EXTRA INFO for exchangers - Scroll down for todays regular post

There are two new posts today. This one is just for exchangers. The new envelope for today is below.

These topics have been covered in recent posts, but, they bear repeating, because I have no way of knowing who reads the blog.

1. MISSING MAIL

PLEASE take a photo of your envelopes before you mail them because there has been an increase in missing mail.

For the past 10+ years, most of the mail has been delivered without problems.

I can only recall one person who signed up and never sent anything. 

There were only a few new people each year.

Quite a few new people only signed up once and I never knew why they didn’t sign up again, but, it didn’t matter, because I had such a steady group. We’d lose a veteran from time to time - but we had new people filling the slots and we always ended up with 20 to 25 people each month.

Then in 2025 there was a confluence of more new people and more missing mail.

Were those two things related? 

When I did not get envelopes from all four new people in December, it was not looking good for the newcomers. Eventually, I found out that even MY envelopes had gone missing. So, with that - we know it’s the USPS. All four new people had sent their mail.

2. CHEWED UP MAIL

There has been more mail arriving that has been chewed up by the USPS processing machines. I know that they are installing new machines and I suspect that the the new machines are more aggressive than the tired, old machines that have been chugging along for decades.

The exchange *rules* have always stated that people could send an *empty* envelope. The new rule is that you must put *something* in the envelope to give it enough heft to withstand its trip through the machines. The *something* that you use for filler may be blank paper or recycled paper.

We will still write *empty* on the back of envelopes to indicate that the contents of the envelope is just filler and it’s fine to leave the envelope unopened if you like that look.

3. COLLAGE/WASHI TAPE/STICKERS

Anything other than a stamp is an opportunity for something to fall off and that can cause problems for the machines. My son who spent a couple years crawling inside those machines which were longer than his house - to maintain the moving parts and also vacuum out all the debris - confirmed that embellishments were not a good idea. Also, magnets can cause all sorts of problems - so don’t send magnets in your envelopes. Of course, the live birds that people mail can be a problem. There was that time a pheasant escaped from a box - but I digress. Yes, the USPS ships live animals.

We will keep chugging along - and hopefully - 2026 will be a fun year for all of us.

Thank you for reading this.