How to make sure your neighbors get their mail if it ends up in your box

Step 2 Look through your mail

Before you go inside, do a quick search through your mail to see if you've been given pieces that don't belong to you. I've found that if I go inside before looking through my mail, I'm much less likely to give my neighbors their mail in a timely way. I'm lazy that way.

It takes very little time to do a quick sort through your mail. I find that it's also a good way for me to pause and relax before I go home after work; it helps me switch from frenzied work and commute mode to hang out and relax mode.

Note: even though you may get a lot of junk mail that you'd prefer not to have to carry into your home and then recycle, do not try to pawn it off on your neighbors as if it belongs to them. Junk mail often has no address, so you could pretend that it was meant for your neighbor, but this is really tacky, so just keep it and deal.