The Appliance Every Household & Home Office Needs To Have

March 3, 2015

A while ago I was working with a client to organize her home office when she posed the question, “Do you think every household should have a shredder?”

(Pressing matters, guys.)

I hadn’t, prior to that moment, considered such a prospect but upon its pronouncement I immediately clarified my answer.

“Yes.”

She smirked and shook her head, which we all know is code for “I knew I was right and my spouse was wrong way back when.”

While it’s hardly a guarantee, households that have a quality shredder and a recycling bin (especially if they’re located in convenient proximity to a mail sorting station) fair, on the whole, much better when it comes to paper clutter than do those households without.

In one’s absence, the sensitive but unneeded documents are doomed to pile up around you. They become the stack of papers you don’t really have any particular plan for what to do with, or the ones you truck over to you mom’s house every six months because she has a shredder, or–worst of all–you just keep them around for eternity, because it’s easier to do nothing than just dispose of the things.

Nuh-nuh.

 

this is a little wake-up call: the appliance every household and home office must have.

 

 

The new rule is that you need a shredder to call your own. And, here’s the real clincher: it needs to be a good quality model if you’re going to feel anything other than complete detestation towards the task.

Cheap shredders just aren’t worth the save, in my experience. They take longer, they’re noisier, they’re far quicker to produce a more pungent stench of burning plastic, they make more of a mess when you go to empty them…get the picture?

On the other hand, a quality shredder that runs well, has a fairly large capacity, is easy to dump out, and so forth, will make the process almost (almost!) sort of fun.

 

3 features I highly recommend you look for in a shredder:

– cross-cut. If the shredder only zips the paper down into vertical strips you’re doing essentially nothing in terms of protecting information.

– A tilt out or removable basket that doesn’t require you to lift up the top shredding piece, thereby coming into too close contact with blades and causing an inevitable shower of loose confetti all of the floor.

– Wheels are nice for added convenience.

 

Here are 8 thuper great models for your consideration.

this is a little wake-up call: the appliance every household and home office must have.

1. For the eco-minded office dweller, the GOECOLIFE GMW100P 10 Sheet Micro-Cut Paper Shredder, which only uses energy when it’s actually in use. Plus, it’s pretty easy on the eyes as shredders go.

2. For anyone looking to get away from the standard black that screams “I’M A SHREDDER!!!!!” and who wants a really great machine, the Bonsaii 3S16, 12 sheet, Cross-Cut, 4.2-gallon Capacity Shredder may be it.

3. For those with next to space: Staples® Space-Saver 10-Sheet Cross-Cut Shredder

4, For those of you with an affinity for vibrant colors, literally no storage space, and a very small shred load: Kurukkiru Pink.

5. For people with a whole lot of CDs and DVDs to destroy, this Norazza DD3001 Data Destroyer CD/DVD Shredder has your name on it.

For the person who’s looking for a really solid option for their home office:

6. Fellowes 100% Jam Proof Heavy Duty Shredder, 99Ci 17 Sheet Cross Cut

and 7. Sentinel 12-Sheet High Security Micro-Cut Paper/CD/Credit Card Shredder with Pullout Basket (I own this and personally endorse).

8. Finally, for the person who is serious about going paperless, who has a large shred load regularly, and who’d rather not stand over a shredder for 30 minutes every day, the Swingline Paper Shredder, Stack-and-Shred 200X Hands Free, Super Cross-Cut, 200 Sheets. This guy lets you deposit a stack of papers inside the machine, close it, and walk away, before it goes to the trouble of chomping down on the stack in your absence. Swallow that fact.

Image credit: Polsky Perlstein Architects

7 Comments

  1. Tori L on March 3, 2015 at 5:18 am

    Wish i had read this 2 weeks ago! I have had 3 trips to a local shop returning faulty useless shredders.

    Thanks for a great post -as usual. 🙂

    • Annie on March 3, 2015 at 9:25 am

      Oooh no, sorry to hear that and points for effort!

  2. […] up there with a shredder in terms of necessity is a mail sorting/incoming/ongoing paper […]

  3. […] you destroy the paper and with it, the emotions they contain. Rip it into shreds, put it through your shredder, or throw it on your […]

  4. […] is your guy. Seriously, just pull the trigger and order the thing. Oh, and you best have one of these as […]

  5. […] is hardly the first time I’ve attempted to convince you of the necessity of a shredder. But I will continue to stand atop my blog-box and plead for the incorporation of one into your […]

  6. […] of storage items that I know, beyond a shadow of doubt, that people are always in need of. A shredder. A file cabinet. And even more than either of those two: a shoe […]

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7 Comments

  1. Tori L on March 3, 2015 at 5:18 am

    Wish i had read this 2 weeks ago! I have had 3 trips to a local shop returning faulty useless shredders.

    Thanks for a great post -as usual. 🙂

    • Annie on March 3, 2015 at 9:25 am

      Oooh no, sorry to hear that and points for effort!

  2. […] up there with a shredder in terms of necessity is a mail sorting/incoming/ongoing paper […]

  3. […] you destroy the paper and with it, the emotions they contain. Rip it into shreds, put it through your shredder, or throw it on your […]

  4. […] is your guy. Seriously, just pull the trigger and order the thing. Oh, and you best have one of these as […]

  5. […] is hardly the first time I’ve attempted to convince you of the necessity of a shredder. But I will continue to stand atop my blog-box and plead for the incorporation of one into your […]

  6. […] of storage items that I know, beyond a shadow of doubt, that people are always in need of. A shredder. A file cabinet. And even more than either of those two: a shoe […]

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