I think this might be a companion piece for my May column about how much I love stationery. Sort of the horror version of the story! Well, horror for any paper product within reach, anyway!
I'm currently clearing out years and years of junk/treasures as I prepare the house to go on the market at the end of the year. Last month I shared a gorgeous childhood book I found. I suspect there will be more than one blog here about the joys of packing up after years in one place! And I use "joys" ironically.
I'd never used a shredder before and I have to say in my naivety, I imagined I was getting something whose joys would be purely practical. But I've since discovered that there's something mind-bogglingly satisfying about munching up the detritus of years (and it is years - I've got electricity bills here in Mum and Dad's paperwork that I swear go back to before they invented electricity!). It's a fabulous stress release, works out any aggression, and leaves you with a wonderful sigh of satisfaction to rival the end of a great romance novel.
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| The fruits of my labors - boxes of shredding ready for the recycling! |
Well, the machinery is rather noisy but that's part of the fun. And it heats up fairly quickly so I have to be careful not to love my darling to death.
And oh, my goodness, is my house covered in a mixture of paper dust and little curly white worms of paper. The vacuum cleaner has been out a LOT lately.
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| Danger! Danger! Shredding in process! |
Do you own a shredder? Do you have fun with any of your office equipment? Should I seek counselling over my new obsession?
This was a funny blog post. :) I love my shredder as well. Clearing paper jams isn't my favorite thing so I have to watch how much paper I put in at one time. My cats love the printer. They run over to it every time I print something.
ReplyDeleteAngelina, watching cats and printers always makes me laugh. It's kind of a battle of the Titans!
DeleteHi Anna!
ReplyDeleteI have two shredders. When one overheats, I switch to the other one. I did a big shred a couple months ago. I shredded years of old bills, paycheck stubs, and bank statements for closed accounts. There are services here that will shred documents if you've got lots to shred. They actually have a truck that pulls up with an industrial shredder. Wasn't the computer age supposed to save us from keeping massive amounts of paper?
Jennifer, I can say categorically that the paperless office is a myth! Although mine is considerably less papery than it was a few weeks ago. That's interesting about the shredding truck although it wouldn't be nearly so much fun as doing it myself. Two shredders? That would be a romantic triangle in my house!
DeleteHow very satisfying to have your own shredder, Anna. I can imagine you are having lots of fun with it. I believe you can use shredded paper as mulch in the garden, too.
ReplyDeleteKandy, someone told me that - I haven't done anything about it yet. Apparently it makes wonderful animal bedding too!
DeleteI keep my shredder between my La-Z-Boy chair and end table (hidden). That is where I review the daily mail, so that is where I automatically shred it. Every night before recycling day, I take my office paper garbage upstairs to shred it too. And yes, there is a LOT when you keep going through old papers. Sometimes I think I should just burn it instead (but I don't).
ReplyDeleteGood luck and keep up the good work!
Laney, what a great idea! Wish I'd thought of it before I cleared the household. I haven't used my shredder all week - I'm missing it!
DeleteThanks to everyone who swung by to wish me all the best with my new love affair. See you next month!
ReplyDelete