U.S. Mail delivery person (used to be a Mailman) is mentioning to all the people on the block that we get a larger and more secure mailbox. All kinds of things come to mind about secure. Does any place make and or sell a mailbox that you can bolt to the side of the house that doesn't allow someone to just go in there and empty it out? He was recommending a larger slot since the one I have is a slot on the side of the house that drops the mail inside. That sounds like a big project with widening the slot on the side of the house and making a larger chute to accommodate it. Dave
What I meant to say is I don't know if they still call themselves mailmen. You know, like stewardess is now flight attendant. I didn't want to offend any postal workers. I like the style of mail slot I have got now, but he pointed out that he can't get all the mail in the slot. It's small and doesn't take things like check boxes well or large envelopes. I know a lot of people around here get their mail stolen for the information or even packages. One guy down the street built a large, locked, box just for packages. My mailman hides them behind my garbage cans now.
and do a search for "locking mailboxes" (with the quotes), you'll see lots of websites that sell them. I looked at the prices and I think you'll opt for enlarging the mail slot on the side of your house.
I think mail slots were designed before we began to get stacks of thick catalogues and magazines which doubtless have to be individually folded up and crammed through a small inlet. A search on 'mailbox secure' turned up a number of hits. Looks as if there are a number of outside-mounted, locking boxes that work more or less like the large, blue USPS boxes -- easy to put stuff *into*, hard to retrieve without a key.
Tampering with mailbox contents (other than a carrier or owner) is a serious crime in the US. I would get a larger mailbox than I think I need, but not a more expensive one.
They're called "letter carriers" now. I think "mailman" is OK (as long as they're male!), but "postal worker" has gotten a bad connotation.
The USPS has since 2000 issued new regs for mailboxes attached to homes and curbside (this year, they're working on apartment houses), and manufacturers have now been through the re-certification process and may use a USPS Approved sticker if they have. The new regs explicitly allow for a "Lockable" class of mailbox.
This may just be a subtle way of encouraging better access for the carriers as the USPS has long persuaded new development to have mailbox clusters rather than at every door. Do your neighbors have curbside while you have a door slot?
However: "The list of approved manufacturers of curbside mailboxes should be shared with delivery personnel and customers. If a customer is currently using a mailbox that is not on the approved list, they cannot be forced to replace the mailbox unless it poses a hazard to the carrier or does not protect the mail. Encourage your customers to replace old and damaged mailboxes quickly." -- postal operations manual
As for size, the only requirement seems to be "able to accept the postal customer's normal mail volume".
So if you want to leave it as is, you're just fine. If you do want to increase the size you're welcome to as well. You do NOT have to get an exterior mailbox at this time unless you think it would be better.
The new lockable designs allow for mail to "drop in" to a secure part of the mailbox that you can access with a keyed door.
So, we went from two sylables to five, just to keep some grumpy broads from moaning about it. No wonder we have such a hard time getting real things done...
Well, lots of good ideas here. All the houses on my block (and the surrounding blocks) where built in the late 50s and all of them have mail slots on the side of the house with a flap door that sends the mail through an inside chute to a small area inside the living room/hall closet. It's very secure, but won't handle a few days worth of stuff or big envelopes. After looking at some of the sites suggested here, I don't think I can get a better setup without dropping some big coins and involving lots of work. My "Letter Carrier" seemed to be concerned with the safety of larger mail parcels and packages, which he always leaves next to the house behind the garbage cans. The packages worried me, but if I lose sleep over it I suppose I can request they not leave anything there and drop me a note to pick it up instead.
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