Alternatives to shredding documents

aninnymouse

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To make a long story short, I've got a bunch of stuff that needs to be shredded, in a short period of time. Old bills, junk mail, papers and stuff from school and jobs I'm no longer at. This has to be eliminated in a short time. I have shredder, but I can only shred for about 20 minutes, and then the thing overheats, and seizes up for about 20 minutes.

I was wondering, are there any alternatives to shredding a large amount of documents that are viable? I literally have boxes full of stuff to be shredded, and I don't know what to do with it all. I live in an urban area, so a bonfire is out of the question. FWIW, I did google, but google wasn't very friendly.
 

aninnymouse

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I'd love to go the route of a service, but I have about three days to get rid of all this stuff.

I'd heard that Best Buy and Office Depot, the Goodwill, and other places also have services, Basically, you take them your documents, and they shred it while you wait.
 

ManofThunder

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You could burn the papers or use scissors to destroy them manually, but that takes ages. I've suffered with the over-heating problem, too. To work around it, shred as much as you can and when the shredder stops - stick it in the freezer. (Assuming the shredder itself sits atop a separate bin and isn't a huge all-in-one contraption.) It may sound strange, but it works. A few minutes with the frozen peas and it will work again. You'll need to repeat the process but it saves a lot of time. Obviously, don't let ice melt on it and don't let shredded paper invade your Häagen Dazs - just use your common-sense.

Alternatively, if you can find a manual shredder with a crank-handle, you can remove the handle and use an electric drill (with an appropriate drill or driver bit) to spin the blades and shred at a much faster rate. I've only done it with cheap shredders, so it's more of a disposable option for me - but it works very well and you'll get a couple of intensive uses (a few hours use) from the shredder before it breaks from the strain.
 

aninnymouse

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MickeyLee

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so.. fine.. ya sticking to the no-bonfire policy.

if i ask super nice the bank will shred stuffs for me. the main branch has taken a couple of boxes at time. calling to ask can't hurt.
 
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MickeyLee

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Fargo? rent a chipper shredder?

bucket of water + Borax *less toxic than bleach.. will break everything down into pulp in a couple of days. *outdoor project*

*ponders* 1000 origami swans.. wish the paper away?

paper mache crafts?
 

nudeyorker

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So tempting.

If only it were that simple.

/TY, You made me truly smile for the first time today.

If I make at least one person smile a day I consider it a good day. Here is one more thing to entice you to consider the open flame method...

Smores

1 large marshmallow
1 graham cracker
1 (1.5 ounce) bar chocolate candy bar
Directions

Heat the marshmallow over an open flame until it begins to brown and melt.
Break the graham cracker in half. Sandwich the chocolate between the cracker and the hot marshmallow. Allow the marshmallow to cool a moment before eating.
 

OhWiseOne

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Smores

1 large marshmallow
1 graham cracker
1 (1.5 ounce) bar chocolate candy bar
Directions

Heat the marshmallow over an open flame until it begins to brown and melt.
Break the graham cracker in half. Sandwich the chocolate between the cracker and the hot marshmallow. Allow the marshmallow to cool a moment before eating.
You just can't improve on perfection can you? :smile: