If you are like most people, you have a lot of documents lying around your business or home. And if you are like most people, you don’t know what to do with them. You may have heard that you should shred important documents before throwing them away, but what documents are actually important? And when is the best time to destroy them? In this blog post, we will answer those questions and give you a guide on what to shred and when.
Shred Immediately
Documents that contain sensitive information, such as social security numbers, bank account numbers, and credit card numbers, should be shredded immediately. This includes documents like credit card or insurance offers, ATM receipts, and paid bills. Not only is it important to protect yourself from identity theft, but shredding these documents also protects you from other types of fraud.
Shred Within a Year or Less
There are some documents that you will only need for a short period of time; these documents are bank statements, pay stubs and paid medical bills that can be destroyed within a year or less.
Other papers that don’t contain sensitive information can also be shredded within a year or less. This includes things like old receipts, magazines, and junk mail. Shredding these documents helps protect you from identity theft and keeps your home or office clean and organized.
Shred After Seven Years
Then there are documents that need to be kept for a long period of time. Documents for your taxes can be destroyed after seven years.
Keep Forever
Lastly, there are documents that you want to keep forever. This includes things like birth certificates, adoption papers, social security cards, citizenship papers or passports, and marriage or divorce licenses. Keeping these documents safe and organized helps you avoid losing them or having to spend time tracking them down if you need them later on.
Maintaining Business Records
Businesses are required to keep some documents for a set period. These records include employee files, tax forms, and accounting information.
Remember to keep all the highly sensitive documents in a secure place.
Document Shredding Services
If you are looking into shredding documents, it is better to hire a shredding company that specializes in destroying confidential information. The shredding companies have various services:
On-Going Shredding
Some businesses choose to have ongoing document shredding as they always have documents that need to be shredded. This means that sensitive information is destroyed as it’s collected rather than waiting until there’s a large quantity to destroy.
One-Time Shredding
If you only have some documents that you would like to shred then one-time shredding is perfect for you. The shredding company will come to you and collect all the documents and paper you need to shred, from old tax records to medical records. Remember, simply throwing them out or tossing them in the curbside-recycling bin could place your data in trouble.
No matter what method you choose, make sure that you’re securely destroying the relevant documents. That means using a document shredder that meets or exceeds the government law standards.
You can rely on ATI Secure Docs. We are AAA-certified members of The National Association of Information Destruction. ATI Secure Docs provides a variety of shredding services, whether you need shredding regularly or once or twice a month. We serve both businesses and residents, and we come to your location with our mobile shredding machine and shred the documents in your present. Contact us today to get a quote!