one day? Share in the comments! Many thanks to my trusty vendor, Marshall Shredding, serving Austin & San Antonio. You guys are always terrific to work with!
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I wish I had known about this...my husband and I set out to get rid of several boxes of old payroll records from our garage. We had been holding onto them for years...at least 10 years! So, I was thrilled that he was finally ready to get the job done. We moved our outdoor fire pit to the front driveway and proceeded to burn the records - one ledger at a time. It took nearly 4 hours! Once we were finished we doused the fire with the garden hose and moved the fire pit to the side of the house. Two days later the night before garbage day we emptied the ashes into a box and set it on top of our garbage cans. Within a couple of hours a neighbor was frantically knocking on our door saying our garbage was on fire! We raced out...well, my husband raced out...I grabbed the camera :-) and sure enough, there were flames licking the trees above our driveway. Two destroyed garbage cans later the fire was out, and we learned a valuable lesson - burn your clutter and it might just burn you! In the future we'll call in the professionals, we hear they do a "cool" job!
Posted by: Debi | July 15, 2009 at 07:54 AM
Great post. We have gone to the shredding companies with our boxes. One time when I called for their company hours they told me of a location that was doing it free for the day. We have a shredder in the home office but it is an arduous task to keep up.
Genny
www.connectionsforwomen.com
Posted by: Genny Esterline | July 16, 2009 at 12:07 PM
Debi, wow, you folks are extremely lucky
yours and nobody else's houses caught fire.
However, some people have fire pits in their back yard (more rural areas often) and permits, so they are used to dealing with fires, and probably would be able to handle getting rid of paper clutter in that fashion.
This information about the shredding truck service is good to know, though!
- John
Remineralize Your Teeth
Posted by: John | July 16, 2009 at 05:39 PM