Yes, second in the series of Things I Would Do Differently (TWIDD) and this is all about the letterbox.
Every house that I have owned has always had a letterbox. Except this one.
It wasn’t that we thought we didn’t need one. It was simply something that we did not think about when designing the building. As a result, we have ended up with a stainless steel post box next to the front door [As an aside, finding a decent modern looking post box is not easy]. Ok, it works, but there could have been a better solution. To check the post, we have to open the front door and look in the box. If you want to get stuff out, you need to go and get the keys. Not exactly a nightmare, but it is a bit annoying in the winter.
A better solution we have been to have had a slot in the outside wall in the porch with some sort of post box on the inside. However, thinking about it, even this has drawbacks.
Like everyone else, we purchase quite a bit of stuff online, so having a safe place for deliveries can be really useful. I have seen purpose built parcel “dropboxes” that have a combination code to open them, but they are hideously expensive (they seem a bit over engineered for our purposes). We have resorted to a waterproof plastic box with instructions on our post box about where to leave parcels. [We used to have them left in the polytunnel, but the automatic watering system soon put an end to that!].
Not entirely sure what the answer is, but it needs to be thought about.
I don’t really like this postbox. It was the best choice from a very poor selection. Looking at this picture now, I like it even less. The whole “postbox” thing was a bit of an afterthought. Even the placement of this postbox on the wall under the porch looks like an afterthought! It isn’t lined up with the stonework or the light above or the door bell. It is stuck in the middle of the wall, rather like pinning a tail on the donkey!
