This nifty ID protection stamp revolutionized how easily, quickly and safely I can recycle my sensitive paperwork – and doesn’t make my hands ache

I will readily admit I have always been paranoid that somebody is going to find a sliver of an old telephone bill of mine, steal my identity and go to town on my credit.

That’s why I usually have piles of paperwork I need to tear up in a million different orientations (leaving me with aching hands) to avoid any of my sensitive data making me a target for identity theft.

Then I edited an article here as head of solved and I realized there is such a thing as an anonymizing security stamp roller to blot out such text with a mish-mash of random letters. This reliably obscures sensitive personal information so you don’t leave yourself at risk of identity theft.

I tested it out and rejoice! It works brilliantly and has completely revolutionized how easily I recycle my paperwork.

Why I love this anonymizing stamp roller

When I first tried this easy peasy stamp roller from Amazon I laughed at myself. It was so easy, so why hadn’t I done this years ago? It came already loaded with a cartridge of ink (and three spare), and took a couple of seconds to obscure my data. The letter I would have spent a minute or two tearing/shredding by hand go now could go straight in my recycling without the risk of identity theft in a matter of seconds. Winner!

There are, of course, other options to safely discard paperwork. But I knew about only one of them before trying this roller: a paper shredding machine. I should have looked it up I guess, but it truthfully was never on my list of priorities. I either kept my paperwork and eventually filed them away or got rid of it.

For years, that meant typically hoarding a pile of letters until I couldn’t bear to look at it anymore, then spending a few hours tearing and ripping them up by hand, or cutting them to smithereens over the recycling bin. I once even spent an evening burning an enormous pile of paperwork in the yard to get rid of paper clutter.

Now this little stamp roller makes it a breeze. I still tear up my paperwork a couple of times for good measure, but I’m no longer spending minutes of my life that I will never get back on a task that leaves my wrists and fingers aching.

Image 1 of 3

Before

After

After, checking the reverse

The only catch is if your data is on shiny paper, the ink will struggle to dry and may smear off. On normal paper, it dries in about 20 seconds, though will take longer if you go over a few times, adding multiple layers of the black ink.

I keep this nifty device on my work desk at home, and while I wait for my computer to boot up every morning, read my mail and stamp, stamp, stamp!

My identity theft protection roller from Amazon comes with three refill cartridges, and extra ones are inexpensive.

Since buying this, my pile of paper work has disappeared and my mail drop zone, one of the things I use to keep my home tidy all winter, is cleared out daily. It’s a real turnaround for me.

My verdict

Absolute winner. I love how small it is and the ease of use. A shredder would take up space I don’t have and use electricity I don’t wish to dedicate to this job.

This roller tucks in my tiny Amazon monitor riser drawer and is so simple to use, my eight-year-daughter can do it. She almost has as much fun as me.

What to shop

There you have it. Next time you have a stack of paperwork to safely get rid of, save your time, space and the comfort of your hands with an ID protection roller stamp.

Next, learn brilliant decluttering tips and delve into organizing whizz, Marie Kondo’s steps to permanently cut your paperwork clutter.