Prevent a Mound of Mail Build Up With These Travel Tips!
Millions of Americans travel every year. While many are relaxing on beach resorts or hiking mountain trails, their mailboxes back home sit waiting for thieves to make an appearance. The stats are shocking.
The problem
The majority of travellers only notice their mail accumulation when it’s too late. A mailbox bulging with mail shouts out to the world “nobody’s home”. That’s why it’s so important to have solid advice about handling your mail when you’re gone.
In this post, you’ll learn:
- Why it’s so important to manage your mail when you travel
- The best mail management solutions available
- What virtual mail services are and how to use them
- The best way to set up your mail before you leave
- How to handle your mail with extended travel
- The Travel Bug’s Mail Management Expert Tips and Advice
Why it’s important to manage your mail when you travel
Consider all the junk that collects in the mailbox in a typical week.
Bank and financial statements. Credit card offers. Insurance and medical paperwork. Packages containing personal items. All of these sensitive pieces of information are just waiting to be rifled through by the next person to walk by.
The chances are pretty high that something valuable will appear. Mail theft isn’t just empty envelopes blowing down the street. Thieves use stolen mail for identity theft, credit card fraud, social security fraud, bank account fraud, and check fraud. FinCEN reported that mail theft-related check fraud alone accounted for over $688 million in suspicious activity in just six months.
That’s a lot of potential harm.
The good news is, with the right approach, preventing mail theft while traveling is surprisingly simple.
The best Mail Management Solutions
There are multiple options to choose from when you’re traveling and looking to prevent piles of mail accumulating on your porch. Each solution has its own benefits and ideal use cases depending on trip duration and specific needs.
USPS Hold Mail Service: The USPS offers a free hold mail service for travelers who will be gone 3 to 30 days. Mail will be held at the local post office until the return date. This option is super simple and free to use but only available for very short trips.
Ask A Neighbor or Friend: This is a classic old-fashioned method that still works. Designate someone to collect mail each day so the mailbox stays empty and secure. The most important thing here is to choose someone trustworthy with personal information in the event important mail needs to be opened.
Virtual Mailbox Services: This is the real game-changer for frequent travelers. Using a service like www.ipostal1.com, travellers get access to a real street address where their mail will get received, scanned, and managed electronically. Access all mail from a phone or laptop… no matter where in the world you are.
Pretty neat huh?
What are digital mail services and how do they work?
Virtual mailbox services have changed the game when it comes to mail management. Here’s what to know:
Sign up for a service that offers a real physical address. All mail gets forwarded there instead of going to your home address.
Mail that arrives at the virtual mailbox gets scanned, photographed, and a notification sent to you.
Options from there include:
- Open and scan – they physically open the mail and scan contents to be able to view it digitally
- Forward – have the physical mail forwarded to any address in the world
- Shred – securely destroy junk mail and other trash
- Store – keep things until you return home
This eliminates stress completely. No more worrying if important documents arrived. No more pestering neighbors or friends for favors. A virtual mailbox service expertly handles everything while travelers focus on the trip at hand.
These services work for both short and extended travel. Weekend getaways or six-month sabbaticals both work. The virtual mailbox address stays consistent and the service continues uninterrupted.
Setting up your mail before you leave
Preparation is key to making sure everything works. Two weeks before departure is ideal for finalizing mail management arrangements.
Switch to paperless billing options wherever possible. Most banks, credit cards, utilities, and other services offer electronic statements. Less physical mail reduces the amount of sensitive documents arriving in the first place.
Notify senders about important communications. Some companies or organizations may require physical addresses for specific types of mail. Update preferences at least two weeks before leaving to ensure no vital mail gets missed.
Set up mail forwarding to a trusted address if necessary. On longer trips, it can make sense to forward critical mail to a trusted local address or virtual mailbox service.
Pause newspaper and magazine subscriptions. Local newspapers and magazines piling up on the front porch broadcast the empty house message just as much as a stuffed mailbox.
Install a lockable mailbox. This is true year-round, even when not traveling. It doesn’t prevent mail theft, but it certainly deters opportunistic thieves.
Keep one important note in mind: don’t publicly broadcast travel plans on social media accounts until after returning home. Thieves can use this information.
Tips for extended travel
Extended travel of more than one month has a few additional considerations.
Use a virtual mailbox service as a permanent solution. For frequent travelers, setting up a digital mail service as a permanent year-round solution can eliminate the setup effort required before each trip. The address stays the same and the service runs continuously. Everything just works.
Set up package alerts. USPS Informed Delivery and other services can be set up to send alerts to show email previews of what mail will arrive. This can help track incoming packages without a virtual mailbox service.
Create a mail management checklist. Compile a list of all companies that send physical mail. Work through the list before each trip to pause, forward, or digitize each communication.
Designate an emergency contact. Despite the best planning, sometimes things happen. Having a local person who can check mail in an emergency situation can be a huge help.
Review your mail regularly while away. Don’t let digital mail build up either. Set aside time each week to review the inbox and scan the documents to be sure nothing urgent needs handling. Avoiding on-trip overwhelm makes returning home much more pleasant.
The smart traveler’s approach
Managing your mail while traveling doesn’t have to be complicated.
The smartest solution usually involves using a combination of multiple strategies. For short trips, use USPS hold mail. For medium-length vacations, rely on a trusted neighbor or friend. For extended trips or frequent travelers, set up a virtual mailbox service.
The key is to plan well in advance.
The majority of travel-related mail issues occur because the mailbox was completely forgotten. One week’s worth of visible mail will draw attention. Two weeks can create problems. A month-long pile up is an identity theft disaster waiting to happen.
None of that has to happen though. With the tips and information above, travelers can relax knowing mail is secure, available, and under control.
Wrapping up
Mail management while traveling is important for more than just peace of mind. It protects your identity, finances, and personal information from the bad actors who target empty homes.
A quick review of the essential information:
- Use USPS hold mail service for short trips.
- Set up a virtual mailbox service for extended trips or frequent travelers
- Switch to paperless billing where possible
- Never let your mail visibly accumulate while gone
- Plan mail management well in advance of departure
Travel should be about creating memories… not worrying about things back home. With the right mail management in place, it can be. The best part is it only takes a few hours of time up front to set everything up. The return on that investment of time is with you on every single trip you take going forward.
So get out there and explore. The mail will be fine.
