I just got myself an almost confetti cut shredder from Target. It cuts them into little long diamonds (its a crosscut variant).

Two things:

Get a CROSSCUT shredder. Strip shredders are next to useless.

Shread just about everything. The envelopes, the rest of the junk mail, random receipts you don't need any more, etc.

This really, REALLY fubar's dumpster diving as there ends up being just so much junk.

That image looks like someone getting ready to do a line.

Credit Card companies are either simply stupid or simply evil (maybe both).

Thank you for validating, once again, my need for a shredder.

Get a fireplace!

(Just don't throw any plastic envelopes or magazines in that fireplace - those fumes will funk you up!)

.....Yeah, I get the "stop that noise" complaint from fellow house dwellers when I shred. I have to stack the offending offers up next to my wastebasket and a wait for a time when no one's home to shred, to maintain peace.

.....But I agree with nweaver. If the only things shredded in your trash are id theft items, it will make it easier on the potential puzzle-working fraudster. Shred it all. Shredders that will tear through a thick envelope, unopened, are golden! I need one.

One idea I've always toyed with is fouling the shredded documents before disposing of them. If a dumpster diver has a choice between a pile of shredded documents that are covered in raw, stinking egg and another pile that's clean, which would he choose?

What about mixing in your shreds with used cat litter?

Well-put, GenXCub* - if shredding won't work, ATOMIZE the bitches.

Apropos, my housemate once got a strange bill in the mail from the city, citing him for illegal dumping of his mail - in a neighborhood he'd never been to before. Turns out that probable-ID thieves had dumped mail from a lot of people in this same spot (who all got cited - that's some MarionBarryland civic pride at work!)

*(props to the woof, yo)

.....I've got three cats, and one is young and constantly active, meaning it eats and poops like crazy! That litter bag is heavy enough as it is. I'm the only one in the house with a strong enough back and stomach to tote it out...

......On the other hand, a shredder available to the kitchen garbage is an interesting idea... Danilo, you may be onto something!

The "read the rest" link is to page 2 of a four-page article. Here is the link to page 1.

If you live in California, you can freeze your credit with the credit bureaus. It cost me $12 each, I believe. Nobody can add any credt without you unfreezing it first. If you don't plan to be buying a house or a car or changing your credit cards, it might be a good idea.