10 Things Mail Carriers Wish You'd Set Up

I was a mail carrier for thirty-one years on a rural route up on the Iron Range, and there are ten things I learned to notice before anyone else knew someone had fallen. Since my husband Walt died, I'm the one living alone at the end of the gravel road, so I use every one of these fixes myself. **In this video** · The fifty feet from the porch to the mailbox, and the cheap fix I use the night before · Why the ambulance doesn't check your thermostat, and the number the Red Cross wants taped by yours · What two minutes of shoveling does to your heart, according to the American Heart Association · The mail carrier program almost nobody's heard of — and why you shouldn't count on it anyway · Why your phone belongs on you, not the kitchen counter · The free card for your fridge that speaks for you when you can't · Where your spare key should go (never under the mat) · The one thing people get wrong about the power company's medical list · The smoke alarm fix for anyone who takes their hearing aids out at night · The one habit I'd keep if you forgot the other nine **Chapters** 0:00 The 50 feet to the mailbox 1:11 1. Sand the walk the night before 2:06 2. Leave the heat at 55 if you go 2:53 3. Don't shovel alone 3:39 4. Tell someone what your normal looks like 4:42 5. Wear the phone, not the counter 5:21 The winter after Walt died 5:50 6. A card on the fridge 6:46 7. Give a neighbor your key 7:35 8. Get on the power company's list 8:45 9. A smoke alarm that actually wakes you 9:46 10. The nine o'clock call 11:03 For 31 years, I was the one who noticed **Tell me in the comments:** Who's your nine o'clock call? I read them all. **Sources** American Red Cross, *Preventing Frozen Pipes* — redcross.org/…/winter-storm/frozen-pipes.html American Heart Association, *Snow shoveling can be hazardous to your heart* — newsroom.heart.org/news/snow-shoveling-can-be-hazardous-to-your-heart National Association of Letter Carriers, *Carrier Alert* — nalc.org/community-service/carrier-alert Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, *Older Adult Falls: Facts and Stats* — cdc.gov/falls/data-research/facts-stats/index.html Avon Lake (OH) Fire Department, *File of Life* — avonlake.org/fire/file-of-life Village of Riverwoods, IL, Knox-Box program — riverwoods.gov Foothills Fire & Rescue (CO), home lockbox program — frfr.colorado.gov Minnesota Power, *Life Support / Medical Equipment Registration* — mnpower.com/OutageCenter/LifeSupport Connexus Energy, *Life Support Members* — connexusenergy.com/outage-center/life-support-members U.S. Fire Administration, *Fire Risk to Older Adults* — usfa.fema.gov/statistics/deaths-injuries/older-adults.html Mass.gov, *Fire Safety for Older Adults* — mass.gov/files/2017-08/safety older adults 2016.pdf Montgomery County (MD) Fire and Rescue Service, smoke alarm tip sheet for people who are deaf or hard of hearing — montgomerycountymd.gov Yuma County Sheriff's Office (AZ), *Are You OK?* — yumacountysheriff.org/services-ruok.htm Anne Arundel County (MD) Department of Aging, telephone reassurance — aacounty.org USAging / Administration for Community Living, Eldercare Locator (800-677-1116) — usaging.org/eldercareloc About this channel: June is a fictional, AI-generated character with an AI voice, and her stories are fiction. Our small team researches, writes and fact-checks every script from the public sources listed above. This video is general safety information, not medical, legal or financial advice. In an emergency, call 911.