Updated November 2026 · Southern New Hampshire
How to prepare documents for shredding, box by box
What to pull out, what to leave in, how to sort what you still need, and how to pack and label boxes so the job is fast and the price is right. Written for New Hampshire households and offices bringing paper to our Tewksbury counter or booking a pickup.
Leave the staples and folders in. Pull the binder rings. 99¢ per pound at our Tewksbury drop-off.
- 99¢ per pound
- 30 lb per banker’s box
- Since 2007
- BBB A+ rated
Quick answer
Here is how to prepare documents for shredding with New Hampshire Document Shredding: leave staples, paper clips, binder clips, rubber bands and file folders in place, but remove three-ring binder hardware, hanging-folder frames and anything that is not paper. Put drives, CDs and phones in a separate bag, since they are quoted per item. Pack paper in boxes with lids, about 30 pounds each, tape them shut and count them, because under 10 boxes is priced at 99 cents a pound and 10 or more boxes drops to a flat $15 small or $20 banker’s box rate, plus $34.90 per job.
What you can leave in the paper
Most people show up at our counter having spent an evening pulling staples. Please stop doing that. Our cross-cut shredder handles the small metal and plastic that holds paper together, and the time you save is better spent sorting what to keep.
The rule is short. If it clips, binds or wraps a stack of paper and you can pinch it between two fingers, leave it. If it is a mechanism, a frame or a device, take it out. That one test covers almost everything you will find in a New Hampshire file cabinet.
Leave in: fasteners
Staples, paper clips and binder clips. A tax folder with fifty staples in it goes in the box exactly as it came out of the drawer.
Leave in: wraps
Rubber bands around bundles of statements or cancelled checks. Leave the bundle together. It is easier to carry and shreds the same.
Leave in: folders
Manila file folders, pocket folders and paper envelopes, windowed or not. Do not empty the envelopes from a stack of old mail. That is wasted time.
There is a privacy reason to skip the unstapling too. Every minute someone spends handling the pages is a minute those pages are open on a table. An office that asks a temp to strip staples from personnel files has just shown those files to the temp. Less handling is safer handling.
If you want to see what happens after the boxes leave your hands, our walkthrough of how document shredding works follows the paper from the counter to the bale.
What has to come out before shredding
A short list of things should not go in the box. They either jam the cutting heads, are not paper at all, or need a different kind of destruction. Pull these as you pack and you will not have to do it at the counter.
| Item | What to do | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Three-ring binders | Open the rings, slide the paper out, set the empty binder aside | Binder hardware is a steel mechanism, not a fastener |
| Hanging-folder frames | Lift the files out of the drawer frame and pack the paper only | The frame is metal rail, not part of the record |
| Hard drives, USB sticks, CDs, DVDs, phones | Put them in a separate bag and list them when you book | Media is physically destroyed and quoted per item |
| X-ray film and imaging discs | Bag separately with the other media | Film is not paper and is priced with media |
| Plastic sheet protectors, vinyl covers, laminated cards | Pull the paper out, keep plastic separate | Anything that is not paper comes out |
| Food, liquids, trash, desk supplies | Empty the box before you fill it | A shred box is not a junk drawer |
Binders are the big one. A basement full of old three-ring binders is common in homes that ran a small business, and the rings have to come off. Open each binder, lift the stack out in one motion, and drop it in the box. Do not bother separating the pages. The empty binders can go to a reuse shelf or the trash.
Media is the second. Old laptops, external drives and the shoebox of CDs from a former accountant are not paper. Bag them, write a rough count on the bag, and tell us when you book. Our page on hard drive destruction explains how they are handled.
Wet or moldy paper is a special case. Let it dry if you can and tell us before you bring it. Our post on handling wet documents covers flooded basements.
Sort what you keep before you shred
Shredding is permanent. The real work of preparing is deciding what goes, and that starts with a keep pile. Mistakes here cost far more than a few extra pounds of paper ever will.
For tax paper, the IRS gives clear periods. Its guidance on how long to keep records says to keep records 3 years in most cases, 6 years if you did not report income you should have and it was more than 25 percent of the gross income on your return, and 7 years if you claimed a loss from worthless securities or a bad debt deduction. Employment tax records are kept at least 4 years after the tax is due or paid, whichever is later. If you never filed a return for a year, keep the records indefinitely.
- Set up three pilesKeep, shred and pull out. A kitchen table and three labeled grocery bags work fine at home. In an office, use three empty boxes.
- Sort by year, not by pageGrab a whole folder, check the year on the tab, and decide for the folder. Reading every page turns a two-hour job into a weekend.
- Keep the long-life papersProperty records until the limitation period ends for the year you sell, plus deeds, wills, titles, retirement account records and anything tied to an open matter.
- Shred what has aged outOld statements, pay stubs already matched to a W-2, expired insurance policies, cancelled checks past the tax period and junk mail with account details.
- Check the doubtful pile onceIf you are unsure, keep it another year. You can always shred later. You cannot unshred.
Our document retention guide lists periods for business records, and our ranked list of what documents to shred first helps when you only have time for the risky paper.
We do not give tax or legal advice and cannot tell you when a particular record is safe to destroy. If a record is tied to a lawsuit, an audit, an estate or a licensing rule, ask your accountant or attorney before it goes in a shred box.
How to prepare documents for shredding at home
A household purge in southern New Hampshire usually means a filing cabinet, a few bankers’ boxes in the basement and a drawer of unopened mail. Most homes fill between one and five boxes. That is a single trip to Tewksbury, about 15 minutes from the Salem or Pelham line by I-93 or Route 38.
Work one drawer at a time
Do not empty the whole cabinet onto the floor. Take one drawer, sort it into the three piles and pack the shred pile before you open the next. You can stop at any point and nothing is mixed up.
Keep the box beside you, not across the room. Paper that has to be carried twice gets set down somewhere and forgotten.
Mind the junk mail
Preapproved credit offers, old checks and statements with full account numbers go in the shred box. Catalogs and flyers with only your name and address can go to recycling. Our guide to what junk mail to shred draws the line.
If you are clearing a parent’s house, slow down. Estates turn up deeds, insurance policies and account records that need to be kept.
A note on bags. Paper in grocery bags still gets weighed and shredded, but bags tear, tip over in the car and cannot be sealed. A box with a lid is the better container every time, and you need boxes anyway if you have 10 or more to count toward the flat box rate. Our page on residential shredding covers the household options in full.
Boxes, weight and the 10-box rule
How you pack changes what you pay. Under 10 boxes, we charge by the pound at 99 cents. At 10 boxes or more, the price switches to a flat rate per box: $15 for a small box and $20 for a large banker’s box. Every job then adds $34.90 in per-job fees, which is a $14.95 HIPAA filing fee that covers the Certificate of Destruction paperwork and a $19.95 environmental fee that covers recycling the shred.
Look at the jump between 9 and 10. Nine full banker’s boxes weigh about 270 pounds, which comes to $267.30 by the pound plus $34.90, or $302.20. Ten boxes at the flat rate come to $200 plus $34.90, or $234.90. If your count lands at eight or nine, check the closet again before you load the car.
The flip side matters too. Under 10 boxes, weight is what you pay for, so there is no point squeezing paper into fewer boxes. At 10 or more, each box is a flat price, so fill each one to the top with the lid still closing. A half-empty box at the flat rate is money spent on air.
Pack every box to a weight you can lift. A full banker’s box is about 30 pounds. Overstuffed boxes split at the handles, and a lid that will not close pops off in the parking lot. The full price list, including pickup zones, is on our shredding rates page.
How to prepare documents for shredding in an office
An office purge has the same rules as a home purge with two additions: more people touching the paper, and a record of what went. Preparing well here is mostly about control. Decide who packs, where the boxes wait and what gets written on them.
Name one person in charge
Pick one staff member to own the purge: who packs, which closet the boxes wait in, and who signs for them at handoff. When five people each fill a box, nobody knows what went.
Keep packed boxes in a room that locks. A stack of taped boxes in a hallway invites someone to open one looking for a missing file.
Label for your log, not for strangers
Write a box number and a short code on each box, such as “ACCT 3 of 12” and a date range. Do not write “Payroll with Social Security numbers” on the outside. The label is for your records, not an advertisement.
Keep a one-page log inside the office that matches each box number to what it held.
| Box label | Log entry kept in the office |
|---|---|
| ACCT 1 of 12 · 2016 to 2018 | Accounts payable files, vendor invoices, fiscal years 2016 to 2018 |
| HR 4 of 12 · 2015 | Terminated employee files past the retention period set in your policy |
| CLIENT 9 of 12 · closed 2017 | Closed client matters, confirmed by the partner on the purge date |
| MEDIA bag 1 | Two old desktop drives and a box of backup discs, listed when booking |
When the Certificate of Destruction comes back, staple it to that log and file both together. The pair answers the two questions any auditor asks: what did you destroy, and can you prove it. Our page on the certificate of destruction explains what to keep and for how long.
Offices holding patient records have extra rules under HIPAA, covered in our HIPAA shredding requirements post. Clearing a whole suite before a move is a bigger project, and our guide to office cleanout shredding handles the logistics.
Handing the boxes over
Once the boxes are taped and counted, you have three ways to get them shredded. All three end at the same cross-cut shredder in our Tewksbury office, and every job comes with a Certificate of Destruction.
Drive them down
Our drop-off shredding counter at 1215 Main Street, Unit 115, takes walk-ins Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free parking out front, and staff help you unload. Paper is shredded the same business day.
Book a pickup
Our driver collects the sealed boxes by appointment and brings them to Tewksbury. Zone 1 adds $129.95, Zone 2 $159.95 and Zone 3 $199.95. Our shredding pickup checklist covers access, counts and signing.
Watch it shredded
A witnessed session costs $1.99 per pound with a $100 minimum, plus $34.90. You watch your paper go through the shredder and the certificate is signed in front of you.
- Every box taped shut, with a lid that closes.
- Box count written down, matched to your log if you are an office.
- Media in its own bag, listed when you book.
- Binders, frames and plastic pulled out and left at home.
- Boxes light enough to carry, about 30 pounds each.
Not sure if driving or a pickup makes more sense for your volume and town? Our comparison of drop-off vs off-site runs the numbers. For three boxes, drive. For thirty, book the pickup.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to remove staples and paper clips before shredding?
No. Leave staples, paper clips, binder clips and rubber bands in place. Our cross-cut shredder handles them. File folders and paper envelopes can stay too. Removing them takes hours and puts more eyes on the pages, so skip it and spend the time deciding what to keep. Remove only three-ring binder hardware, hanging-folder frames and anything that is not paper.
Do I have to take paper out of three-ring binders?
Yes. Open the rings and slide the paper out in one stack. The steel binder mechanism is not a fastener like a staple, so it has to come out before shredding. You do not need to separate the pages. Set the empty binders aside for reuse or the trash, and pack the loose paper into a box with a lid.
Can I bring old hard drives and CDs with my paper?
Yes, but keep them out of the paper boxes. Put drives, USB sticks, CDs, DVDs, phones and x-ray film in a separate bag and list them when you book or call (978) 636-0301. Media is physically destroyed and quoted per item, so it is priced separately from the paper, which is charged at 99 cents per pound under 10 boxes.
How much paper fits in a banker’s box?
A full standard banker’s box of paper weighs about 30 pounds. At 99 cents per pound that is about $29.70 of shredding, plus $34.90 in per-job fees, so a single box at drop-off comes to about $64.60. Pack each box only as full as you can lift with the lid closed, since overstuffed boxes split at the handles.
Is it cheaper to bring 10 boxes than 9?
Often, yes. Under 10 boxes is priced by the pound, so nine full banker’s boxes at about 30 pounds each come to roughly $267.30 plus $34.90, or $302.20. At 10 boxes the flat $20 per banker’s box rate applies, so ten boxes cost $200 plus $34.90, or $234.90. Lighter boxes change the math, so count and weigh honestly.
Should I write what is inside on the outside of the box?
No. Write a box number, a department code and a date range, such as “HR 4 of 12, 2015.” Keep a separate log in the office that says what each box held. A label that reads “payroll with Social Security numbers” tells anyone who sees the box exactly what is worth stealing.
How do I know which papers are safe to shred?
Start with retention periods. The IRS says to keep tax records 3 years in most cases, 6 years if you underreported income by more than 25 percent, 7 years for a worthless securities or bad debt claim, and employment tax records at least 4 years. Keep property records, deeds and anything tied to an open matter. When unsure, keep it another year.
Can I bring paper in grocery bags instead of boxes?
Paper in bags is still weighed and shredded by the pound, but boxes with lids are better. Bags tear, tip over in the car and cannot be taped shut, and the flat box rate at 10 or more boxes needs boxes. If all you have is a bag or two of mail, bring it, but use boxes for anything larger.
Sources
- IRS: How long should I keep records? (checked November 2026)
- FTC: Protecting Personal Information, A Guide for Business (checked November 2026)
- FTC: Disposing of Consumer Report Information? Rule Tells How (checked November 2026)
- GovInfo: 16 CFR Part 682, Disposal of Consumer Report Information and Records (checked November 2026)
Boxes packed? Bring them in or book a pickup
Leave the staples in, pull the binder rings, bag the media and tape every box. Then drive to Tewksbury on any weekday or book a pickup, and file the Certificate of Destruction when the job is done.
Visit or call
1215 Main Street, Unit 115, Tewksbury, MA 01876. Route 38 near the I-495 interchange, about 15 minutes south of the NH line. Free parking out front.
Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Witnessed sessions and pickups outside these hours by appointment.
Three ways to shred: walk-in drop-off at 99¢ per pound, pickup by zone, or a witnessed session at $1.99 per pound.
New Hampshire Document Shredding · 1215 Main Street, Unit 115, Tewksbury, MA 01876 · (978) 636-0301 · Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.