Getting rid of sensitive documents

[TheRic]

Bit of warning with using a paper schredder, if you use them too much at 1 time they will get hot and stop working. Somtimes if they cool down for 10-15 mintues (maybe longer) you can use them again. Sometime they don't start back up.

Don't you know anyone that lives out in the boonies / country that you can take it to and burn there. Or get one of those mobil fire place things and burn it in there, then you still have the fireplace to keep you warm when the tempature drops down to cool 75 degrees.

Heck if you want to drive up here to Ohio, we can burn it in my fire ring. I have burnt similar stuff many times!!

[pierhogunn]

go to the HW store, get a couple gallong of Muratic Acid, get the biggest bucket, or even better a 30 gallon bucket with a lid on it, put the paper in there, set it and forget it for about a year. The paper will dissolve in the Acid, leaving pulp, then just add, carefully as much baking soda as you can lay your hands on...

Or, just get some india ink, a big bucket and redact the entire bag full of paper, let the ink soak in and then throw them away.

Buy a smoker. ( cost a little more than a shredder, but hey, your getting a smoker)

If you can find some nitric acid ( see 1st Idea)

jsut some random thoughts

[LCHIEN]

hi,

i second loring's idea of a good cross-cut shredder for about $25. it will also come in handy for years to come.

if that doesn't appeal to you, then you might want to try looking up 'paper shredder' companies in your area instead of 'document disposal' companies. although they seem to be the same, there is a subtle difference. document disposal companies are into long-term storage and retention of documents and have pretty high overhead. shredding companies on the other hand only get rid of stuff.

if there is a 'paper shredder' business near you - they usually take anything large or small.

I'll bet you could do a garbage bag full in an hour, but you'd better have three garbage bags to put it into when you're done. Altho the cross cut chips pack a lot tighter then the straight shredded stuff. Be best if you rigged a bracket to put the shredder on so it dropped right into the bag.

If you are good and shred every day the best kind is the shredder with an integral waste can. But if you're like me and save up two years at a time, then you want the kind with an adjustable bracket to bridge a box or larger waste container you can line with a bag for easy disposal..

[wreckwriter]

I appreciate all the great suggestions! Lots more than I expected really. I guess I'm just going to have to step up to the plate and spend the time it takes to shred them (or pay one of my kids to do it... ). I might toss that smoker idea around a bit though!

Thanks much folks!

Tom

[scmhogg]

When I was in the Army, we had three ways to destry secret documents. Shredding, burning or pulping. The pulping was done with hot water and a stick. You stirred until it tuned to mush.

Steve

[wreckwriter]

When I was in the Army, we had three ways to destry secret documents. Shredding, burning or pulping. The pulping was done with hot water and a stick. You stirred until it tuned to mush.

Steve

Hmmmm... more details? How long did this take?

[scmhogg]

We put several hundred sheets in a 55 gallon drum with about a foot of boiling water. After about 10 minutes we pounded the paper with a length of 2 X 4. It took less than 15 minutes to reduce the paper to a pulp.

Steve

[wreckwriter]

We put several hundred sheets in a 55 gallon drum with about a foot of boiling water. After about 10 minutes we pounded the paper with a length of 2 X 4. It took less than 15 minutes to reduce the paper to a pulp.

Steve

I think that's the trick I needed! thanks!

[just4funsies]

Take the stuff to a funeral parlor and have it cremated...

[Kristofor]

I think that's the trick I needed! thanks!

If you have the 55 gallon drum, just burn it... 20x faster than a non-industrial shredder...

Kristofor.

[430752]

buy a chimenea

I live in the burbs and recently did a thorough overhaul of our files. Man, tons of credit card bills, bank statements, etc. This was the period in the past where we were starting out and finding our way. so we had 5 banks in as many years. and we we were broke, so we had a mess of credit cards and statements, and then there's the student loan documetns, etc. Point is, we had three garbage bags full.

I tried shredding, but too tedious, even with the "medium" duty cross cut shredder (which is not as cheap as $25). so, i used my chimenea. You know, those clay firepots. they're like $70-80 at the borg. I got one so I could sit outside and watch the game on tv while smoking a cigar and staying warm. I used only wood then, now I use kindling to get going and then use the paper to burn. The only hitch is that burning it is a little slower then you'd think since it'll smother a fire and doesn't burn quickly when you get a stack of stuff. So, you gotta feed it 5-10 pages at a time and then let it burn off and then go again. Its a pain, but its not as slow as it sounds. Only a couple minutes from feeding one mini stack to the next.

curt j.

[jwaterdawg]

I like the smoker idea. You can get a decent smoker from the BORG or Lowes for about $50 or therebouts depending on what time of year you buy it. It's the big black one with 3 tiers about the size of a 40 gallon trash can. So for about 2x the cost of a low end shredder you get a smoker. Anyway, I would just burn the paper in the smoker rather than try to use the paper to smoke some meat/veggies. In addition, you can use hardwood chips, sawdust, small cutoffs from your woodworking in your smoker. I do it all the time. Just make sure you don't throw softwoods, or anything stained/painted in the smoker.

[leehljp]

Check with your local bank for disposal

I went to my local bank last month and asked about an old account of my mom's. They said it had been closed a couple of years and then they asked why I was asking. I said we found had a bunch of checks books that are since 2000. (Mom passed away last summer)

They said bring them in - any old check books, even from another bank and they would shred and dispose of them properly.

Ask you local bank. They might do it for free!

[newbie2wood]

If you have young children (6+ years of age), get them to shred the paper while you supervise from the TV couch.

Just make sure they don't stick their fingers in the shredder (the slot in my shredder is too small even for tiny fingers) and for added precaution don't give them short pieces of paper to shred.
________
Side effects from paxil

[Xamu]

If you get a crosscut shredder from the local office place, be sure to spray the cutters from underneath every 100 or so pages with a spray type penetrating oil to keep friction at the cutters from burning the tiny little motor up. I have noticed that when my 8 page at a time shredder starts complaining at 3-4 pages at a time then it needs some oil.

Also, keep in mind that WD-40 is not an oil - it is a solvent. It will actually remove oil which may not help so much in the long run. Does it have some lubricating qualities? Yes, but then again so does sand - in certain circumstances - or water.