4 Easy Ways to Make One-Time Purge Shredding Even Faster

One-time purge shredding is one of our most popular shredding services and with good reason. In only fifteen minutes, you can shred as much as 1,250 pounds of paper. For comparison’s sake, that’s about the weight of a fully-grown camel. It’s available to both residents and businesses, and once they’ve been processed, all papers are 100% unrecoverable.

Purge shredding is already fast and convenient, but there are ways to make your shredding appointment go even faster. Put these four tips into action for your next one-time shredding appointment, and say goodbye to years’ worth of documents even faster than before.

1. Decide What You Can Throw Away

The trick to a fast shredding appointment is to have everything sorted before the process even begins. This starts with deciding what you can (and should) throw away through shredding. Look for the obvious, like outdated files and unneeded records, but you’ll also want to keep your eyes peeled for any papers containing personally identifiable information (PII). These can include:

• Junk mail
• Meeting minutes
• Internal memos
• Scribbled inter-department notes
• Pages containing a signature

Once you know what you’re getting rid of, make sure the pages are removed from any containing binders. You don’t have to worry about staples or paper clips, though – they can go right into the shredding machine, and the remnants will be sorted out from the paper scraps for recycling afterward.

2. Think Beyond Paper

Sure, you have papers to discard, but what about photographs, x-rays, audio recordings, or even hard drives? All of these items also contain PII, and should be shredded or destroyed to guarantee the safety of their information. Plus, by identifying these items in time for your secure shredding appointment, you can avoid the hassle of having to organize a follow-up visit in the future. Just call your one-time shredding provider to let them know if you have any of these items to get rid of, as they’ll need to prepare their equipment accordingly.

3. Digitize To Get Rid Of More

Suppose you have records that you’re still actively using, but they’re taking up a lot of space in your office, and they’re a hassle to sort through. Why hang onto the physical copies if you can safely scan and digitize them? Virtual files are much faster and easier for employees to find, and that will allow you to get rid of the old copies during your one-time shredding appointment – again, eliminating the need for a follow-up visit and allowing you to shred more quickly and efficiently.

4. Set Up a Central Location For Shredding Materials

When your shredding appointment arrives, you don’t want to be running everywhere, trying to remember where all your separate boxes of documents are. Keep things simple and efficient by designating one central location for storing items that will be shredded. If you’re arranging the appointment on behalf of an office, make sure all employees understand where the drop-off location is, and make certain that the container you choose to store them in is lockable. This will prevent passers-by from dipping their hand in and walking away with sensitive information.

On the day of your one-time purge, all you’ll have to do is direct the shredding technician to the document location. This will make your shredding easy, efficient, and even faster than it takes on average, allowing you to get back to your day more quickly.

Want a One-Time Document Purge?

You’re in the right place. Secure Shredding & Recycling holds AAA Certification from the National Association for Information Destruction (NAID), which means that no matter how many or how few documents you have to shred, you can rest assured that each piece of paper will be treated with care and kept confidential, even after it’s been shredded. We provide shredding services to clients throughout Louisiana, including Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and Lake Charles.

If you’d like to learn more about our one-time purge shredding services, or to request a free service quote, give us a call at (225) 751-8535. You can also send us a message online.