Will Be Gone for 5 Weeks - What to Do About the Mail?

[aaronc879]

Several years ago I went down to Florida for about 3 months but didn't have a set address to forward mail to. The Post Office let me fil out a form that said my parents would pick uo my mail every two weeks until I come in and tell them to stop the hold. They don't have to do this but they did it for me after I asked. Otherwise just have it held for 30 days and let a few days sit in the mailbox. You don't have to get your mail every day, it's ok if it sits in the box for a few days. I always shake my head when my elderly neighbors go out in a snowstorm to get the mail. It can sit a day or two no big deal.

 

[Splash]

We have taken trips of 2 weeks to 4+ months and have tried most of the ideas offered here. We have also had our mail forwarded to a post office box we rented at our destination city because we stayed at multiple addresses during a 3 month stay.

My experience includes:

• Things go more smoothly when you use the USPS website instead of in person at the post office or using paper forms. It is also easier to make changes if necessary.
• Having mail held by USPS and delivered on my return date has worked very well.
• Every time I have my mail forwarded (from WI to FL) it seems like there is a ~10 day lag in getting my mail. Also, several times I have received mail in my home box for a day or 2 after it was supposed to be forwarded, including a post card confirming that they are forwarding my mail. So I now start my mail forwarding a few days before leaving and stop it a few days before our return trip. I have USPS hold our mail during our return trip and deliver to our home on our return date.
• While the USPS Informed Delivery Service works great when I am home, I find it has limited value when my mail is being forwarded. Most of the time I only get "A piece of mail that we don't have an image for will be delivered soon".

For your situation, I really like the idea of forwarding your mail to a family member. Honestly, I never thought of that option but I think it's great.

 

[Jerry1]

I always shake my head when my elderly neighbors go out in a snowstorm to get the mail. It can sit a day or two no big deal.

You do realize that getting the mail is one of the most exciting things I do some days.

 

[CoolRich59]

Distance does not matter, just redirect your mail to your son's house for the time you will be away.

We redirect our mail to a relatives place, and then go pick it up when we get back.

Like Harley said get Informed Delivery, it's 1 email each day, shows a photo of your mail, so you will know if you get something important like a new credit card, jury duty, tax bill, etc.

I like this. I can revert back to our home address a couple of days before we head back. The Informed Delivery option will give me the peace of mind that I won't miss something important.

Thanks all for the great input and suggestions - much appreciated!

 

[CoolRich59]

Update: I finally got our mail situation sorted out.

I was going to have our mail forwarded to DS2's house, but found out this week that we are going to have several important mailings showing up throughout March. So, it's now worth it to pay for the forwarding service.

I also signed up for Informed Delivery which should be helpful in letting me know when to expect that mail.

Thanks again everyone for your great suggestions.

 

[CoolRich59]

Thought I'd post an update on our mail forwarding situation. IMO, the Post Office's "premium" forwarding service gets a mediocre review.

On the one hand, it's been great receiving the items we've been expecting.

But, on the other hand, we've discovered that their system could use some improvement.

For some unknown reason, the forwarding service week runs from Thursday to Wednesday. Since I started the service on Monday, March 2, I found out I paid for a week when they only pulled and forwarded three days of mail.

The Post Office told me they'd sent my collected mail via "Priority Mail". I foolishly assumed that meant "expedited". I now know that means three days.

Since they send the collected mail on Thursday, I don't receive it until Saturday afternoon. That'd be fine, except my rental (like most rentals) requires me to be checked out before noon on Saturday. I don't plan on hanging around trying to intercept the mailman after I've checked out, so I just cancelled the last week of the forwarding service. I got an acknowledgement of the cancellation from the Post Office website - along with a note telling me that I may or may not be entitled to a refund.