So our mail gets delivered to central mailbox cluster. It’s about a 5 min walk and right at the entrance to our development, so not hard to access at all.
For shorter sits (a week), we’ve held mail with the post office and noted so I. The welcome guide. While this saves sitters the chore of collecting mail, it also means if they wanted to order from say, Amazon, they would have to make sure it wasn’t shipped US Postal Service as it may get held.
We have an upcoming sit that is 3.5 weeks. That’s a long enough time that it may be inconvenient for sitters to have to change orders to UPS or Fed Ex (and sometimes they end up shipping USPS anyway LOL). But then they’d have have to go fetch our mail (doesn’t have to be daily as the mailboxes are locked but would need to be 2-3 times a week).
Interested in hearing whether sitters prefer to go get the mail and get delivery orders for themselves, or prefer to not have the extra chore and manage any deliveries via not using USPS.
Thoughts? I guess I could ask them but they are so accommodating they would probably tell me whatever I prefer (and I don’t have a preference either way).
I would ask them if they think they may want to order deliveries. For myself, I’ve sometimes found it terribly inconvenient not to be able to ship something from Amazon because I can’t access the mail box. Other times, though, it’s been completely unnecessary…but generally I like having the option just in case. It saves me leaving pets alone to go out shopping.
These two are just sooooo nice. I kinda want to tell them to ask for more LOL. I will ask them. I’m leaning towards letting them collect the mail because who knows they may need emergency whatever that comes via post office.
For 3.5 weeks, I’d lean towards letting the mail run as normal and just asking the sitters to collect it a couple of times a week. A five-minute walk to a secure mailbox cluster feels pretty minor — and it gives them full flexibility if they need to order something, especially if it ends up coming via Amazon and ships United States Postal Service despite best intentions. That “oops it went USPS anyway” situation is very real.
For a short one-week sit, I completely understand putting a hold in place — that feels like a nice way to reduce small chores while people are settling in.
If it were us, we’d appreciate having the option to receive deliveries without having to second-guess carriers. Picking up mail a few times a week feels like part of normal household rhythm rather than an imposition — especially when the setup is easy and secure.
And honestly, the fact you’re even thinking about this says everything about the kind of host you are. Practical + considerate is a very good combo.
Thank you! I was leaning towards this but it really helps to get a sitter perspective.
I think I will propose it this way, and then say if they prefer we can hold mail instead. If I just ask this couple is so kind they will literally leave it to me. So I think that’s the best approach.
If it were me, over 3.5 weeks, I’d like to get deliveries too without worrying how they were shipped too.
Personally I would find doing mail collection for a HO as a part of the sit. Wouldn’t hesitate in doing it, or anything else small like this. I’ve done a heck of a lot more during sits then a five minute walk to collect mail. You give a little you get a little in life.
Thanks. Yes it’s minor but it’s also a new area for our sitters and I like to let them explore with as few tasks as we can reasonably manage! Same for paid sitters we use, never usually even ask them to grab the mail, just hold it. But they are local and get deliveries to their own homes…
If you’re asking them which option then it’s already thoughtful. We’d happily pick up post during a sit as long as it wasn’t every single day at a specific time. 5 mins away is easy and definitely a perk of having a sitter instead of it piling up at the sorting office. #askaway
Actually - when you hold mail the post office automatically does not hold bulk mail postage (aka junk mail). Sitters have to grab it all and we have a big ol pile vs when we hold mail, the post office just delivers the non-junk mail
It’s not a big deal either way. As long as we get the mail when we return we don’t care whether it’s the post office or sitter that collects it for us.
It wouldn’t bother me at all to go and get the mail. I have had things delivered to housesits in the past so I would want to know about an owner’s mail being held in this way. I do always ask owners if I can get items delivered to their house before ordering.
I always hold my mail. Amazon and other non-USPS packages can still arrive.
I know mail collection is part of housesitting, and I don’t get that much non-junk mail anyway, but I do it for 2 reasons:
A mailbox key is REALLY difficult to replace. Way harder than any other key I have. I don’t want even a tiny possibility that it gets lost during a sit.
Most of my sits are over a month long. People receiving mail at an address in the US can establish residency. I don’t really expect this to be a problem, and I don’t think any of the people who’ve sat for me would do this, but it removes even the potential, and I want to treat all sitters the same.
I make it clear on my profile that my mail gets held, it’s in my welcome guide, and also go over it during the handover.
ETA - where I live, holding mail means ALL mail, including junk/bulk mail. I’ve never returned to a box full of junk mail and then my real mail arrives the next day.
It’s not a problem for me either and I would like to be given the choice. Although I’m really accommodating, I also like to keep my options open. Should I need something delivered, I would not like it to become a tracking issue.
In the UK we now get all our Amazon orders delivered to one of their locker locations, and the lockers are located everywhere. I don’t know if they do that in US.
So that’s where we get our items delivered, rather than neighbours (that we may not have met) potentially taking in our parcels.
The only exception is if it’s a very valuable item, for example the other day we ordered an £800 ipad air.
But that said, we wouldn’t mind a 5 min walk to pick up post anyway, and you’re lovely to be thinking of your future sitters inconvenience
@Felinelover Guess it would depend on the terrain and weather conditions. What do you usually do yourself… stroll or drive?
I have no problem with half of Santa’s workshop arriving during a stay (which I’ve tried before), but would indeed do so if it required hiking
Think many are used to that the promised “stone-throw, approx walks” are, occasionally, navigated through windshields and Maps..which blissfully don’t take wildlife and other exotic adventures into account.
So, any information regarding delivery, logistics and courier limitations (what works and what doesn’t) is, for most, greatly appreciated beforehand. Many rely heavily on it.
