Keep Your Private Information Private with the Fellowes Powershred

Author's Rating:

Pros: Shreds CDs, credit cards, paper clips, staples and lots of paper.

Cons: May be more shredder than most people need.

The Bottom Line: 
If you are going to buy a shredder, buy a multi-purpose shredder. For a little more money, this will shred everything you need to shred.

Author's Review
Did you know that nearly 10 million Americans fell victim to identity theft last year? Don’t you know someone who knows someone who was almost destroyed because someone got their hands on their Social Security number? I know I do.

Hey, I live in the City of Boston. Three times a week, I leave my trash on the curb in a plastic bag and head out for the day. I’ve come home to trash all over the sidewalk because someone’s dog has ripped the bag open or because enterprising folks searching for cans to return for the $.05 deposit have ripped open trash bags. It’s my biggest nightmare that my credit card statements, health care information, or computer files stored on an old CD goes flying down the street into the hands of someone who shouldn't be looking at it. So with the thinking that the best way to protect yourself is to shred all personal information before you throw it away, I got the Fellowes Powershred PS720-2CD w/Standard 11-Piece Toolkit Shredder. Not only is it total piece of mind, it’s fun! I can’t stop shredding all the paper and old CDs in the house!

As I began my search for a shredder, I looked at all sorts of shredders from cheap to expensive. I should also mention that I run consulting business that has me doing a lot of work out of my house. As part of my shredder research, I wanted to make sure to find something that would handle a lot of documents as well as CDs or even floppy disks with my client’s private information on it. And because I’m lazy at times, I didn’t want to have to worry about getting paper clips or staples stuck in the shredder when I forget to remove them.

My quest for a shredder ended with the Fellowes Powershred PS720-2CD w/Standard 11-Piece Toolkit Shredder. Here’s what attracted me to this particular shredder:

· It shreds about 10 sheets of paper at a time so I don’t have to sit and feed it one page after the next.
· It can shred credit cards, CDs or paper with staples on it without choking.
· The color matched the rest of the items in my home office – it’s graphite.
· It wasn’t too heavy for me to get out to the car and into the house by myself.
· It accepts all of the sizes of documents that I work on which are primarily 8.5” x 11” paper, a variety of sized invoices, or legal documents.
· Everything that goes through the shredder is unrecognizable after it’s shredded
· There's a nice little window that lets me see when the shredder is getting too full.
· I don’t have to lift the shredder, just pull the waste basket part out of the front for easy disposal of paper and CDs.

You may not need all the options that this shredder has. If you don’t have a home office or small business, this one may not be for you and you might be able to purchase a simple $20 shredder for paper. Then again, you don’t know. I’d rather have this one that can shred CDs or unsolicited credit cards I get in the mail as easily as paper. (And for those people who use your shredder but don’t know that you shouldn’t put paper clips or staples in a regular shredder, isn’t it easier to just have one where it doesn’t make a difference either way.)

Protect yourself by getting the right shredder for your home or office. Think before you buy so that you make sure to get the right shredder for your needs. The money I spent on this one is well worth the piece of mind knowing that my information and my client's information is destroyed properly.