HELOISE Postal worker delivers advice for lost letters

Dear Heloise: I have worked for the U.S. Postal Service for 15 years and currently am a window clerk. Please advise the customer who lost photos in the maiL to contact the post office and get the address of the closest mail recovery center.
She needs to write a letter with a detailed description and when and where the package was mailed. She should also fill out a mail-loss form. This form will make its way to the mail recovery center. Good luck and happy hunting. Deb Rein, St. Cloud, Minn.
Deb, thanks so much for your helpful advice. We double-checked with the USPS and found that there are two mail recovery centers here in the United States. The centers are located in Atlanta and St. Paul, Minn.
The Postal Service suggested waiting 30 days and then filling out a PS Form 1510 and sending a copy to each of the recovery centers (addresses available from the post office).
The USPS told us that lost letters are scanned, and if they include something of value (more than $10), they are opened to see if there is any form of identification so they can be forwarded. Letters that have less than $10 value are held for a short time, and then they are destroyed. Packages are opened to see if there is any form of identification. They are held anywhere from 90 days to a year, depending on how they were sent -- insured, certified, etc.
If you send something with a check or money order, you might want to contact the bank or business so it can issue a stop payment. A note of interest is that items that are undeliverable are auctioned off a couple of times during the year by the Postal Service. Heloise
Dear Heloise: Here is a tip that can help those of us who must regularly use busy public laundry centers and even those who only occasionally use them while on vacation.
To avoid confusion, I pack a couple of my larger, colorful kitchen magnets and put them on the machines I am using. It sure does keep strangers from accidentally opening my machines!
My aunt now uses magnets in her apartment-building laundry room with her name and phone number on them! Other tenants have even called to tell her the laundry cycle was completed! Lanie Ambrosino, Washington, D.C.
Dear Heloise: I have made some wonderful storage boxes by laminating cardboard boxes with adhesive shelf paper. Large detergent boxes with a lid and a handle are especially good. Easy to do, very durable and almost no cost. Colors and styles are your choice. Great for holiday-decoration storage -- all seasons. Gypsy Hicks, Little Rock, Ark.
King Features Syndicate