Next on 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.

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.

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.