Part of keeping a house is making sure that it stays clutter-free. When you have kids or an office space at home, the amount of waste paper a household can generate can be high. These and the rise of security issues have paved the way for paper shredders to find their place in people’s homes. But just like other products, not all personal shredders will fit everyone’s needs, especially when there are so many to choose from. It is therefore important to keep in mind your personal considerations and some industry standard features when choosing the best home shredder for you.

PictureNameShred TypePriceOur Rating
PriceNameShred TypePriceOur Rating
Bonsaii DocShred C156-D 12 Sheet Paper/CD/Credit Card ShredderCross Cut$$$4.1
Aurora AU740XA 7-Sheet Paper/Credit Card ShredderCross Cut$$4.8
AmazonBasics 8-Sheet Paper, CD, and Credit Card ShredderStrip Cut$$4.0
Aurora AS890C 8-Sheet Paper/Credit Card ShredderCross Cut$$$4.2
AmazonBasics 6-Sheet High-Security Paper and Credit Card ShredderMicro Cut$$$4.6

Types of Shredders for Different Levels of Security

Security is one of the main reasons for getting a shredder. However, the level of security you need to keep you and your family protected from things like identity theft are likely different from the level of security needed by a private company a government agency. Here are the top choices for the type of shredder for your level of security:

Strip-cut Shredders – If you agree that you don’t really need to overdo your security, then the strip-cut shredder is right for you. This type of shredder cuts papers into narrow strips, usually 40 to 50, for a letter-sized piece of paper. The strips are not randomly cut so it is possible for someone to patiently put the pieces together again. Admittedly, this is still better than just crumpling or tearing papers by hand.

Cross-cut Shredders – This is an ideal choice for a personal shredder. Cross-cut shredders shred paper vertically and horizontally and into an average of 300 to 400 small pieces, ensuring a higher level of security than a strip-cut shredder. They come at an affordable price, too, so most personal households or home offices tend to have a shredder of this type.

Micro-cut Shredders – This is your best choice if you want the highest level of security and willing to go to some lengths for it. Micro-cut shredders are used by government agencies and large companies in an effort at ensuring maximum security. This type of shredder cuts papers into 1,600 to 3,000 pieces. High security doesn’t come cheap, though; Micro-cut shredders are expensive, so they are not the practical choice for home or personal shredders.

Capacity

Will you be the only one using the shredder or will you be sharing it with several people? The best home shredder for you is one that won’t be overworked by the level of shredding you do. There are manufacturers that claim more than half of the shredder’s real capacity. If you think you’ll only be shredding a low volume of papers a day, then look for a shredder with the capacity of 50 or so pages a day on average. If you think you’ll be shredding a high volume of papers regularly, then look for a shredder with higher capacity of 100 to 150 sheets a day.

Feed Slot

Will you be shredding large-sized documents like manila folders and mailing envelopes? If this is the case, you’ll need to look for a wide feed slot. A feed slot with a width of 8.75 or 9 inches can accommodate a letter-sized piece paper. Feed slots of smaller size may need papers to be folded in order to shred them.

Plastic Shredder

You may want to be able to shred your old credit cards, CDs, DVDs, and the like. There are paper shredders that can do this for you. Look for this feature when choosing your shredder. While his feature is called a “plastic shredder”, staples and paper clips can also be shredded by this type of device.

Safety Measures

The best home shredders may have to be those that come with safety measures. This is a must when you have kids or even pets at home. Look for safety measures such as slim paper intake slots, lock-out keys, switches hidden in the back to avoid turning on the shredder by accident, and blade guards to keep fingers or paws away from those sharp blades.

Waste Removal

There are two styles of waste removal for shredders. Drawer-style is when you pull out a drawer and dump the paper waste into the trash bin or bag. Lift-off is when you lift the shredder off the top of the bin to set aside and empty the container. Drawer-style tends to be more popular, as it can be done with only one hand and is the least messy way of removing your paper waste.

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