Mailbox Makeover & Ways to Prevent The Birds From Taking Over

Each and every year, as it begins to get warmer outside, I find the need for a mailbox makeover and today I am sharing exactly what we do!

I love spring. I mean, I really enjoy it. Each year I anticipate the warmer weather with such excitement and enthusiasm … mainly because I do not like being cold. Plus, I just love being outside. However, with the warmer weather comes many outdoor ‘to-dos.’ There is yard work and gardening and power washing – the list does go on and on. And, on that list, there is a little something that we like to do each year called the mailbox makeover. It really isn’t that exciting, but it is something that we must do each and every year. Let me explain.

I am not the only one that seems to come alive when the warmer finally arrives. It seems as though the birds begin coming out the very moment the weather begins to warm up. While I enjoy them, I do not enjoy the messes that they make around our home, primarily the mess on the mailbox.

As you can see, cleaning our mailbox is a must and I am going to share with you the quick and easy steps that we take to ensure that our mailbox is looking shiny and new each and every year!

Mailbox Makeover

It doesn’t take much time to revive a messy mailbox. With just a few simple materials and in just a few simple steps you can bring an old mailbox back to life!

Remove The Soiled Mess

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There really isn’t a great way to phrase this so I am just going to say it. To remove all of the ‘bird poop’ that has fallen onto your mailbox you will need a few supplies:

• Nylon Scrub Brush (My favorite (above) I got out of an old barn at an estate sale. I linked one similar)
• Dish Soap
• Bucket Of Water
• Paper Towels
• Simple Green or other cleaner

PLEASE NOTE:  This is how I cleaned my Metal mailbox.  There are other kinds of mailboxes out there such as plastic and wood ones. 

All you have to do is to knock off some of the poop with the dry brush and then use soap and water to scrub it all off! You might need some ‘elbow grease’ if the build up needs more scrubbing. I don’t have a hose long enough to reach all the way to the mailbox – so to rinse off the soapy mailbox I just used a few buckets of water.

After that, I went in with a toothbrush and some simple green and really scrubbed some of the stubborn spots. This was also helpful for the hard to reach spots and grooves that scrubbing didn’t get into.

Use A Sharpy

After removing all of the mess, I realized that there were a few spots on the mailbox that were missing paint. There were literally a few silver spots showing through. In the past, I have just sprayed our entire mailbox with black spray paint, but this year I just took a black sharpie and filled in the areas of chipped paint. It was as easy as that!

Revive the Faded Numbers

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The numbers on our mailbox sure have faded over the last few years. They defiantly needed a little TLC. The numbers on all of the mailboxes here in our neighborhood are gold. With that in mind, I decided to use something that I already had on hand. I used Rub n Buff in the gold leaf to give my old mailbox numbers a new life! It only took a few minutes and they were as good as new!

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Wrap Up

That’s it. That is all that we do. While there are only a few simple step to our mailbox makeover, it does make a big difference. I do need to mention that I have to clean up after the birds continuously throughout the summer. They do not stop perching on the mailbox just because I cleaned it -Ha! I simply visit the mailbox once every week or so and do a ‘mini clean up session.’

Cheers to clean (and poop-free) places.

P.S.

Here area a few tips that my followers on Instagram have given me to help keep the birds off of your mailbox. I haven’t tried these but you may want to give them a shot!

• Rub olive oil or use nonstick cooking spray on the top of the mailbox to prevent the birds form landing.

• Mount bird spikes on top of your mailbox.

• Use holographic tape to reflect light on top of your mailbox.

• Perch a fake owl or hawk on top or nearby. 

• Mount a flag or pinwheel on your mailbox.

• Set up bird feeders a good distance away from the mailbox as a way to distract them. I like this one and it is under $10.00.

If you have any other suggestion – I would love to know about it. Leave me a comment below!

P.P.S.

Here are a few products that I have tried around my home that have helped me combat the birds in other areas – such as our front porch:

*this post contains affiliate links