Yesterday, I wrote a post to this blog urging small businesses to be careful to protect the privacy of their clients or customers who have trusted them with private information, such as financial information, medical information, and any other personal, private information that might be contained in the files of a small businessperson.
Today, though, I want to turn to individuals and urge you, as well, to take the time to protect your own records. I find that often when people are trying to declutter their homes, they are fed up with living with mounds of paper. The temptation is simply to throw out or recycle all of your old papers, and save your self storage unit for special items of sentimental value, such as old family heirlooms, or for valuable or seasonal items that you do not want to keep out in your home every day.
Take a moment, though, to sift through any papers that you throw away or recycle. It’s one thing to recycle old newspapers or children’s school papers (although sometimes those can be quite interesting to look at, 20 or 30 years down the road). When the papers that you are getting rid of contain your records or archives, though, think again. First of all, if you are disposing of financial records, consider whether or not you have kept them for long enough. The Better Business Bureau advises people to hold onto any tax-related documents, as well as tax returns and any attached schedules, receipts, copies of W-2s, and copies of 1099 forms for the self-employed, for up to eight years. Many of us do not do that, but saving those records can be important if you are ever audited by the IRS. You may want to scan them into computer files, and save them digitally, while archiving the hard paper copies in a storage unit.
The same is true for medical records — I would advise you to hold onto certain medical records, such as children’s immunization records, forever. No child wants to repeat a booster shot just because the record of the shot he or she already had has gotten lost. Personally, I think you should also retain records that have to do with allergic reactions, broken bones, chronic recurring diseases that tend to flare up, and anything else that could contain information that might be pertinent to your health (or that of a family member) at a later date.
But there comes a time when you do have records in hand that contain personal, private information which you feel no need to retain. You may have records that are more than 10 or 20 years old, papers that you simply want to get rid of. You may have old diaries and journals to throw out that you feel would be embarrassing if your family ever happened onto them. Whatever the nature of the sensitive information contained in your personal papers and records, be aware that if you simply toss them in a dumpster, or in a recycling bin, it is always possible that someone else will come along later and take them out again.
If you are disposing of papers that contain information that you feel it is imperative not to share with random strangers (not to mention your family members), then your best bet is to shred those papers before recycling them. Small shredders are not expensive and might be a worthwhile investment if you go through the process of sorting through sensitive old papers regularly. Otherwise, however, check with the Better Business Bureau and see if you can find a shredding day to attend. You can get all your shredding done at once, and you’ll feel much better.
A last caution, though — don’t shred any documents that you feel there is any chance you might need later. I don’t envy you the task of trying to tape back together a document that has been shredded — that’s harder than putting together any jigsaw puzzle. Don’t rush the process, go carefully, choosing what to store and what to shred. You’ll find that the time you spend is well worth it.
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