One of the biggest myths about personal shredding is that it is done for free. That’s because so many municipalities, banks, associations, and real estate offices shoulder the real cost, and provide it to their members for no charge. One of the problems with these “free shred days” is that they only happen once or twice a year, and if you miss it, you’ll have to wait a long time to safely destroy your documents.
There are several affordable alternatives. One is to get a few friends and neighbors together for an informal “Shredding Party.” In this type of event, you select a company to come to your home on a weekday. Simply invite your friends and neighbors to bring their personal shredding to your place, and everyone splits the cost of shredding services. Most companies will be happy to come to your neighborhood for 10 boxes or more, and charge a reasonable fee. Split between two or three parties, the money spent is often less than the cost of a dinner out.
Another benefit of this option over a free shred day is that it will likely take a fraction of the time. You won’t have to wait in long lines just to destroy the 2-3 boxes of sensitive documents that contain old bills, utility statements, and cancelled checks. The truck just backs up in your driveway and shreds the paper to pieces. Some trucks are even equipped with video cameras, so you get a close-up view of the show. The weight threshold for getting a shredding truck to your home is about 10 boxes of documents, or 300 pounds.
Some of the advantages of this include:
- You get to see everything being shred – right at the truck.
- In less than five minutes, our shredding truck will destroy 300-400 pounds of paper.
- You never have to remove paper clips of staples.
- Peace of Mind. Once you destroy the documents, you won’t have to worry about them being misplaced or stolen.
Another alternative to free shred days is the Ship ’n’ Shred service, offered by Shred Nations. This is the perfect solution to one or two boxes of shredding.
