Junk Mail

Junk Mail -- People either love their Junk Mail, or they hate it!

The majority of people have no idea of the work involved in distributing those bundles.  Because I am one of those delivery people who walks from letterbox to letterbox, I thought that the Junk Mail Lovers might be interested in discovering some of the unseen work involved in the job.

If you are a Junk Mail Hater, please spare a thought for all the efforts involved in delivering to your box before you throw it in the Rubbish Bin without even glancing through the contents.

I do both mid-week and weekend deliveries, and with Christmas quickly approaching, my loads have vastly increased -- guess you have also noticed that the bundles are bigger than ever!  This is a sample of my latest mid-week bundle which weighed in at 710 grams.  No wonder I was feeling exhausted by the time I delivered 300 bundles @ 710 grams!  i.e. over 200 Kilos of paper!

One 710 gram bundle ready for distribution

Last Monday, the driver brought two deliveries which had to be brought inside, collated and folded in readiness to be loaded into the pram for distribution to individual letterboxes.  These photos show the two deliveries.

Monday 3rd December, the first load arrived in the Morning

Monday 3rd December, the second load arrived late afternoon

The contents of those two loads had to be combined into 300 x 710 gram bundles, 16 items per bundle, to be distributed to individual letterboxes -- all that folding is very time-consuming.  Hopefully all this weightlifting will help to maintain my bone density!

The following photos show the size of loads received in previous weeks --

Monday 26 November, the first load delivered in the morning

Monday 26 November, the second load delivered mid afternoon

Monday 12 November, the first load delivered in the morning

Monday 12 November, the second load delivered in afternoon

After folding all these bundles, distribution has to be done on Tuesday and Wednesday, rain, hail or shine!!  My two dogs accompany me and enjoy riding in the pram on top of the loads.  

A fully loaded twin pram!

Normally, I can do the complete round in four loads, but the pram does have a breaking strain and the larger bundles of recent weeks, means that I have to return home to re-load and this means extra walking. Because of the weight involved, this last delivery required eight pram loads.

The dogs know the route and look forward to approaching houses where people are likely to come out and give them a friendly pat, or even a small treat! It is certainly one way of getting to know the neighbourhood.

The weekend load is usually smaller and arrives on a Friday in time for preparation for distribution on Saturday and Sunday.  Consequently, Thursday is my only truly "Catalogue Free" day of the week!

The Rewards???  Considering the amount of time involved, it certainly is not a viable proposition, however, the meagre pittance that I get paid does help to buy the groceries and that little pay packet would be missed if I were to give it up.  Greater reward is in knowing that the exercise helps to keep me fit and healthy, the dogs love their outings, and I look on it as a Community Service to all those who love their Junk Mail...