The US postal service only holds mail for a maximum of 30 days. But what if you’re gone longer than that? Luckily, modern society has mostly freed us from the physical bonds of mail, but not entirely, especially when it comes to health care. There are a few steps you need to take before departing for multiple months.
Decrease mail usage
- Use ebill and online payments for everything. Question any bill that comes via mail, and question any check you write. When we perform this questioning, the answer is invariably: a doctors office. None of our doctors’ offices support ebills, and given the potential multi-month lag between a visit and receiving the physical bill, this is our #1 mail problem when traveling. Thankfully most offices now accept online payments.
- Opt out of anything you can, especially credit card offers (https://www.optoutprescreen.com) and direct mail (https://www.dmachoice.org).
- Read magazines online
Deal with mail you can’t eliminate
Use an online mailbox service that is authorized to receive and process mail on your behalf. In short, you change your address with the USPS to forward all mail to an online mailbox service, which is able to scan, shred or forward any of your mail. Luckily most mail is junk, so mostly they just shred stuff. But occasionally something important arrives, and these companies will scan each page which you can then access on the web. The forward option is handy when you need to receive something in physical form, such as a license plate renewal sticker. We’ve used both Traveling Mailbox and Virtual Post Mail with good results. The process to sign up is fairly simple, with the longest (and most annoying) step is getting USPS Form 1583 notarized.
Use Mobile Banking
If you’re gone long enough you’ll eventually receive checks in the mail, and depositing them by visiting a local bank branch may be inconvenient. Most major banks support check deposits via a mobile banking app. You just take a picture of the check, verify the numbers, and voila. Note that some banks (including ours) will not deposit checks over $1000 via mobile deposit, which is highly annoying.
Having mail forwarded
If you absolutely, positively need to have mail forwarded to wherever you happen to be, you have two options:
- You can ask a campground that you will be staying with if you can have a package delivered to their address. Most campgrounds understand and will agree to this, but definitely ask first
- You can receive mail general delivery at most United States Post office (USPS) locations. You need to call and ask if they accept general delivery. Some zipcodes may have more than one branch; it is the “main” branch that receives general delivery. You can also call the USPS at 1-800-275-8777 for help figuring out which location is the “main”.
If you choose general delivery, mail the package to yourself using the following information:
YOUR NAME
GENERAL DELIVERY
TOWN, ST 12345-9999
“GENERAL DELIVERY” is the actual address line, and “9999” as the ZIP+4 also means general delivery. The USPS will hold any package it receives addressed to your name there for 30 days. When you go to pick up your stuff, you will obviously have to prove who you are, usually via a driver’s license. Don’t forget to check the post office hours where you will be receiving your package. Some rural post offices have shorter days and no Saturday hours.
