Tech Forum

This is my first year as ward clerk, and I am trying to find a good way to shred the documents from 2002-2004 that are taking up space in a filing cabinet in the office.

I read somewhere that Zions will shred old documents once per year per ward; is that true? Is there a number I call to get that done? Manually shredding these in our 3-pages-at-a-time shredder will take too long.

Thanks.

I don't know about that, I live too far away to know. But there are various community groups that sponsor shredding - usually around the first of the year.

lahimatoa wrote:This is my first year as ward clerk, and I am trying to find a good way to shred the documents from 2002-2004 that are taking up space in a filing cabinet in the office.

If you're in the US, be sure also to include documents from 2005-2010 in your shredding party.

Mikerowaved wrote:

lahimatoa wrote:This is my first year as ward clerk, and I am trying to find a good way to shred the documents from 2002-2004 that are taking up space in a filing cabinet in the office.

If you're in the US, be sure also to include documents from 2005-2010 in your shredding party.

Yes, absolutely. Apparently the last clerk did a good job with those, but there is a second filing cabinet that he apparently forgot to check while he was in charge.

As another possible option (depending on where you live): When I was clerk, a bishopric counselor had a burn barrel on his property that we were able to utililze. You can wear out (or overheat) a small shredder trying to get rid of a whole year's worth of records.

davesudweeks wrote:As another possible option (depending on where you live): When I was clerk, a bishopric counselor had a burn barrel on his property that we were able to utililze. You can wear out (or overheat) a small shredder trying to get rid of a whole year's worth of records.

Have a bishopric bonfire!

I heated my house with old documents

-- >> Is it true that we are no longer allowed to take stuff to a third party for shredding. Can anyone give me a link to the official policy, please?

I ask because,
I have been cleaning out the discontinued Stake office in the church building I attend at.
There are documents going back to 1995.
A counselor in the current Stake Presidency told me today that his understanding is that we are not allowed to take material to a third party to shred.
"So you better get shredding."

Before this, my ward merged with another ward in this same building.
Being a clerk I ended up taking a car load of very heavy "Bankers Boxes" to Office Depot for shredding.

And before that, as a newly called Financial clerk I cleaned out the clerks 4 drawer file cabinet and shredded years & years & years worth of old documents.
When the shredder overheated I had to wait for it to cool down.

Now as the ward clerk I make sure we keep only the past 3 plus the current years documents.

PS: I don't have a fireplace or outside fire pit.

I note this excerpt from the General Handbook, Section 33.9.3:

Records that have potential historical value should not be discarded, destroyed, or placed in the ward resource center (library). Questions about the historical value of records may be addressed to the Church History Library (see contact information in 33.7.2).

If the records to 1995 are only financial, shredding makes sense. If there are other records of historical value, it might be worth a consult with the CHL if they would like them.

Also in 33.9.3:

Records that are outdated or no longer needed should be destroyed in such a way that the information cannot be retrieved or reconstructed.

Call me paranoid, but I'd prefer that it be destroyed in a way that I can see it done, rather then handing it off to a low-paid employee were boredom and curiosity might get the better of them. I have used Office Max in the past when helping to clean out a deceased relatives house, but all the accounts were either closed or transferred to the next of kin.

Given the quantity you're dealing with, I'd call around for a commercial shredding company. It wouldn't be a bad idea for the stake to spring for the shredding and have all the wards bring in their old stuff to add to the pile.

If anyone told me I'd have to use the shredder that FM provides for that job, I'd invite them to join me.

As for historical records, keep an eye out for Melchizedek Priesthood ordinations. The church wasn't recording the "ordained by" for a time, so there's gaps in some member's line of authority. I don't remember the years, but as quick search in the forum indicates "early 90s".