To Shred or Not to Shred

At a recent seminar I taught, the question about what should be shredded was widely debated. Some said they shredded everything that had any identifiable information on it, while others voiced that they only shredded "critical" information, mainly anything with a social security or account number on it (because so much of our private information is already available on the Internet-sad, but true). I have to admit that I'm from the camp of if it has ANY identifiable information about me on it, it meets the steel teeth of death or at least have a date with a dark permanent marker. It's a personal decision, but know that the criminals only need a few pieces of information to "assume" your identity and paper theft is still widely practiced. Sadly, not everyone will be as diligent about keeping your information private, so with something as innocent as your name and address, someone could possibly steal your identity. My belief is that it's best to be overly cautious, but you will have to decide your level of "shred worthiness". Thoughts?

Dr. DClutter™