Great LOW VOLUME shredder

We've had this shredder for five years now and it still does the job. We don't shred much on a daily/weekly basis, but sometimes we go through our filing cabinets and do a massive "clean out". Anything with an account number, social security number, or anything else personal gets shredded. I like the fact that this shredder is a "cross-cut" shredder--it doesn't just shred into strips, it cuts the strips into little pieces!

After it cuts the papers, they collect in a little (and let me stress LITTLE) bucket-type container that fits into the shredder and makes up most of the front surface of the shredder. There is a little window that correlates to the top of the collection basket, so you can see when you need to empty it. If you ignore that, and fill it up to the top, it is hard to remove the collection basket, and you are more likely to spill paper shreds everywhere.

The collection basket pulls out like a drawer, and then you just turn it over into a trash can and all of the paper falls out. It fills up after fewer than 10 sheets of paper. But don't think you can just keep the basket out and hold this over a trash can to do a lot of paper at once--there is a built-in safety feature so that if the collection basket/drawer is not in place, the shredder won't run.

This shredder is a great size for low volume personal use. It is about 12" across, 5.5" deep at its deepest point, and about 9.5" tall. So if you only shred a few pieces here and there, this is your shredder. It can handle staples, and up to 3-4 sheets of 20# bond paper at a time, but if I put more than 2 papers in at a time, it goes slower. Also, the slot for the paper is right at the width of letter or legal-sized paper, so if it doesn't go in STRAIGHT, it can jam as the paper curls up.

You have options as to how this shredder works. You can set it to auto-on, so that when you stick paper in it activates the shredder to run, or you can make it run continuously using the "forward" setting. If there is a jam, or you just discovered you are shredding something that you shouldn't, there is a "reverse" setting. You just move a switch left or right to the setting you desire. It's rather instinctive to use.

We have our shredder sitting on top of a bookcase, but you can wall-mount it if you want. If you use this shredder continuously for a big job, it might cut off. This is another safety feature that keeps it from overheating. If this happens, you just let the shredder "rest" for about half an hour, and then you're good to go again.

I would not recommend this shredder for an office, as there would probably be too much for this shredder to handle. But if you just need to shred the occasional document and don't want a big shredder, this is for you. It's even an off-white color and has a slightly dished-in front to make it more attractive than a utilitarian office shredder.