Our area doesn't allow them. A few streets over they allow boxes at the front door or mail slots.. When our part of the subdivision was built they changed to curbside. So one street can have them and the next cannot. This has recently been a topic on Nextdoor since there has been a tremendous increase in mail theft. Some people have even had their so called security mailboxes broken into.

Newer subdivisions have cluster boxes at the end of their streets. One cluster was broken into. The postal service is no longer delivering to the area. The residents have to pay to replace the cluster. So they are having to pick up their mail at the post office. This is how responsibility is shifted the new normal.

The simple solution would be to allow slots into the garage or the door but the post office refuses to allow it.

Is this in addition to your mailbox? It sounds like it might be since it's for things left at your door. If so, will it confuse the USPS worker?

Our mailbox is wall mounted on the wall of our front porch. It’s higher then doorknob but a little lower then eye level. Where do you receive your mail?

I have one from Rejuvenation similar to This Box ...

but many years old. I brought it with me when we moved and mounted it outside below our mail slot for those smaller packages that still are large enough to not go into the slot. (slot empties into a sturdy wall mounted box inside my garage).

On our carriers day off depending on who delivers in her place that day, I may find all my mail in the outside box, with envelopes not inserted through-wall brass slot ;0)

Be aware though that's its actually not legal to place things without postage in any mailbox. Is your real mail delivered elsewhere or had you thought you'd have this serve both purposes, hand carried and delivered....

ETA: It's mounted about waist high now, below the mail slot that is installed (1955 and grandfathered) on the wall between my garage door and office. At my former house it was below eye level under my porch light next to the front door. At about chest level, not eye level.

I live in the country and have a mail box out by the road for my regular mail.

The wall mounted box wouldn't be for that, it would be mostly decorative but also useful for friends and neighbors to leave notes, cards, etc. Fairly certain it wouldn't confuse the mail person. They don't want to get out of their truck to deliver mail to the porch, they will some packages tho.

My neighbor down the road has one like yours morz, she has it mounted on her brick porch by her door. That's what got me to thinking I'd like one. No name or numbers on it, just acts as a receptacle for misc. In fact, at times when I receive her mail by mistake, I walk it down and put it into the black box (edges sticking out so she can see it) instead of opening her mail box at the road. I always feel funny about opening someone else's mail box. Or I deliver thank you notes there.

Our house's original mailbox is on the wall of the enclosed front porch. It's hung slightly below shoulder level -- high enough to be out of the way, low enough for postman and homeowners to reach into it easily.

We don't use it anymore. The post office rule is that they will not open doors -- even unlocked screen doors -- to deliver mail. They'd made an exception for the previous owner, a sweet old man who lived here until he was 96.

Good luck with your project, I'd recommend making sure it's clear that it is NOT for official use.

I have a mail slot next to my front door at regulation height. This street has used roadside mailboxes and none of the other houses have a slot. It maybe because the original owner was a detective.

A suggestion based on boxes that I have seen at craft fairs is to have a box or even use a wooden bird house with the entry covered up and a hinge so the top can be opened and closed. Paint it in designs that please you but on the top stencil the word Notes.

"Notes" ... briliant! Now, if only there were going to be craft fairs anytime in the next two years ... lol not lol.

I'd sure love to see a picture of it if you could swing it

Here's ours:

In Venice, we had a slot in the door, which was better, except that we had to pick up mail off the floor.

I think it's against postal regulations for the box to be used for anything other than U.S. Mail. If someone leaves you a note, the mailman might take it thinking it was something to be mailed. That happened to me once, and it was a check in the envelope.

At my Mom's house her mailbox was on a pole at the street. She fell once on the driveway when it was slippery. She was 88 at the time. The mailman told me that she could fill out a form from the post office and have a mailbox attached on the wall of the house by the door and they would deliver to it!

I don't remember if it had to be filled out by her doctor also, but there were at least 3 other people near her that got their mail at the door. The mailman put a note of some sort in the street box so if he was off the replacement mailman would know to take it up to the house.

It was a great service! Thank you USPS!

Socks is right. You need a mail box for USPS mail, and another sort of receptacle for neighbors to leave notes, and you don't want them to confuse anyone. So think in terms of a hanging basket or something else. Great opportunity to be creative.

No, I don't want a basket or a box with flowers or cats painted on it. I want a small vintage metal mailbox.

Socks and sushipup, I've made it clear that I already have a mail box for my USPS mail, and it's at the road.

Why in the world would a mail person get "confused" by a metal box on the side of a house? They drive a truck and never deliver mail to my front porch - ever. Unless it's a package that doesn't fit in the mailbox. Then they bring it to the porch and put it on the floor. Who else will get confused - my friends and neighbors? Why?

We had a mailbox beside the front door when I was a child, and I had them at the first two places I lived as an adult. When I was a child, if we wanted to send mail we used a wooden clothes pin to clip the envelope to the box. That was before we moved to a rural area, where we put it in the box at the driveway, with the flag up.

I did the same thing to a piece of mail when I moved into my first apartment, but the mailman never took it. It took me a few days to figure out that I had to take it to the mailbox on the corner. : /

My mailman puts the mail and small packages in the box at the end of the driveway, but if a package won't fit, he brings it to the back door, and puts it inside, even if he knows I'm home or working in the yard. He's a treasure! His sub will put them on the front porch.

It doesn't sound as if you want 'cute', but you could put the box a little lower than shoulder level, and above it have a little painted sign with something like, "Leave me a note ..."

I think anyone who passes your USPS box, will realize that's where you get official mail.

You need to be sure the people you hope to leave you notes know this is not an official USPost box. It is a federal offense for non postal workers to use post boxes!!

I would hang it below the doorbell if the space is a available and it would look good.

I like the idea of a box like that. I have big planter at my front entry with a space for big packages behind it. I think a big wooden box would go well there for all the delivery people to put packages so they can't be seen.

Here’s ours the front of the house needs to be cleaned up yikes!

We have a mailbox on a post out at the street. On the front porch I have a Red Swedish mailbox for notes, money, slips, etc, from our local parent group and market place. A strip of blue painters tape identifies it as such. I never got around to mounting it, though; it sits on the mat! Don't worry, when I'm receiving things I check it regularly.

1929Spanish - I really like that one. Simple design - and green!, plus it has the paper holder on the bottom. People could hang bags of Christmas baked goods for me on that. LOL

Thanks you for sharing.

You're welcome Schoolhouse. I can't remember where I found it, but it was back in 2012. there is also a privacy panel that you can attach on the inside if you don't want the contents visible. We have a green number plaque from the Netherlands and a green light fixture from Ballard designs. None of them totally in keeping with our house, but they look nice and I'm happy with them.

I have one attached to the wall next to the door about shoulder height. It is heavy cast metal, vertical, painted green like the trim. Inside there is a note pad and a couple of pencils. My mail is delivered to the box on the highway and packages to the porch. No one has been confused in twenty years. It looks really nice and goes with the Craftsman style of the house. I think stenciling Notes on it would be a great addition.

It is a strange thing that you have to put up a mail box but it then becomes the official domain of the PO. It is to protect you.

My family home received mail through a flap on the outside wall. It was at the top of a metal chute that ran down into the vestibule (which also had a closure). It was convenient, but one Halloween some nasty person put filth into the chute. I've heard of other such tricks, like pushing a watering hose into a mail chute or through a mail flap in an entry door. I just saw a cartoon where a dog had carried a running sprinkler into a house through *his* door!

Well, here it is. I put it up July 30th. And - it has the word "MAIL" on it! lol I really like it's simplicity and rustic appearance. Just the right size. So far the mail person hasn't come up to the porch or questioned me and I'm still getting my mail at the road. : )

A friend has 2 mailboxes mounted on the railing of her front porch. One is labelled Mail the other is the name of her income tax business so people can drop off their returns, which is locked.

Anyone who gets home deliveries (in older neighbourhoods) use wall-mounted mailboxes. And even older homes like in my neighbourhood, the old milk boxes built into the sides of the house or garage are used for mail and newspaper deliveries.

That's a cool mailbox, Schoolhouse.

I have three vintage wall mounted mailboxes that I use for planters. They are long & shallow so are perfect planters. Mounted to trees and one is mounted to a fence. Perfect for impatiens.

ci_lantro, I had visions of using magnets to decorate the mailbox at holidays, etc. using magnets to hold a string of mini lights, other decor. I even ordered some cool tiny magnets from Etsy that were in the shape of push pins (60 to a box, 12ea of 5 different colors). They were pricey and I didn't need that many but just perfect for my purpose. When I received them I couldn't wait to try them. Well..... doh! the mailbox is aluminum! Darn. ha ha I should have realized that.

But I'm keeping the magnets. I can use them on the real mailbox at the road.

When I moved to Venice (CA), the postman told me that he could not deliver mail through the slot in my door unless I had my last name on the door. So I had a friend who has a metal shop make me a brass plaque with my last name and my roommate Bernard's last name and I put it on the door. Then the postman started delivering all kinds of mail that was not ours, and so I could not understand why I needed to have my name on the door, since he was delivering random mail anyway - often mail that had the correct house number but wrong street! And sometimes the wrong house number.

Once I saw the postman walking back down my front sidewalk after delivering mail, and on his way, he took out a switchblade knife and cut off some of the leaves on my bird of paradise plant (Strelitzia reginae) that happened to brush against one of his legs. I had my desk facing the window where I could see who was on the sidewalk, and so it was easy for me to watch him. I then called his supervisor at the post office to complain, and the supervisor assured me that this would not happen again, and it did not. I've not had this problem in Westchester😑.

1929Spanish, my mailbox also gets dusty!

Does anyone else have their name on their door or mailbox?

Oh my! Some people feel entitled, I'd be upset if someone took cuttings off one of my plants without asking.

I don't have my name on my mailbox at the road, but I do have my name on the cover I put on it Spring thru Fall. It's a custom mailbox cover made by a crafter on Etsy. Instead of the "Welcome" message on an oval plaque on the front, I asked her to write my last name.

From last year:

Cool idea, Schoolhouse.

I wonder if the pushpin magnets would work if you put another magnet on the inside of the aluminum mailbox? My vintage mailboxes are galvanized so I'm going to steal your idea!

The house planter cover is adorable.

Lars, we're required to have our street number on the mailbox (post mounted at the curb) but nothing about having our name on it.

No requirement for last names here, and most people don't -- probably more concern for identity theft than years ago. It's not unusual for us to receive mail for our house number, wrong street. If it's near by, we walk it over and put it in the correct mail box. Our neighbor one street over does the same for us, which is why we sometimes get two deliveries per day.

@Lars if we actually cleaned the front of our house more often it wouldn’t be a problem! The port is covered by an extension of our roof.

Years ago, first and last names on mailboxes here in the country were very common but I don't see that very much anymore either. Not required as far as I know. However, in our Amish community certain names are so common that in addition to the last a first name is often added. Of course there can be three Levi Millers on the same road!

That's how I got the idea for my wall mounted. We neighbors frequently get each others' mail and instead of opening her USPO box at the road, I put the mail into my neighbors decorative (+ utile) box on her porch wall. She sometimes puts a swag on hers at Christmas.

ci lantro, not sure about using a magnet on the inside, as that is aluminum also (?). Thanks. I'll rig something up.