debcook

A gadget that every home and office should include is a paper shredder. Will it guarantee to stop identity theft? Not alone but each and every step that can be taken should be taken. Large or small paper shredders earn their keep.

Instead of purchasing the least expensive (cheap) paper shredder you should consider spending a few more dollars to get a more powerful and feature packed model. Hardly a day goes by that I don’t use my paper shredder. At work I use a small – but powerful desktop shredder and in my home office I use a large more powerful shredder.

The desktop shredder has good and bad points. There are some limitations but the convenience makes up for most of them.
· The paper slot is narrow but each of the 3 layers is cross cut as to render the print unreadable
· The paper container is small but is easily emptied.
· Due to the size of a desktop paper shredder they are not great for a long session of shredding but the size is very convenient for tight spaces.

The home office shredder is much larger and is outfitted with casters. It easily rolls into place whenever I am ready to use it. Unlike the desktop shredder the larger shredder has more good points than bad.
· The paper slot is wider and can shred up to 20 layers of paper at a time. A crosscut or confetti cut is best.
· Credit cards and CD/DVD disks can be shredded. Care should be taken to avoid sharp shards that could escape the unit.
· The larger more powerful shredder can hold up top a longer session of shredding. It is easy to get carried away so you have to avoid overheating.
· The size can be bulky but the casters allows for easy storage.

A desktop shredder will typically cost below $50 and a larger more powerful shredder will typically cost over $100. The size of shredder you choose should be gauged by the amount of shredding that you do. I should clarify that statement by adding – the amount of shredding that you do at any one time.

I suggest that you purchase the best paper shredder that you can afford. Most of all – I suggest that you buy a paper shredder and that you use it regularly.