It’s never fun to open a mailbox that’s over-stuffed with tons of crumpled junk mail, so it’s smart to pause your mail service whenever you go out of town for more than 3 days.

The best part?  The USPS makes it super easy to request its “Hold Mail Service” online.  You can request the service up to 30 days before your trip, and the post office will hold your mail for anywhere between 3 and 30 days.  If you don’t pick up your mail during that time window, they will deliver the mail to you after the 30th day.

If you’re lucky enough to be out of town for more than 30 days, you should sign up for the forwarding service instead.