How to Dispose of Cheque Books?

When you have some old cheque books, you can’t just put them into the trash. 

They’re not like other paper waste because they have important financial and personal information on them. 

You don’t want this kind of confidentiality to get into the wrong hands, even if it’s a long-closed account.

So, there are some options available to get rid of them. 

Refer to the information below to learn the best ways of how to dispose of cheque books. 

You can do this by shredding, cutting, burning, soaking or taking it to a place specializing in document shredding.

Proper Disposal of Cheque Books is Imperative

Cancelled cheques, electronic cheques and voided cheques can have even more personal information contained on them. 

Unfortunately, we live in a world where nefarious people are always looking to make a quick buck they don’t have to earn. 

Opportunists will take anything if they think they can get something out of it.

If your old cheque book gets into the wrong hands, it can spell disaster for you. 

There have been a host of horrific scams in recent decades where you hear of the destruction people’s credit score or incurring outrageous amounts of debt. 

Most of this was due to the carelessness of the victim not being mindful.

Leaving cheque books in the garbage or paper recycling means someone will have your name, phone number, address, bank routing number and account number. 

Not everyone is going to have your best interests at heart. So, you have to be smart and destroy them in a way that will be useless.  

Ways to Dispose of Old Cheque Books

The good news is, you have several options available in which to destroy your cheque book without having to worry about underhanded people. 

Hold onto important documentation for three to seven years before discarding. Consider the following seven ways:

1. Take it to the Bank: The bank where the cheques came from will often shred them for you.
2. Shred it at Home: Use a motorized shredder or a shredding scissors to cut up and pulverize your old cheque books. Cross cutting is best because it creates tiny bits of paper that’s impossible to reassemble. Avoid cutting in strips or large chunks that a criminal could puzzle back together.
3. Shredding Services: There are many professional shredding services and office supply stores that have bigger shredders. If you have a huge box full of old cheques, it may be better to take it to one of these places. Some municipalities offer document shredding to residents.
4. Shred it at Work: If you have a good quality shredder at work, there’s nothing saying you can’t use it to mince your old cheque books. When you only have a few it shouldn’t be an issue unless company policy forbids it for some reason. In the case you have any doubts, talk to your boss.
5. Burn Old Cheque Books: If you have a fireplace, a fire pit or a campfire, you can tear out the individual pages and use it for fire kindling. Don’t burn whole, connected books at once or multiple books at the same time.
6. Soaking in Liquid: Pour vinegar, water or carbonated soda over the cheque books in a baking dish. Let this sit for a few days so every piece of paper soaks through. These will breakdown the paper into pulp.
7. Put them in the Laundry: With a secure canvas backpack, put the cheque book inside and close the zipper tight. Use a safety pin if you have to. Place it into the washer on the hottest cycle possible. This will make them completely illegible.

Get Creative and Resourceful

Of course, if you have an artistic bent, you could take the shredded or cut up cheque book pieces and use them in a multi-media work of art or scrapbooking craft. 

Alternatively, if you use the soaking method, you can apply the pulped paper to a Papier-mâché sculpture or make your own paper.

Scrapbooking

For scrapbooking, you could cut out the letters, words, lines and numbers from the cheque books with an exacto-knife or fine box cutter. 

Use these for your craft as decorative elements and to add variety.

Make a Canvas

You could also connect the old pages from the book to create a canvas on a support of wood or cardboard. 

You can use paints, markers, pastels, chalks or other medium to make a host of things. 

Home décor, book covers, kitchen canister wrappings and drawer lining are some ideas.

Using the Strips

If all you have is a shredder that produces strips, you can use these as filling for homemade throw pillows or sewing crafts. 

There are some people who use the strips as the base of their cat’s litter box or for the litter box of a newly acquired kitten. 

Likewise, they’re good for other pets like rabbits, guinea pigs and potty-training puppies.

Conclusion

When it comes to throwing away old cheque books, you want to ensure you do your best to protect yourself and your information. 

Far too many people chuck them in the trash only to deal with a world of trouble, frustration and financial ruin later on.

The best way to do this is shred it in a secure way, either at home, work or a professional service. 

Whatever you choose, ensure it won’t get into the wrong hands.