A couple of weeks ago, I headed up to Chicago to visit Fellowes Headquarters. A team of 4 moms made the journey, in order to enter the Fellowes Moms program…. Amy Bellgardt of Mom Spark, Elizabeth Mays of A Nut in a Nutshell, Ronnie Tyler of Black and Married with Kids, and yours truly.To be honest, I wasn’t all that familiar with Fellowes, until I realized the different types of products they manufacture. Fellowes is a family owned and operated company headquartered in Itasca, IL; it was founded in 1917 by Harry L. Fellowes, who bought the business (back then a box business) from someone during the first World War. Eventually, their Liberty Box business expanded and grew, and they began offering even more types of office products.

Today Fellowes is widely known for their selection of shredders, both personal and commercial in use. While in Chicago, we got to meet several Fellowes employees, and we got to know a bit more about this company and what they stand for. One thing I was most impressed with was the fact that they design and manufacture their own shredders. The work and the thought that goes into each one of these machines is incredible, as you’ll realize a bit more after reading more about their shredders. Presently, Fellowes has more than 1,100 employees, and they sell products in over 100 different countries. For a company to be around since 1917 and to have survived this economic turmoil that has had our country in its grip….they’ve definitely got it going on in regards to knowing what it takes to run a successful international company.

So, why even have a shredder in the first place? What is the purpose? Well, of course, to shred documents and letters….but also to protect one of your most precious possessions, that if lost, could be a total game changer….your identity. We learned quite a bit about identity theft while talking with everyone at Fellowes….in fact, there were things that I’d never thought about, such as the need to shred junk mail. It’s honestly amazing the lengths to which thieves will go to get your information and take on your identity….it happens each and every day, though….this is something I’ll be talking a lot more about in the future.

So, now that I’m a Fellowes Mom, I’ve been trying out one of their shredders, the P-12C Cross-Cut Shredder. This shredder is something I’m really excited to write about because I’ve always thought of shredders as the kind that fit over the trash can….I really didn’t realize how nice a shredder could actually be, even for the home office. When it comes to shredders, Fellowes has several features they incorporate into their shredders, like Jam Blocker or Jam Proof technologies, Safe Sense, energy savings, etc. The P-12C is a medium-sized shredder that actually fits underneath my desk quite nicely. It’s a shiny black color. It has an on/off switch on the back, as well as an on/off switch for the SafeSense technology. My video shows a bit more about how this shredder works, so enjoy….

One feature I love about this shredder is the pull-out bin that I can simply pull out and dump. I can fit a whole envelope (unopened) through the shredder, provided it’s not more than 12 sheets thick. It can run for 5 minutes, meaning it can shred about 600 sheets in one session. It also has the SafeSense technology, as described in the video. The lock button on top is somewhat difficult to move, but I honestly like that feature because it’s not as easy for little fingers to unlock. It is a bit noisy, but it’s not an annoying type of noise. In fact, shredding can actually be quite addictive once I get started. I like the fact that I can reverse a paper that I’m shredding, and it’ll back out of the teeth. The shredded pieces in the bin are cross-cut, as well.

You can purchase the P-12C Shredder on various websites, including Office Depot or Amazon. Prices range from about $110 to $229. I’d definitely give this product my seal of approval, not only for the fact that it’s a necessary office item, but for the fact that it’s such a great machine, easy to use, seemingly safe for my kids, and efficient in how it works. Be sure to Like Fellowes on Facebook.

The great news is that Fellowes is giving away one P-12C Shredder to one MamaBuzz reader! You can enter to win by doing one or more of the following; just be sure to leave a separate comment for each way that you enter. I’ll draw the winner, via random.org, on Tuesday, November 15. This giveaway is open to U.S. only (void where prohibited). No purchase is necessary, and the odds of winning are based on a number of entries. Good luck, and have a wonderful day!

1. Do you have a home office shredder; what steps do you take to protect your identity or the identities of loved ones?

Other optional ways to enter:

• Tweet about this giveaway, one time only.
• Follow MamaBuzz or subscribe to our posts.
• Follow @mamabzz on Twitter.

(Disclosure: I was provided travel and accommodations to visit Fellowes in Chicago. I was also given a Fellowes P-12C Shredder, free of charge, for the purposes of the Fellowes Moms program and for review. All views/opinions remain solely my own.)