Do you have a (paper) shredder?

Yes. His name’s Henry
We do have a regular one as well and I shred anything I don’t want anyone to see.

I have one. I should probably use it more than I do. I shred paper with my credit card number or bank account info. Stuff like that.

Yeah, and we use it for the same reason ^^^^they do.

We have two, one down stairs and one up.

No. I throw all paper in the recycle bin.

@lucillelucillelucille..excellent post! I got one of thems myself!

I gave my shredder away since I receive very little paper mail these days. I opt for electronic delivery whenever possible. When I have a bank/financial document to discard, I tear it a few times and scatter the remains in two or three wastebaskets.

Yes, it’s a must.

No, but at work there are huge ones that are the size of your dining room table. I use them to shred personal stuff and work stuff. They can shred about 50 pages at a time, very quickly.

Yes, I shred everything that has sensitive personal information on it.

I have a small one at home that I shred anything with my banking or credit card information. Especially card offers I get in the mail. We have a huge one at work that I take my bigger shredding jobs to do it quicker.

Yes, financial stuff mostly – anything with account numbers or social security numbers.

His name is Buddy & he wags his tail as he shreds.

I put papers in a paper shopping bag and then burn it in the wood burning stove which converts it into BTUs (or MJs). 20 pounds of paper is equivalent to one gallon of heating oil worth ab out $2.50. Used tissues, paper towels, cardboard, are mixed in and are likewise converted into heat.

@LuckyGuy – Do you have a formula for figuring out how much heat something like 3 logs of cured white oak or pine for that matter, will put out?

Yes, I have a shredder close to my computer desk, got it from Biglots. Though nothing ever seems totally private, people can find out all about you online. I, as a general rule shred anything with my name and address, or account numbers, and the very occasional other item.

@lucillelucillelucille Why yes I do. You can make a first order approximation by just sticking with 20 pounds of wood (in a 72% efficient wood burner) is equivalet to 1 gallon of heating oil (in an 87% efficient oil burning furnace).

It is more complicated if you want to get really accurate. You need to know the moisture content of the wood. You get that by first weighing a sample. Then putting it in an oven to dry it out and weighing it after a bake at 220F. If you really want to get down to the last significant digits you look at the cellulose, hemi-cellulose, and lignin ratios of the different woods. They are so close it’s not significant in my opinion.
The important things are the mass and the moisture content. Stick with the 20 pound rule and you won’t be too far off.

@LuckyGuy

“Then putting it in an oven to dry it out and weighing it after a bake at 220F.”

Given @lucillelucillelucille‘s love of the culinary arts, I’m sure she’ll all over that “recipe”. ;-)

@LuckyGuy -I have wondered about this and thanks for answering!
I am looking for types of wood that burn very hot and long like oak over pine for wood firing pottery. blackware: specifically.
If you ever see one of those pots at a garage sale, they are worth some $-especially the older ones
I have some ash logs that I think will burn hot but it’s a lot of work to do (making the pots) to be guessing at it.
@Brian1946 -I’d consider doing it as I have a kiln.My hub would think someone broke in to cook if he saw me near the stove.:)

@lucillelucillelucille OK, I get it. You need to pack as much heat intoa small space. That means you want high density. A pile of ash or hickory or oak split into relatively small , 1” to 2” diameter sticks. If they are packed close together but still have room for air flow they will burn hot.
Remember the total heat output is the virtually the same. Smaller pieces properly placed will burn hotter but will consume the wood faster. Make sure the wood is bone dry. Store it on your radiator or near your fireplace to dry it out completely. .

@LuckyGuy -Makes sense. I can get the wood dry but this method of firing also requires dried horse sh!t (didn’t tell ya about that part-lol)
At a certain point in the firing, you cover the pit to deprive the burn from oxygen & that smoking will help to blacken the pots.It’s a kind of reduction firing that I don’t know much about.
I have done pit firing once before but it involved stuff like corn husks for potassium &copper carbonate to get color- red or green depending on oxygen levels but blackware is beautiful to me so I want to give it a go at some point.
I’ve put a pot in a regular bonfire to see what would happen. Surprisingly, it didn’t crack from thermal shock but I did not get that solid black that I want.
Thankfully, my neighbor’s a fireman.LOL