As the New Year approaches, most people would like to say “good riddance” to something.

About 200 people nationally even entered a Good Riddance Day contest sponsored by Cincinnati-based Cintas Corp., sharing the 2010 memories they’d most like to shred.Of the 10 finalists, three are from the Chicago area:

• Victoria Dillivan from Chicago wants to shred all of her 2010 bridesmaids dresses.

“I was in two weddings this summer and attended seven, so I am wedding’d out,” she wrote. See all the postings.

“Just being in two weddings took up my entire spring/summer 2010. I had zero me time. I am looking forward to 2011, which will be all mine, and hopefully I’ll have an engagement to celebrate and get to put everyone through what I went through in 2010. Can’t wait.”

• Michael Keselica from Tinley Park wants to shred his frustration of unemployment.

“I’d like to say ‘good riddance’  to the unemployment battle and frustrations of being out of work. I say ‘good riddance’ to you unemployment for putting my family and myself through such frustrations and personal anguish this year in 2010. I’d like to say ‘good riddance’ as you are no longer a part of my life in 2011 as I will be employed again and on the path to pursuing the American Dream.”

• Jillian Marsala from Palatine would like to shred the grief that losing her mother to pancreatic cancer has caused her family, especially her father.

“I would like to say good riddance to the struggles of all the single fathers who lost the loves of their lives, who should be retired but still work a full-time job, to support their children,” she wrote of her dad, 68. “I just want my dad to see me happy, but more importantly I want to see him happy.”

The winner will receive a five-night trip to New York City to destroy their item in person on Good Riddance Day Dec. 28 and ring in the New Year in Times Square.

For the annual New Year’s tradition, Cintas, whose business lines include document management, is providing one of its large mobile shredding trucks in Times Square for participants to dispose of all their bad memories from 2010. Participants can bring anything from a picture of an old flame to a pink slip or pile of parking tickets. People who don’t have a physical item to destroy can write the unpleasant thought on a piece of paper to be shredded, a spokeswoman said.