Grand Rapids MI — It may seem too early to think about snow and ice, but it’s never too early to stay ahead of bad weather. The snow and ice always seem to know when we have plans, special things we need to do or just when we want to stay inside where it’s warm and toasty.

The U.S. Postal Service is already thinking about winter weather. Planning ahead and proper preparation will ensure your mail delivery is not interrupted. Making sure our property is safe and accessible is important for our families, our neighbors, and the letter carriers.

The Postal Service wants to remind customers - Make sure to keep pathways, stairs, walkways and the approach to your mailbox clear and free from snow and ice. This will prevent injuries and allow postal employees to provide the best possible service, even in the worst weather.

Also, mail delivery in rural areas and on private and secondary roads can be especially challenging for rural carriers due to snow removal occurring less immediately than on primary roads. Most carriers on these delivery routes drive their own private vehicles and often times get stuck or cannot access the mail boxes due to snow and ice buildup. Removing the snow from around these mail receptacles is definitely appreciated.

Additionally, customers in rural areas can benefit from renting a Post Office box at their local Post Office. Post Office boxes can be rented for 6 or 12 month periods and provides consistent delivery, even in inclement weather.

We realize that you – our customers, desire consistent mail delivery regardless of the season. With your help, the Postal Service can provide you with uninterrupted service this, and every season.

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A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation — 151 million residences, businesses and Post Office™ Boxes. The Postal Service™ receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. With 32,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com®, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $65 billion and delivers nearly 40 percent of the world’s mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 35th in the 2011 Fortune 500. In 2011, Oxford Strategic Consulting ranked the U.S. Postal Service number one in overall service performance of the posts in the top 20 wealthiest nations in the world. Black Enterprise and Hispanic Business magazines ranked the Postal Service as a leader in workforce diversity. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency for six years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.

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