Shredding Gets Easier — and Cuter

I'd bet 99% of shredders in U.S. homes are never used. — Joe, from the bookofjoe blog

Most shredders are ugly, brutish, and short, not to mention noisy and messy. — Peter Lewis, CNNMoney

If Joe is right, and you're one of the 99%, perhaps you could use a better — and easier-to-use — shredder. I haven't yet tried them myself, but the Swingline Stack-and-Shred shredders sure seem to fit the easy-to-use description. While you can still feed in a few individual sheets, you can also just lift the lid, insert a stack of papers, close the lid, and start shredding. You don't need to remove staples or paper clips, either. They come in five sizes, from ones that handle 60 sheets of paper at a time to those that handle 500. And addressing Peter's concerns, Swingline says they are quiet, too. Although these shredders are not cheap, Swingline says they provide "a better way to shred." [via Popgadget]




But what if your concern is more about that "ugly" part? I've mentioned some pretty nice-looking shredders before, but if you're into cute, let's look to Meiko, a Japanese company that makes a number of shredders. The cute one is called SE.CU.MO — and unlike some other cute shredders, it doesn't just create strips; it shreds the papers into tiny pieces. It comes in four colors, and you can buy it here, here, and here. [via Steve Levenstein at InventorSpot]

Related Posts:
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Oddest Shredder Ever
Paper Shredders Don't Have to be Boring
Update: Six More Shredder Options
Shredders With Style
Shredders: Getting a Good One
Paper Shredders: From Furry to Functional to Fantastic
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Reader Question: Locking Mailboxes

I'm wondering if you've done any research on mailboxes. I'm looking for something large enough to hold a few days mail, but that's also attractive and not a custom order. So many of the ones I've seen are ugly. Now to push it a little further, I'd love to find a box that works on a fence or a gate so that the public/street side is a mail slot and the private side has a secure box to hold the mail with the ability to take the mail out on the private side of the fence.

This message arrived a couple days after I read about the issue of "protecting mail from identity thieves." [Thanks to Naomi Seldin] So let's look at mailboxes that are secure and at least somewhat attractive - including some that might work for the reader.

The Bobi mailbox shown above can be wall-mounted or curbside mounted. It comes in six colors - a bunch of neutrals, and red. But two models (the Classic-B and the Grande-B) have rear doors, and they are shown mounted to a gate. They are made of "stainless steel or zincplated steel which is covered with a polyester coating." The mailboxes are made in Finland, but they're available in at least 15 countries: much of Europe, as well as the U.S., Canada and Japan.




Another option is the Janzer thru-fence mailbox - but unfortunately, this is the only picture on the Janzer web site. The mailbox is made of aluminum.




If you're looking for a curbside product rather than one on a gate, there are a few options with front slots and rear doors. You could consider the CurbVault. It looks a bit odd to me, but it has lots of useful features. This one is made of steel, and it comes in four colors. [photo from Gardecor, one of many sites selling this product.]




And then there's House Box, from Ready Steady Co., made of stainless steel. [via Apartment Therapy; see the comments there about getting postmaster approval]




The MailCase is a more traditional post-mounted option - and doesn't have a rear door.




And for those of us who need a simple wall-mounted option, the Peninsula locking mailbox from Architectural Mailboxes is quite nice; it's stainless steel. The company also makes other locking mailboxes, including post-mounted ones.




And if you have a sheltered location for your mailbox (and a lot of money to spend), you could get this teak mailbox from Semigood Design, handcrafted in Seattle. Both locking and non-locking versions are available.




Finally, this cow mailbox is not a locking one - but I just had to share it. [via Stacked Books]

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Paper Shredders: From Furry to Functional to Fantastic

If you want a "pretty, fuzzy paper shredder," Purrrpl_Haze / Hazel I. has just the shredder for you. No, you can't have Minky - but you can certainly get a Minky equivalent. [photo licensed under Creative Commons]

But if you want a more reliable shredder - one that shreds just the things you want shredded - you can get something like the Fellowes shredder I own - which you can buy for much less than the price listed on the Fellowes web site. And there are plenty of less-expensive shredders that might suit your needs just fine, too. Monica Ricci writes about some things to consider when selecting a decent shredder.




If you don't like the standard shredder look, you might want to consider the Conof shredders, sold here.




Want something very special? You could get the Papervore coffee table - a coffee table that's also a shredder - which is sold by Voos Furniture. [via Apartment Therapy]


Related Posts:
Shredders With Style
Staples MAILMATE Shredder
A Simple Shredder
Oddest Shredder Ever
Update: Six More Shredder Options
Shredders: Getting a Good One

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