Into the shredder
 

Today, our Township had a home shredding event--everyone could bring their personal paper that needs to be shredded down to Public Works, where they would have a secure shredding company provide services.

I took 50 pounds of accumulated paper--must have been, it was three big bins or boxes and I could barely lift one of them--and dumped it all off for shredding.

Here's the cool part. A large part of that 50 pounds of paper was paperwork (bank statements, various documents) pertaining to the several years that my ex S.O. (not an alcoholic, but a person with whom I lived for six years in a very unhealthy relationship) and I owned property together. I owned it in my name, he leased if from me (for a pittance) for his business. I wound up essentially supporting what amounted to a very expensive hobby of his. We sold the property when we split up (for a nice profit, thankfully), but I've been holding onto this paper in the event of a tax audit. The time has FINALLY come when I can get rid of this crap.

There was something very cathartic and symbolic about dropping off a very unpleasant period in my life to be shredded into bits.

Just thought I'd share. :) A god-shredder is as therapeutic as a god-box.

Nothing like takin' out the trash!

Hooray for you! There really is something so cathartic about shredding...kudos to you for literally getting rid of a heavy weight, now you have more room for good, healthy things in your life! (And in your closet or wherever you had all that crap stored...out with the bad, and in with the good!)

What a GREAT community!!!!!

When my mom died, after my dad, it was time to clean out the house and garage. There were 6 4-drawer file cabinets in the garage and another 3 in 'the office' filled to the brim. We had to go through everything to make sure we weren't shredding something important. Then we took it all in the back of the truck in boxes to a 'commercial shredding' company where the shredded paperwork would be mixed with other shredded paperwork and be processed into new paper.

I personally shred constantly and the shredded is mixed in with my garbage (wet and dry) in a 13 gallon white trash bag. I keep up with it so I don't accumulate, mom and dad's house was a very good 'wake up call' for me. I will not put my daughter through that when I pass, roflmao

That is really a great community service. Glad it helped you to weed out the unnecessary.

Love and hugs,

It's good to hear your weight was lifted (well, shredded...)!

I have a stack of paperwork from years past related to treatment, legal documentation, school issues, etc., and lately I've been thinking I might now pull it out of the closet and shred it all, thinking it would help in moving on from the past; husband says to keep it.

I LOVE the shredder idea. I love the idea of ridding ourselves of the old baggage..the old reminders of past horrors and pain.

I have a journal that I kept when things were at their worst with my exah. I put it away quite a while ago but every once in a while I'll come across it and I read it and I 'hear' so much sadness and fear and desperation in my posts. This journal always takes me back to such a dark time in my life.

I've held on to it because I thought perhaps I needed a reminder of just how bad things were so that (1) I never feel tempted to go back and (2) so I can appreciate how far I've come since those early, dark says before al anon and recovery.

But lately, I've been thinking that I"d like to have a mini-bon fire and burn it. I don't need those reminders anymore. The journal served its purpose but my life is so much different now and maybe its time to put the past to rest once and for all.

Thanks Lexie....

I understand what you're saying.

After reading through this thread last night, I was tempted to see what was in the collection of the documentation I have stored and, so, I sorted through the stack of paperwork.

As far as your point on journaling - I, too, feel reading that which I wrote a few years back takes me to a dark time; in the present, the events, etc., that took place at that time seem almost surreal; maybe that's a good thing.

I want to live in your town!! What a wonderful idea!

I look forward to being able to shred the stuff from my marriage to the A. Few more years to go...few more years to go...