Extended Trip "Housekeeping" Things?

[Art Davis]

What do you do when you are on an extended trip to keep the mail from accumulating, etc? Let's say you don't have friends in the immediate neighborhood to do these chores for you?

I'd appreciate any suggestions you might have. I am talking about, perhaps, a six month absense from home.

Art

[Donna D.]

Art, I think a lot of the things you want to talk about have been covered in the Fulltiming in a Molded Fiberglass Trailer forum, you may want to check it out.

In fact, add a new topic or two if you find things haven't been answered. And although 6 months may not feel like true full-timing, it certainly is more full-time than just an extended vacation!

[Bigfoot Mike]

What do you do when you are on an extended trip to keep the mail from accumulating, etc? Let's say you don't have friends in the immediate neighborhood to do these chores for you?

I'd appreciate any suggestions you might have. I am talking about, perhaps, a six month absense from home.

Art

Art, Two of the most common mail services seem to be:

• http://www.escapees.com/MailForwardingService.asp
• http://www.myhomeaddressinc.com/

I have NOT used either one and have NO stock in these companies.

[Pete Dumbleton]

If I were concerned about the mail, I would get a box at nearby UPS store, and discuss with my postmaster forwarding all first and second class mail to that box. Then I wouldn't have to notify anybody of anything and PO wouldn't have to hold my mail.

The UPS store will accumulate your mail, you call in and give them an address (Usually General Delivery at PO where you will be for a couple of days), they box it up and ship it. Be SURE to check with receiving PO about Gen Del because not all POs do it and big POs can lose your stuf. Best is a small, relatively isolated PO and you are a face they have at least met once.

Reason for discussing forwarding with home postmaster is that on-flle forwarding has a limited life, measured in months and you may be wanting them to extend it.

Some POs in the North have an unofficial forwarding system called Snowbird Service where your mail can be forwarded to one address you specify, like an RV park in Florida for the winter.

If you go with Escapees or something like that, you will have to notify everybody before you leave and again when you get back.

BTW, you CANNOT give change of address form to USPS to change from a commercial address because PO doesn't sort the mail, they do, and to PO it's all one address. I had a heck of a problem when a small mail company I was using went out of business!!!

ON EDIT: It doesn't have to be a UPS store, just a commercial mail service. I DO have stock in UPS, FedEx and Airborne Express.

[Pete Dumbleton]

Just learned today from Art's post on another RV forum that the Post Office has a (unfortunately one-address) forwarding service available for long absences.

http://www.usps.com/receive/premiumf...ng/welcome.htm

[Byron Kinnaman]

I don't know how the price compares to different methods, but $11.95 per week seems a bit steep to me.

[Pete Dumbleton]

That's just the start, because one still needs a place to ship it TO, which is where UPS Store or similar comes in.

Don't know what USPS will do if you come in, fill out full forwarding for first and second class (to commercial service) and then come in six months later and cancel the forwarding...

Ideal is to have relative pick up mail and look it over and check your house out at the same time.