Custom Search

Friday, May 29, 2015

Instead of shredding...

I'm sure most people are more organized than I am. It would be hard not to be. It is the bane of my life.

Common wisdom says one should put statements through the shredder. Our shredder went kaput a while ago, PLUS I never could keep up with the shredding. Then I read an organizing book by Susan Pinsky. She has a whole page on why one doesn't need to shred. She says that almost no identity theft is perpetrated through garbage. It is the work of cyber thieves. She does say that--for things with really private information like social security numbers--one can use a thick black marker to obliterate the info, kind of like those redacted documents one sees in the news and on movies.

I just threw out a bunch of stuff, including old retirement account statements. It does make me a bit nervous. And I forgot about the marker trick.

Mr FS to the rescue! He just threw all the papers into an empty garbage can and poured water on them. He's going to stir them into oblivion. This really takes very little time. Much less than shredding.

Just a tip for any messy, overwhelmed, and disorganized types that might be out there. And we don't need to buy another shredder.

3 comments:

Miser Mom said...

Sort of like a James Bond martini: "stirred, not shaken", except this is "stirred, not shredded" !

The Frugal Shrink said...

Hmm, good advice. I, too, have a large shred pile and have been reluctant to buy a new shredder after my last one died. They are expensive and don't seem to last long.

Shelley said...

Brilliant man, your hubby! I consider myself marginally organised but don't always think to obliterate personal details. Then again, I rarely ever throw away such papers!