With National Mailbox Improvement Week beginning Sunday, the U.S. Postal Service is encouraging customers to inspect, maintain and upgrade their mailboxes to help ensure safe, secure and efficient mail delivery.

Other improvement tips:

• Replace loose hinges on a mailbox door.

• Repaint a mailbox that may have rusted or has started to peel.

• Remount a loosened mailbox post.

• Replace or add house numbers.

Safety, security

USPS partners with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service to keep postal employees, the mail stream and the American public safe, prevent incidents through education and awareness, and enforce the laws that protect our nation’s mail network.

Tips to secure your mail include:

• Promptly pick up your mail; try not to leave letters and packages in your mailbox or at your door for any length of time.

• Report mailbox vandalism. If you see someone actively tampering with a mailbox, immediately report it to the police.

• If you know of someone who committed an act of mailbox vandalism, report it to Postal Inspectors at 1-877-876-2455.

Informed delivery

With Informed Delivery, customers can see photos of their mail before it arrives and receive notifications when it’s delivered. Customers can also get Daily Digest emails that preview their mail and packages scheduled to arrive soon.

For more information, visit www.usps.com/manage/informed-delivery.htm.