Sensitive documents accumulate fast. Tax records, bank statements, medical files, client information, expired contracts, old invoices — they all contain information that needs to be destroyed properly before you throw them away.
Your home shredder works fine for a few pages at a time. But when you have boxes of old paperwork that need to go, it’s not practical. Running page after page through a small personal shredder takes hours, overheats the machine, and often ends with a jammed motor.
OfficeLOCALE provides heavy-duty document shredding services at both our Thousand Oaks and Newbury Park locations. We offer self-service access to commercial-grade shredders that handle bulk shredding jobs quickly and efficiently — whether you have a single box or several boxes of documents that need to be destroyed.
Stop by either location with your documents and we’ll get you set up with our shredding equipment. It’s fast, affordable, and far more efficient than trying to do it yourself with a home shredder.
Call 805-777-8866 for pricing and availability.
Why Document Shredding Matters
Identity theft is a serious problem. Financial documents, medical records, legal paperwork, and business files all contain personal information that can be used for fraud if they fall into the wrong hands.
Simply throwing documents in the trash or recycling bin isn’t secure. Dumpster diving is a real tactic used by identity thieves, and it’s surprisingly effective. Documents that seem harmless — old utility bills, bank statements from closed accounts, junk mail with your name and address — all provide pieces of information that can be used to steal your identity.
Shredding documents makes them unreadable and unusable. Proper shredding destroys the information completely, eliminating the risk that someone could reconstruct your documents from the trash.
For businesses, document shredding isn’t just good practice — it’s often required by law. HIPAA regulations require healthcare providers to properly destroy patient records. Financial institutions must comply with regulations protecting customer information. Legal practices have confidentiality obligations that extend to how they dispose of client files.
Even if your business isn’t subject to specific regulations, you still have a responsibility to protect customer and employee information. Shredding is the most reliable way to ensure that sensitive business documents are destroyed properly.
Heavy-Duty Shredding Equipment
OfficeLOCALE provides access to commercial-grade shredding equipment designed to handle bulk document destruction. These aren’t the small personal shredders you’d use at home — they’re heavy-duty machines built for high-volume shredding.
Commercial shredders can process documents much faster than home units. They can handle staples, paper clips, and multiple sheets at once without jamming. They run continuously without overheating, which means you can shred boxes of documents in a fraction of the time it would take with a personal shredder.
The shredders produce cross-cut shred, which cuts documents both horizontally and vertically into small pieces. This is more secure than strip-cut shredding, which only cuts documents into long strips that can potentially be reassembled.
Our self-service model means you maintain control over your documents throughout the entire shredding process. You don’t hand your sensitive files to a third party or wait for a mobile shredding truck to arrive. You bring your documents in, use the equipment yourself, and leave with the peace of mind that your information has been destroyed.
What You Can Shred
Our heavy-duty shredders can handle most standard paper documents.
- Financial documents like bank statements, credit card statements, cancelled checks, tax returns, investment statements, and receipts can all be shredded. Medical records, insurance documents, and explanation of benefits forms are also suitable for shredding.
- Legal documents including old contracts, agreements, court documents, and correspondence can be shredded once they’re no longer needed. Business files such as client records, employee files, invoices, expired licenses, and old business cards are appropriate for shredding.
- Personal documents like utility bills, junk mail with personal information, expired identification, old passports, and outdated resumes should be shredded rather than thrown away.
The shredders can handle staples and paper clips, so you don’t need to remove them before shredding. However, documents should be free of large binder clips, rubber bands, or plastic covers.
When to Shred Documents
Some documents should be shredded immediately after you no longer need them. Others should be kept for specific retention periods before shredding.
- Tax returns and supporting documents should be kept for at least seven years before shredding. Bank statements can typically be shredded after one year unless they’re needed for tax purposes. Credit card statements can be shredded after you’ve verified the charges and paid the bill, unless you need them for tax deductions or warranty purposes.
- Medical records should be kept for at least seven years for adults, and until children reach adulthood plus seven years. Insurance policies should be kept while active and for several years after they expire.
- Employment records for former employees should be kept according to applicable regulations — typically several years. Client files and contracts should be retained according to your industry’s standards and legal requirements.
When in doubt, err on the side of keeping documents longer rather than shredding them prematurely. But once documents have reached the end of their retention period, shredding is the best way to dispose of them securely.
Self-Service Shredding Process
Using our document shredding services is straightforward.
- Bring your documents to either our Thousand Oaks or Newbury Park location. You can bring them in boxes, bags, or file folders — however it’s easiest for you to transport them.
- We’ll set you up with access to the shredding equipment and show you how to use it if you haven’t used commercial shredders before. The process is simple and intuitive.
- You feed your documents through the shredder yourself. The machine handles the rest, cutting your documents into small pieces and depositing the shredded material into a collection bin.
- When you’re finished, we dispose of the shredded material responsibly. The shredded paper is recycled, so you’re destroying your documents securely while also keeping paper out of landfills.
The entire process typically takes just minutes, even for several boxes of documents. It’s far faster than trying to shred everything at home with a personal shredder.
Shredding for Businesses
If you’re a business owner in Thousand Oaks or Newbury Park, regular document shredding should be part of your information security practices.
Client files, employee records, financial documents, and other business paperwork all accumulate over time. Once these documents reach the end of their retention period, they need to be destroyed properly to protect sensitive information.
OfficeLOCALE’s self-service shredding gives you a secure, affordable option for destroying business documents. You maintain complete control over your files, and you can shred on your own schedule without waiting for a mobile shredding service appointment.
For businesses that need regular shredding, we’re conveniently located and easy to access. Stop by whenever you have documents that need to be destroyed. There’s no need to let boxes of old paperwork pile up in your office storage room.
More Than Just Shredding
As a full-service business center, OfficeLOCALE offers many additional services beyond document shredding.
We provide virtual office services, including professional business addresses, mail handling, and package receipt. We offer coworking space, private offices, and meeting rooms for businesses that need flexible workspace solutions.
We also provide Live Scan fingerprinting, notary services, apostille processing, passport renewals, printing and design services, and shipping and receiving.
Many of our clients use multiple services. You might stop in to shred old documents while picking up your mail, or combine shredding with a notary appointment. Having all these services available in one location saves time and makes it easier to take care of multiple tasks in one trip.
Serving Thousand Oaks, Newbury Park, and Surrounding Communities
OfficeLOCALE has been serving the Conejo Valley since 2002. We operate two convenient locations — one in Thousand Oaks and one in Newbury Park — making our services accessible throughout the area.
We also serve clients from nearby communities including Westlake Village, which borders Thousand Oaks to the east, Camarillo, just west of Newbury Park beyond the Conejo Grade, Moorpark, located north of Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley, northeast of Thousand Oaks across the Simi Hills, and Agoura Hills, southeast of Thousand Oaks toward Malibu.
Our central Conejo Valley location makes us accessible from throughout Ventura County and the surrounding area. Whether you’re coming from Oxnard, Ventura, Calabasas, or other nearby cities, OfficeLOCALE provides convenient access to document shredding and our full range of business services.
Get Started with Document Shredding
If you have boxes of old documents that need to be destroyed securely, stop by OfficeLOCALE in Thousand Oaks or Newbury Park.
Our heavy-duty shredders make quick work of bulk document destruction, and our self-service model means you maintain control of your sensitive information throughout the entire process.
