Dealing With Mail When Away

We live in a rural area so our mail is delivered to our mailbox.  When we are are away this is always a concern especially since rural mailboxes tend to be the targets for vandalism.  There are several ways to deal with this problem.  When we moved here we became friendly with neighbours who would collect the mail from our mailbox if they saw the flag up and knew we were away.  Even in urban settings this is still one of the easiest ways to deal with mail when away for extended periods of time.  In urban settings where there is door to door mail service, a mail slot is the ideal, low-cost solution since mail can still be delivered when you are away but it is safely inside. 

Last December we were away for five weeks.  Our neighbours had moved and we did not know the new neighbours well enough to ask them to collect our mail and it was not feasible to get one of our kids to drive out to the house daily to collect the mail.  So we paid $60 to Canada Post to put a hold our our mail for that time period.  I wasn't impressed with the price but it gave peace of mind.  This year I discovered another way to deal with the mail problem when away.  For $47.46 Canada Post will forward your mail to your address of choice for six months.  Now it is still expensive but considerably cheaper than putting a hold on the mail.  Using the forward option means if we decide a spur of the moment get-away for a few days we no longer have to worry about mail delivery.  There is a forward mail option for a one year period that would be handy if you knew you were going to be away from home that long or you simply don't want mail delivery to your own home.   The forward option is a realitively low cost solution for dealing with mail for those who cannot have a mail slot, don't have someone to collect their mail and have an alternative address to forward the mail to.

The important thing is when away do not let mail collect in outdoor mail boxes regardless whether in a rural or urban setting.  An overflowing, unattended mailbox is a sure indication the owner of the home is not there.  It is an invitation for break-ins and vandalism.  Even if mail is forwarded on on hold someone should be checking your mailbox to make sure flyers and papers don't pile up.


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