How to Know What you Should be Shredding

Do you have important documents that need to be destroyed? Are you worried about the security of your personal information? If so, you need to learn about shredding. Shredding is the process of destroying documents and other sensitive materials so that they can’t be read or reconstructed. It’s a vital step in protecting your privacy and ensuring the safety of your confidential information. 

When Should you be Shredding?

You might think that shredding is only necessary for top-secret documents, but that’s not the case. There are many situations where shredding is a good idea, including:

• When you’re disposing of old tax records
• When you’re discarding expired coupons or credit card offers
• When you’re getting rid of old bills or bank statements
• When you’re shredding junk mail
• When purging outdated medical records, legal documents, or contracts
• When disposing of employee personnel files you no longer need
• When disposing of any payment or transaction history records for your customers

In general, you should shred any document that contains personal information, such as your Social Security number, your address, or your credit card details. If there’s any chance that someone could use this information to steal your identity or commit fraud, it’s best to shred it. Augusta Data Storage offers many shredding solutions. 

Does Your Organization Produce Confidential Information?

If you work for a company that produces confidential information, such as financial reports or medical records, shredding is an essential part of your job. You should have a shredding policy in place to ensure that all sensitive materials are destroyed in a secure and efficient manner. Your shredding policy should include procedures for handling documents that need to be shredded, as well as information about the type of shredder that you’ll use.

How Should I Store Confidential Information?

If you are looking to store your confidential information but don’t have the space, Augusta Data Storage can help. Augusta Data Storage offers a climate-controlled media vault for those with temperature sensitive items. If you are worried about not being able to check up on your documents, there’s no need to worry. We offer inventory monitoring to our customers which is powered by O’Neil software. This allows you to have 24/7 retrieval access to your items. 

Our storage facility is NARA compliant which means our warehouse is equipped with:

• Early Suppression Fast Response (ESFR) fire suppression system
• Monitored, restricted entry access to our facilities
• 16 internal/external cameras to monitor activity
• Location above a 100-year floodplain
• Building structure and racking designed/approved by a structural engineer
• Fire safety systems designed/approved by a fire safety engineer

What Information is Confidential and how do I Dispose of it?

If you’re not sure whether a document contains confidential information, err on the side of caution and shred it. It’s better to be safe than sorry when it comes to your personal information. 

In order to maintain the security of your confidential documents, it is important to have a shredding policy in place. This policy should be designed to ensure that all sensitive materials are destroyed in a secure and efficient manner. If you’re not sure how to shred your documents, Augusta Data Storage can help. We offer document shredding services that meet all of your needs.

Volume of Paper

Depending on how much paper your employees utilize and where they work could determine how often you should schedule a shredding service. 

Low Paper Volume

Home: If your employees are working from home and are dealing with a low volume of paper that they need shredded we recommend a drop off shredding service. For this service all you need to do is bring your documents to Augusta Data Storage and we will do the rest for you. 

Office: On the other hand, if your employees are working from the office we suggest a one-time shredding service. For this service we can either come to you with our shredding truck or you can bring it to us.

High Volume

Home: If your employees are dealing with a high volume of paper while working from home we suggest a one-time shredding service. 

Office: For your employees that are working from the office we suggest regularly scheduled shredding services. Get in touch with us to schedule a time and date that works best for you.
No matter what service your team needs, Augusta Data Storage will always safely and securely dispose of your items. When we are done we will provide you with a certificate of destruction for your records. Are you ready to get shredding? Call us at 706. 793. 0186 or visit our website today to schedule your shredding service.