Post office boxes are usually used for business mail if you don’t have a business address. They can also be used for private mail if you don’t have a physical address or don't want your personal mail delivered to your house. If you want to avoid using a P.O. box, there are alternatives, including using your home address, leasing office space, using a carrier service or having all your mail sent to you electronically, that may suit your needs better.

Residential Address

The most popular way to avoid having to use a P.O. box is by having your mail delivered to your residential address. Regardless of whether you’re receiving personal or business mail, you can use your private address and mail box to receive and send your mail.

Lease Office Space

If you have a small business and don’t want a P.O. box, you may want to lease a small office and have your mail sent to that location. While leasing a business office will cost a bit of money, the office would provide you with a physical address to receive business mail if you don’t want it sent to your residential address. If you’re worried about sending business mail to your residence because the address will not appear to be a business address, leasing a small office could solve this issue as well.

Business Mail Pickup

If your business receives too much mail to fit in a P.O. box, you can sign up for a carrier service. This service is provided by the post office for a small fee. With this service, subscribers will get their business mail picked up more often than regular mail, sometimes several times a day. In order to receive your mail using this service, you must pick it up at the post office loading dock or call window. Make reservations to retain a caller number for continual use of the carrier service.

Internet

Technology is advancing to the point that most bills and notifications can be taken care of online. If you are able to receive all your bills and notifications electronically, you could avoid getting mail altogether, except to your online inbox. If you choose to get all your mail electronically, however, you may miss out on mail like magazines, catalogs, coupons and holiday cards. While most of these can be sent and received electronically, not everyone (like your grandmother) may be interested in diving into technology and completely eliminating physical mail.