Trash Versus Shred Documents: Which To Choose When
Here are the criteria you need to know when choosing to trash or shred documents when getting rid of paper piles.
And before all the recyclers jump on me, when I say the word "trash" in this context I just mean what items you can get out of your home, hopefully into a recycling bin, with the distinction of not having to do anything extra to it before it leaves.
Two Competing Concerns When Decluttering Paper: Effort Versus Privacy
The crux of what this article is about is to address two competing concerns many people have when decluttering paper.
On the one hand decluttering itself takes a lot of time. You sometimes have to go paper by paper deciding whether to keep it or toss it.
After all that effort it is tempting to just dump everything you've decided to get rid of into a recycling bin or dumpster and walk away. After all, adding an additional step to shred or otherwise destroy those papers makes the process of getting rid of paper clutter take even longer.
On the other hand, we are often concerned to get rid of any of our papers and documents because we don't want personal information to get out there, which can be a huge concern with identity theft and financial crimes that are perpetuated when someone dishonest gets this type of information.
It can seem simpler to just keep it all instead of worrying that someone will harm you if you've made an effort to clear out your home of all the excess.
So I hope this definitive guide to what does and does not need to be shredded or destroyed helps alleviate your concerns about these two competing interests so you can move past this roadblock and get rid of that paper clutter!
What You Need To Protect: Sensitive Personal Information
The FTC estimates that 10 million Americans are the victim of identity theft each year. Do what you can to avoid that statistic while decluttering by guarding your sensitive personal information.
Sensitive personal information that could be contained on documents include:
- Social Security number
- Account numbers
- Your signature
- Date of bith
- Phone number
- Email address
- Driver's license number
- Passwords
- PIN numbers
- Medical information
- Financial information; or
- Legal information
Top 15 Types Of Documents You Should Shred
Often knowing what categories of documents should just be shredded (or otherwise destroyed) is easier than saying, "anything with sensitive personal information." So I've also come up with this top 15 list of types of documents to shred.
Please note that some of these items, like tax returns for example, should be saved for a number of years within your filing system before discarding. This is just a reminder than when it's time to discard some of this paper don't just dump it in the trash can, but take some additional steps first!
1. Preapproved credit card offers and applications.
2. Expired debit and credit cards (choose a shredder that can handle these plastic cards, or cut them up using a pair of scissors).
3. Credit card statements.
4. Credit card receipts.
5. Credit reports and histories.
6. Bank account statements.
7. ATM receipts.
8. Cancelled (and voided) checks.
9. Paycheck stubs.
10. Utility and phone bills.
11. Investment documents, including account information.
12. Insurance policy information and claims.
13. Tax returns.
14. Expired ID cards and passports (after you get the new one!).
15. Medical and dental records.
Recommended Paper Shredders
There are a lots of things to consider when getting a personal paper shredder.
Click Here For Criteria For Best Home Paper ShredderHere are some good choices in a range of prices, plus if you want to check out more use the search feature below for even more ideas:
Home Paper Shredder {Referral Links}
What's Next In The Paper Organization Series?
We're almost done now with the section of the series dealing with your accumulated paper clutter, and soon we're going to start focusing instead on building our systems and routines to keep the paper from accumulating so much again.
But before we do there is one final piece of the puzzle, as it relates to getting rid of all those paper piles. And that final piece is to know what dccuments to keep, and for how long, before they can be tossed. So that's what we're addressing next in the Paper Organization Series!
Want To Do More Decluttering Missions? Get Started With Declutter 365 Today!
Once you declutter one type of item in your home I bet you'll want to declutter some more. After all, decluttering gives you a great reward for even a small investment of time and energy.
The Declutter 365 system is designed to help you declutter, over the course of a year, your entire house, with just 15 minutes of decluttering each day!
Hundreds of thousands of people use this proven system to get rid of their clutter, and bring peace and calm back to their homes.
Declutter 365 works to guide you to clear the clutter without overwhelm, focusing on just one small area at a time, and without making a huge mess in the process, so you see consistent forward progress without all that "messy middle" that makes it even harder to function in your home than before you started.
In addition to building a daily decluttering habit, the Declutter 365 program, along with the accompanying 52 Week Organized Home Challenge, teaches you the skills, habits, routines, and mindsets necessary to maintain the clutter free and organized state of your home from now on, so it'll never be as messy and cluttered as it is right now, ever again.
If you haven't already, make sure to get your copy of this year's Declutter 365 annual calendar here (it's FREE!), find today's date, and do 15 minutes of decluttering on the day's mission. Then, repeat again tomorrow, and again and again. Over the course of the next year, if you do this 15 minutes per day, you'll declutter your whole house!
Get This Paper & Filing Decluttering Checklist + 32 Other Decluttering Checklists For Your Home
Right now you're decluttering your papers and files, and there's a lot of types and varieties of these around your home.
I've done the hard work of breaking down these tasks into smaller more manageable steps for you, so you don't get overwhelmed or worry you're forgetting a task, and you can go at the pace you want, whether that's fast or slow.
In addition, you can tackle these decluttering tasks in whatever order you want when you use these checklists!
Some links on this page are affiliate links, meaning that if you purchase a product through them I receive a small commission which helps me provide this information to you for free, plus support my family. My integrity and your satisfaction are very important to me so I only recommend products I would purchase myself, and that I believe would benefit you. To learn more please see my disclosure statement.
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