Alternatives to paper shredding machines include the following: making a new piece of paper, recycling the paper, and burning the paper.
Identity theft is a huge issue because of the increasing ability of swindlers to obtain important data from unwary victims. Hence, many individuals have been purchasing paper shredding machines for home and office use. However, you don’t need to buy these expensive gadgets since there are substitutes for keeping your information safe, and which are equally effective, too. Read this article to know some paper shredder substitutes.
Create a new piece of paper
Ditch the paper shredding machine but defend yourself from identity theft just the same by creating a new piece of paper out of your old bills and other documents that have your vital information. To do this, begin by cutting the piece of paper into little squares, approximately an inch in size. Then, soak these scraps of paper in hot water for a few hours, or even overnight. After which, prepare your blender and fill half of it with lukewarm water. Then, pour in the soaked pieces of paper into the food processor or blender and turn the mixer on. Don’t forget to close the lid so you don’t splatter little pieces of drenched paper all over the area. Blend it until the consistency of the paper has turned mushy, or slurry. Then, pour the mush into a big container and fill it with water, just enough to let the mush scatter well. Next, get or make a frame from an old and unused photo frame and cover this firmly with a nylon stocking. Slide this frame onto the container and fill it with the mushy material. Take the frame out of the basin with the mush in it and let it dry. You may also adorn your paper with tiny flower petals or leaves by mixing these with the pulp.
Recycle the paper
You can simply recycle the old pieces of paper that are no longer essential. There are numerous ways that you can recycle paper. For one thing, you can turn them into notepads that you can put beside the telephone to jot important messages. You can use them to jot down your grocery list. The ways are limitless. To do this, first you need to cut away any essential data, including your social security number, bank account number, as well as other important details about you. Carefully destroy these little pieces of paper that you cut away that have your information. Next, cut the remaining part of the pieces of paper into the size that you want. Just make sure that you cut the pieces of paper into the same size for each purpose, so they will look orderly as you stack them together. Then, staple or fasten a paper clip on top of them so they all stay neatly together.
Burn the pieces of paper
You can also simply burn the scraps of paper you no longer need that have vital data. During winter season, not only will you be able to keep warm next to a small fire, but you will also be effectively destroying pieces of paper and protecting yourself from identity theft. Remember, though, that scraps of paper burn very quickly, and if you’re not careful, you could injure yourself. Just make a tiny fire and feed the fire just one piece of paper at a time so it will be very easy for you to regulate the flame until all the pieces of paper are gone.
With just a little ingenuity and determination, we can continue to keep our family and ourselves safe from identity thieves without purchasing pricey devices. Sometimes, we can even help save our planet by recycling some of our old and unused materials at home.