Fellowes Powershred P-12C Shredder

In addition to my job here at My Organized Chaos, our home also offices my husbands business as well. A typical office, it has the desk, computers,filing cabinets, folders, paperwork galore and a whole lot more. Yet one thing we’ve never ever owned, is a shredder. Gasp!

I know!

People that spot me ripping papers into tiny pieces and cutting cards madly give me that same look. In fact, just a couple months ago a friend stated the obvious, “WHY don’t you have a shredder?”.

Truth is, I’m not sure. Did we really need one?

YES!

It doesn’t matter if you own a home business or not, a shredder to protect themselves. Thieves don’t discriminate nor are they choosy, identity theft can happen to anyone. Actually, I was told when I got SIN cards for my kids, that even those will be a thing of the past. Soon everyone will have to remember their own SIN number and they won’t be issuing cards or even providing an official paper with the number on it anymore. In other words, even babies can be victims of identity theft.

I was recently sent the Fellowes Powershred P-12C Shredder to have in my home.

Sleek and very professional looking, right?

It can be used right out of the box, and in seconds I was safely destroying a pile of papers, and it felt great. The P-12C can shred up to 12 sheets at a time, even ones with staples on them {as well as small paper clips and credit cards}.

The first thing I noticed was how fast and easy it was, and how long it would have taken me to rip and tear all those sheets by hand, never getting the pieces this small before.

Yet, it’s a shredder and having the ability to cross-cut like this has to have safety issues – I have 3 children in the home! That’s why I love the SafeSense Technology, it stops shredding when it senses a hand touch the paper opening. As well, a warning light appears telling you why it stopped.

Plus, it has a lock, so that it won’t turn on even if you put it into the ‘on’ position. The lock switch is harder to maneuver, thereby assuring that tiny fingers can’t unlock it easily. Yet, taking it one step farther, I also unplug the machine when not in use, so it’s like taking triple steps to ensure safety.

The first time I used the Powershred PS-12C was after the kids had gone to bed, work time! I was pleased that it was fairly quiet, when compared to some shredders I’ve heard in offices. Since I do most of my work when the girls are sleeping, believe me that any product loud enough to jeopardize this time alone won’t last long in my home.

The Powershred P-12C Shredder has has a reverse feature so that if anything goes wrong {like a jam}, the paper backs out. Since I have had this shredder, this hasn’t happened to me though.

By peeking through the window on the front of the shredder, you can see how full the bin is. It can hold 4 gallons, yet I empty mine more often, more out of fear that the kids will notice and think it’s the perfect papers to make doll beds with.

Keep in mind it does have a suggested daily use limit of 4-5 minutes on and then 20 off. So, it’s made to be used for casual home use so try not to be too much of a shredding ninja. Although it’s pretty hard, I love shredding!

Speaking of the shredded paper {or cards!}, look at how small the pieces are! I really like this cross-cut feature, there’s no getting ANY information from my stuff! Ha!

Many documents have gone paperless but every home still receives mail of some kind with their information on it. With us, we have to keep our bookwork and records for 7 years, so every few months or so I’m going back and destroying old documents that we no longer need to keep. Old or not though, much information on there is very current.

While I now {yay!} shred all obvious papers and cards, I’m not learning more about what other kinds of papers need to be destroyed. Turns out some aren’t as ‘obvious’ as others, like those labels and sheets taped onto delivery boxes {so guilty of this one!}. I have been shredding those now as well. Basically, anything with my name on it!

If you think the way I used to, that shredding your papers isn’t really necessary, read this CBC News Story , “Alberta man wins back identity 8 years after losing wallet”. That’s really close to home, and I’ve lost wallets before…. have you?

“As it turned out, someone had adopted Johnson’s identity, and he’d been busy on a petty crime spree across the country … Over the years he’s had to convince new employers and border officials he wasn’t a criminal.”

The entire story, even what his family went through, is just jaw-dropping! I bet he never thought this could happen to him, especially that the pain of trying to clear his name would last for years.

So, if you think that identity theft isn’t a real threat, and the worst that can happen is that someone signs up for a points card in your name – SO WRONG. Your identity is everything, it’s important to protect it.

Have a look at the vast selection of shredders at Fellowes, to purchase the P-12C Cross-Cut Shredder or other models, visit your local Staples.

Connect with Fellowes Canada on Twitter and follow the hashtags #FellowesProtects and #ProtectionisPower for information on how to protect your identity.

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Disclosure: I received product to facilitate this review, all opinions are my own.

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