USPS Informed Delivery – From your Inbox to your Mailbox

Waiting for checks or payments to come in the mail is an excruciating thing to endure. Is it coming today? or tomorrow? maybe later in the week or next week? Should I rush home to get the mail in time to get back to the Bank to cash my check?

These are the questions that can now be answered by the USPS (United States Postal Service) Informed Delivery. You can enroll using the link above, some areas might not be available just yet, but fear not, it’s coming soon. The meat and potatoes of this service is that the USPS scans each piece of first class mail going through the mail sorting machines. From the bar coding they can route these grey-scale pictures directly to your Inbox for what mail is being delivered in your Mailbox that day.

Pretty cool service right? I thought so, so I tried to sign up, and as luck would have it, not available in my area just yet 🙁 . Perhaps, you can sign up today and see how it works. One of the secondary benefits is knowing what mail your suppose to receive in your Mailbox today, so if something is missing you might have been affected by mailbox theft. Knowing that your missing mail allows you to act quicker to alert the authorities.

It seems that every day we get notifications across the news and media wire of mailbox theft or identity theft that started from personal mail theft from a person’s mailbox. Mailbox theft is still the easiest way to get personal information about you and your family or even worse yet, taking that check that you were looking for and cashing it causing pain and anxiety. Sign up for the Informed Delivery today and don’t regret making time to see it through. Best of all, it’s FREE! But please Stop Mailbox Theft by getting a Locking Mailbox from SimpleMailboxes today!

New Items on our Website

Lately we have been going through and updating our mailbox inventory with the newer products that are now available to us. The list is long so we will show case them all below:

In our T1 standard Rural mailboxes we have added two new colors to the fold: John Deere Green and Bronze.

In our T2 Large Rural Mailbox category we have added the Double Door Mailbox. This mailbox is the best mailbox for adding additional safety when retrieving your mail from curbside. Mostly for if you have children and you live on a very busy street. We wrote a safety blog post on it.

The T3 extra large rural mailbox group features three new mail boxes with the discontinuation of the older larger model. The new T3 size is a bit less taller than the old ones, but still very big. They come in Gun Metal Grey and Black. Along with these two, the new Lockable Extra Large Rural Mailbox is now available. Don’t be a victim of Mail Theft and Stolen Identity, we have authored and article on this subject.

All of these great new mailboxes can be purchased from us and as always, we have Free Shipping and Free Lettering. We look forward to meeting all of your mailbox needs.

Parents: Safety and your Mailbox…

Since I’m a father now, I think differently about how my children accomplish tasks within and outside the homestead. Inside the child is mostly kept safe cause the environment has been made safe by the parents, or at least tried to make it safe. We all have put outlet covers in the electrical plugs, cupboard door security to keep the children out of chemicals or dangerous medicine. It’s time to think about the small tasks we do outside which can be a safety red flag. One small task that comes to mind is getting the mail.

Getting the mail you say? Yes, retrieving the mail from the mailbox at the street can be a very dangerous task. If your mailbox is across the street, then the child has to negotiate traffic and if your on a busy street that can be daunting. If your mailbox is on the same side of the street as your house you still have to step in front of the mailbox to get your mail out. In some cases, this puts the child on the busy street doing a task which is occupying the mind.

This task of retrieving the mail can be made much safer through the use of a double door mailbox. SimpleMailboxes.com carries a Large Double Door Mailbox, which is great for having additional space for packages and extra mail, but the second or “back door” of the mailbox allows the mail to be retrieved while not in the right away of a busy road.

Wouldn’t you want to upgrade your mailbox and create some peace of mind when it comes to getting the mail? I have. Please take a second today to make sure your house and yard are safe for your children. It only takes a second to walk around and look, but it’s worth every second.

Is Your Mailbox Noticeable?

Is your mailbox noticeable? Is it for the good or for the bad? Most likely your thinking, it is for the bad. Your poor, neglected mailbox, is sitting in a rusted heap out at the curb of your beautiful home.

Why do we do this? The first thing people see when visiting your homestead is your mailbox! The number on your mailbox helps to guide them to your home. Now your thinking there are no numbers on your current rusty box, and your probably right. So your visitors are now lost trying to find your house, but do not worry, you’ve told them “just look for the rusty mailbox”. Bingo, it’s become a landmark on your street!

I’d like to propose a new mailbox from SimpleMailboxes.com. We can help you with all your mailbox needs to get noticed. I see you have a Bass Fishing boat parked next to your garage. We have a mailbox just for you, our Bass Fish Mailbox.

What could be more fun than to tell people to drive down your road until you see the Bass Fish on the mailbox and to turn right in there? Well, there might be only one or two other fun things to tell them. Maybe it’s that you bought the Tractor Mailbox instead, cause it’s suits your farming lifestyle. So now your visitors need to look for the Green and Yellow Tractor Mailbox.

SimpleMailboxes has many new Decorative Mailboxes available on our website. We hope you take a look to see what we have and in the future your mailbox will only be noticed for the Good and not for the bad.

Identity Theft and your Mailbox

Identity Theft Facts:

Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the United States.
Identity theft starts with low tech methods: Stolen Mail, stolen wallets & stolen trash.
Those between the ages of 20 and 29 have the highest odds of becoming identity theft victims — a nearly 1-in-5 chance.
Every hour in the United States, there are 74 robberies — but nearly 2,000 identity theft incidents.

This is pretty scary stuff. Don’t be a victim of mail theft leading to identity theft!

What can you do?

Since your mailbox is one of the easiest sources for criminals to find information about you and your identity, it’s time to remove that source. The best method is to get a post office box and discontinue home delivery of your mail. But for most everyone, this method is not an option due to the distance or inconvenience to get to the post office.

The easiest method for most every day Americans is to employ a locked mailbox. The locked mailbox allows the mail carriers to put your mail into the box but a key is required to retrieve the mail, making it much safer than your standard rural mailbox or urban mailbox which requires no key to retrieve the mail. Simplemailboxes.com provides two different models of security lockable mailboxes: One for rural style and one for urban style.

Having your incoming mail secure can bring peace of mind knowing that your identity is much safer than before.

Safe Mail Handling Practices

Tips for safe mail handling practices include:

Dropping your outgoing mail at the post office. Leaving your outgoing mail in your mailbox when you leave for work allows for an opportunity of mail theft, as outgoing mail cannot be secured.
Always lock your mailbox after retrieving your incoming mail!
Don’t leave mail in your mailbox for days at time.
If you have options on your bills to have them paperless, exercise this option and limit incoming sensitive mail.

Being a victim of identity theft doesn’t have to start with your mailbox, get a secure mailbox today and ward off those pesky criminals!

Mailbox Height: What is the regulation height for a rural mailbox?

After a long and cold winter, including a date with your local county snow plow, your rural mailbox and maybe the pole might need replacing. If the old pole is fine or you might already have the new mailbox pole in the ground and now it’s time to mount your new rural mailbox and you need to know what the mailbox height should be. The USPS guidelines say that it should be from 41-45 inches from the ground and set back 6-8 inches from the curb (see picture below).

Rural Mailbox Height Regulations — USPS Rural Mailbox Height Guidelines

The complete mailbox information guide can be very helpful to be sure you are safely with all the USPS guidelines concerning mail delivery and physical regulations of the rural mailbox and mailbox pole. This article covers not only the location but also items from section 3 of the Domestic Mail Manual. We have highlighted five (5) items from this manual that are most important to the average person. They are as follows:

Clear Approach – Must keep your mailbox clear from obstructions to allow safe access for delivery.
Locked Box – The mailbox may have a lock, but it must allow for the delivery of the customer’s normal mail volume.
Mailbox Post – Post must be need and of adequate size and strength to carry the mailbox. The mailbox maybe fixed or on a movable arm.
Address Identification – Rural Mailboxes must have at least 1″ high contrasting numbers on the mailbox visible to the carriers regular approach.
Owner’s Name – The mailbox may bear the owner’s name.

SimpleMailboxes.com goes above and beyond the minimum regulations set forth from the United States Postal Service when it comes to the Address Identification and Owner’s Name. All of our rural mailboxes come with Free Reflective Vinyl Lettering which help with locating your address at any time of the day or night, and they look awesome too! Customize your future mailbox today and enjoy the Free Shipping on all of our products.