Hold Mail

The post office can only hold your mail for 30 days, true but we fill out two slips each time we go away. We got a new post master last fall that said that was a waste of paper and filled out one for 60 days.

Officially we were told there is a 30 day hold limit. However our local postmaster holds our mail for as long as we want. No paper work involved. We just let him know on what day we are leaving home.

One year we had it held for 82 days. Came home and started sorting mail. Never realized how much JUNK Mail is sent until then! :E

There should be away to accept first class mail only while at home or away. Unfortunately there isn't. :(

Mail forwarding wouldn't work for us. We never know where we are going to be or for how long. Besides, we never found it necessary.

Mail forwarding will work for anyone. All you do is call or email your forwarder when you want a shipment and let them know where you want it shipped. It will arrive in 2-3 days; 5 days to Alaska. We did this for our 16 years of full-timing and traveling constantly. If the RV park where you're staying won't accept mail then all you have to do is to have it sent to the nearest SMALL town post office c/o General Delivery. It'll be waiting for you. You wouldn't even have to have your mailed shipped as your travel. If you have a house, have it shipped there as soon as you arrive home. It's a very simple process that full-timers and extended travelers use.

However, don't use the U.S. Post Office mail forwarding program. It's extremely expensive.

I always get a neighbor to pick mine up and hold it till we get back home..

Talk to both the Poster Master and your mail carrier. We are on a rural route. Have lived here for 10 years. The longest we have had the same mail carrier is about 3 years. Currently our mail is delivered by 3 or 4 different carriers and it seems only one of them actually cares about their job. The previous mail carrier that we had for about 3 years was great, but unfortunately, her route got changed and doesn't include our area any more.

When we are away for the summer, our mail is forwarded by our PO to my parents' (they live about 1 mile from our seasonal campground). There is mail that does not get forwarded because it is addressed differently. The only bill that we have that doesn't do eBilling is our local water & sewer. They send the bill to Girardo, Michael instead of Michael Girardo. It has never been forwarded. I have been told the carrier is expecting to see last name second, so when it is addressed last name first, they just send it back. I was told by the Post Office that I need to fill out a forwarding notice for every possible combination of my name even though I tell the post office to forward all mail, not just for an individual person.

We ended up staying a few weeks longer this year, so we did the Premium Hold Service for the last few weeks. With Premium Hold, they hold the mail for 1 week and then send it to the address of your choosing, usually by Priority Mail. It comes with a premium price. The first week goes by, nothing gets mailed - I expected that because it was only a couple days. The second week, nothing gets mailed. The third week we finally get something. It's a fairly large Priority Mail envelope. Inside is mail from the third week and another Priority Mail envelope with week 2's mail that apparently they forgot to send. They still charged me for week 2 even though they didn't mail it when they were supposed to.

-Michael

My postmaster gave me the phone number for the local post office and asked that I call at the end of 30 days to let them know I needed the mail held longer. But other than the reminder call there was no problem.

mgirardo wrote:
Talk to both the Poster Master and your mail carrier. We are on a rural route. Have lived here for 10 years. The longest we have had the same mail carrier is about 3 years. Currently our mail is delivered by 3 or 4 different carriers and it seems only one of them actually cares about their job. The previous mail carrier that we had for about 3 years was great, but unfortunately, her route got changed and doesn't include our area any more.

When we are away for the summer, our mail is forwarded by our PO to my parents' (they live about 1 mile from our seasonal campground). There is mail that does not get forwarded because it is addressed differently. The only bill that we have that doesn't do eBilling is our local water & sewer. They send the bill to Girardo, Michael instead of Michael Girardo. It has never been forwarded. I have been told the carrier is expecting to see last name second, so when it is addressed last name first, they just send it back. I was told by the Post Office that I need to fill out a forwarding notice for every possible combination of my name even though I tell the post office to forward all mail, not just for an individual person.

We ended up staying a few weeks longer this year, so we did the Premium Hold Service for the last few weeks. With Premium Hold, they hold the mail for 1 week and then send it to the address of your choosing, usually by Priority Mail. It comes with a premium price. The first week goes by, nothing gets mailed - I expected that because it was only a couple days. The second week, nothing gets mailed. The third week we finally get something. It's a fairly large Priority Mail envelope. Inside is mail from the third week and another Priority Mail envelope with week 2's mail that apparently they forgot to send. They still charged me for week 2 even though they didn't mail it when they were supposed to.

-Michael

USPS mail forwarding is done at the regional sorting center for your area in most cases. Your carrier never sees it. If the water & sewer bill is sent in a "Do Not Forward" envelope, it will not be forwarded.