Let’s review our checklist:

1. Raising or lowering your mailbox to meet local height requirements.
2. Replacing or adding house numbers.
3. Loose hinges on a mailbox door.
4. Rusting or peeling paint.
5. Remounting a mailbox post if loosened.

We’ve taken care of how NOT to meet mailbox height requirements.

Next step replace or add house numbers:

NO

YES

Let’s review, spraying painting your house number all over your mailbox and mailbox post is bad. Using vinyl lettering made specifically for mailboxes, or neatly stenciling numbers on your mailbox is good.

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The third week of May is Mailbox Improvement Week. The U.S. Postal Service is asking all homeowners to inspect and repair their mailboxes to improve the appearance of their mailboxes, as well as fix any issues that will bring their boxes up to official standards.

Common problems that need to be fixed:

• Loose hinges on a mailbox door.
• Rusting or peeling paint
• Remounting a mailbox post if loosened.
• Replacing or adding house numbers.
• Raising or lowering due to heaving to 40”-46” from the ground to bottom of box (height reqs vary so check with your local post office)

The Postal Service makes this annual request because of the wear and tear that occurs to mailboxes every year.

In honor of this week I’ll be posting some past and present attempts at “Mailbox Improvement” along with some tips.

Here’s my neighbors attempts at meeting the USPS height requirements.

and one that obviously isn’t tall enough.

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We were visiting some friends recently in Palm City when we spotted this cute homemade blue tractor mailbox.

That should give you some ideas of what to do with old wagon and lawnmower wheels.

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Join me on Saturday, May 10th for Stamp Out Hunger™ — the nation’s largest annual single-day food drive! The more people who help, the more successful we’ll be, so forward this to your friends, too.

To learn more, tell a friend or download materials to promote this cause, visit: HelpStampOutHunger.com

ABOUT STAMP OUT HUNGER

On Saturday May 10th, letter carriers in more than 10,000 communities will collect food items and deliver them to local food banks to help some of the millions of Americans, including an estimated 13 million children, who face hunger every day.

Since 1993, families have donated more than a half-billion pounds of food to Stamp Out Hunger. You can help make this year our most successful ever. Simply place bags filled with nonperishable food items like canned meats and fish, canned soup, juice, pasta, vegetables, cereal and rice next to your mailbox on Saturday, May 10th. *

Your letter carrier will pick up the bags and deliver them to your local food bank.

* Please do not include out-of-date items or those in glass containers.

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Here’s the latest curbside art from Ed Witles. I’m always surprised by his ingenuity, whether he’s making whimsical mailboxes like the stuffed animal Christmas tree or more earnest displays such as the Taj Mahal

If you’re a new visitor, use the search function for “witles” to view more of his mailbox art.

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If you’re ever looking for your own unusual mailbox you can find just about everything at this Novelty Mailbox site. The mailboxes are created by Michel Devost.

Their latest edition is one of Marge and Homer which is very cute, but as

“It is strictly forbidden to copy photos to this site“

You’ll have to go check it out for yourself

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From Annemarie H. in WI,

Linda,

I love to visit your blog. People are absurd and it’s great they feel the need to express it visually in the receptacles they receive their mail from.

Here is something I saw in Racine, WI while attending a wedding. This is outside a church!

Thanks Annemarie. What kind of Church was it? I’m not sure why that matters but you know how crazy those Lutherans can be…

What is it? Dragon? Alligator?

Dragator!

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I found these two mailboxes around the corner from each other in a neighborhood not far from home. Which if you’ve been following, is where I take all my mailbox pictures. South Florida, we have the highest foreclosure rate and ugly mailboxes. Maybe there’s a connection there.

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Debbie from My West Sacramento - Photo of the Day posted this little moo moo today. If you’re from Northern California or just interested in the Sacramento area you’ll want to bookmark this blog which is dedicated to preserving the history of the city.

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