Aurora AS420C Desktop-Style Cross-Cut Paper Shredder, 4-Sheet Crosscut Desktop

I bought this handy shredder after going through my tax files and realizing I still had unnecessary documents from ten years ago. My last shredder was a big, bulky monster that took up too much space, was clunky to pick up and kept getting jammed. I love this handy, powerful shredder because 1) it’s small enough to tuck away in a drawer 2) it’s expandable and fits most standard office trash cans 3) it’s super powerful. I shredded 6-8 pages at a time of standard paper, a credit card and other thicker pieces.There’s a place for DVDs that I didn’t test, but I’m sure it can handle it. I shredded enough paper to fill a 13 gallon trash bag, and it didn’t overheat.My only caution is to make sure you feed the paper in straight. A couple of times the paper was crooked and caused the feeder to jam. I was able to turn the feeder off and gently remove the pieces from underneath and start it back up again.Highly recommended!

This is a great, small shredder for home use. It only shreds 4 pages at a time so I was considering buying one that could shred 8 or more pages but they are all too big. This one is just the right size so I don't mind only shredding 4 pages at a time bc it works great and doesn't take up much space at all. I've included a photo of it next to one of the medium sized, 32 ounce gatorade bottles so that you can see just how compact it is in comparison. Even though it isn't huge, it holds a lot. I don't have to empty it as often as I thought I would have just by looking at it. I was pleasantly surprised by how much the small basket actually holds.I just shredded a whole shopping bag of old bills and documents to test it out and it didn't overheat at all and got it done super fast! It looks great, I love the clear basket with the little pockets on the side for holding your pens, the tool to clear paper jams that it comes with or anything else that you want to store there. By the way, I haven't had to use the paper jam tool yet and I just shredded a pile of stuff. I'm so glad I went with the more compact, smaller model shredder bc it works just as well as any office shredder that I've used. The only negative is that you have to fold pages vertically before inserting them though bc the paper slot isn't as wide as a standard sheet of paper. That doesn't matter though bc it shreds so quick and efficiently that folding some pages doesn't add much time to the task. If you want a cute, compact, efficient shredder for your home office or for just normal, everyday use then get this one. It's perfect! I will update my review if I run into any issues.

Update 07/2022: this shredder is now 13 years old (purchased in 2009) and recently the auto feed switch stopped working. I took the cover off (note: there’s one screw under a QC sticker) and saw that the switch is just a flexible metal flat spring that gets pushed together when paper is pushed through. I squeezed the two “prongs” of the switch together slightly, reassembled, and we’re back in business! It’s definitely still only good for very light duty shredding, but I’m adding the star I previously withheld as a reward for longevity.Original 2014 review:I've had this shredder for over 5 years, and it has been just what I've needed. I only use it for light-duty shredding: basically just junk mail that has personal information on it and other sensitive documents, plus the occasional expired credit card. It's been great.I'll echo other reviewers' comments that you can't (or at least shouldn't) put more than two thicknesses of paper into the slot at once, and, because the slot is only 4.5" wide, most paper has to be folded. The best way, especially with those long credit card applications we all get for the sole purpose of making sure our shredders still work, is to fold the page down the vertical axis (e.g. an 8.5 x 11" sheet becomes 4.25 x 11" folded over). The basket fills up fairly quickly if you have a stack of papers to shred, but I don't really mind this, as I probably only do my shredding once or twice a month. It has "auto" (shredding gears are activated when you put paper in the slot) and "reverse" modes, and I find it works well to switch to reverse to clear out any rogue bits of paper periodically.Pros:- Small footprint- Reliable (it's lasted me 5 years and still going strong)- Not too expensive- Bin is easy to empty- "Auto" modeCons:- Most paper has to be folded to fit the slot- Limit of 2 thicknesses of paper (1 sheet, folded)- Bin fills quicklyAll-in-all, a fine little shredder. It's not fast, but it will get the job done. Four stars.

It's a good size for a person's home rather than somebody's office.

This little crosscut shredder is fabulous. I can shred 4 layers at a time. It's portable and fits in a small space. Easy to use first time out. Very intuitive, if you can say that about a shredder. Used it for all my old tax papers. You can use the paper if you have birds, for their nest! I'll think of something else to use the paper for I'm sure. Right now just recycling. I filled 2 Publix bags and it kept right on shredding. Hope it lasts!

Just what I wanted to have on the desk without taking up a lot of room. I didn't need a big tall shredder for just occasional household use. The slot is obviously smaller because of the overall size of the unit, but no big deal...just fold sheet in half. It works great, as expected.