USPS Is Asking Illinois Residents To Check Their Mailboxes Now

There's one chore you might not have done during the long weekend.

I'm the actual worst about checking my mailbox. It's just right by my apartment building's door but I never stop to unlock it. But there's official stuff that we get in the mail so it's important that we get it safe and secured in our hands.

I can't imagine being a postal worker. They go through a lot. Weather conditions, sassy people, unclear addresses, and not least of all- weird mailboxes.

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There's a fine line on what you can and can't do on that. Mailboxes are often a statement on someone's style. That's why you see fish-shaped mailboxes often. Sometimes they're covered in material that matches the house with the house number well-hidden. They can get odd.

That's why this last week, the USPS had Mailbox Improvement Week. They really want you to check your mailbox or P.O. Box and make sure it's up to their requirements so you can get your mail safely.

The USPS has requirements on where to put the mailbox, like 6-8" away from the curb, leave the path to the mailbox clear, and put your house or apartment number on the mailbox. The other requirements you need to check it for include:

An approved mailbox by the Postmaster General (it will have the PMG stamp if you buy it)
It can protect your mail from the weather
It's safe (not rusted out with sharp holes or anything & no bugs)
Close enough to the roadside for the mail carrier

If you have a door slot or a wall-mounted mailbox, there are requirements for those too. Wall-mounted mailboxes don't have to have the PMG approval but they need to be big enough to hold a fair amount of mail. Just like with the curbside mailboxes, if yours is on your door or wall, leave a path clear for the mail carrier to walk to.

Just help make our mail carriers' jobs easier. You wouldn't want a confusing mess if it were you delivering mail.