US Postal Service Asks Residents to Repair, Spruce Up Their Mailboxes

By Yehudit Garmaise

When Americans grab their mail today, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) asks them to take a closer look at their mailboxes and consider the extent of their wear-and-tear.

Just in time for Mailbox Improvement Week, which launches on Sunday, May 21, and runs until Shabbos, May 27, the USPS suggests that American residents think about what they might need to do to spruce up their mailboxes and mail slots.

“The Postal Service makes this annual request because of the wear and tear that occurs to mailboxes every year,” said the USPS, adding that repairing mailboxes “makes delivering and receiving mail safer for postal carriers and customers,” but also “improves the appearance of neighborhoods.”

Residents who feel they need new mailboxes should know that only USPS-approved traditional, contemporary, and locking full/limited-time mailboxes are permitted, the USPS said.

To ensure that all mailboxes conform with the USPS’s guidelines regarding flags, sizes, strength, and quality of construction, customers must first speak with their local post offices before building “custom-made mailboxes.”

Among the mailbox and mail slot improvements residents might want to undertake next week are the following:

1.     Check that residents’ last names are clearly labeled on mail slots or boxes.

2.     Make sure that mail slots are not jammed, full, or dirty.

3.     Replace loose hinges on mailbox doors.

4.     Repaint mailboxes that may have rusted or have started to peel.

5.     Remount loosened mailbox posts.

6.     Replace or add missing house numbers.