Why You Might See A Mailbox In Someone's Backyard

Say you're walking down the street and spot a mailbox, but instead of it being in a front yard, it's tucked away behind someone's house in their backyard. Odds are you'd do a double take and wonder, "How does the mail carrier know to go back there?" Well, it turns out that there's a specific reason why people are putting mailboxes in their backyards — and it has nothing to do with mail.

Thanks to Dengarden, we discovered a TikTok video by user @earthnailsandtails that explains why a backyard mailbox can be helpful. "I'm out in the garden and want to show you all one of my favorite garden hacks ... [A] mailbox," the TikToker says, opening up their mailbox to reveal gardening items.

"It's one of the best tools that you can use to keep all of your tools that you use on a frequent basis in your garden — and keep them protected from the elements, "@earthnailsandtails explains. Inside their mailbox set on a post, you will find pruners, tomato clips, and drip irrigation equipment. But wait, there's more!

"The best thing of all [is] the flag," the gardener says. "If at the end of the day you walk away from your garden and you still see the flag up, that means your tools are out. It reminds you to either go find them or put them back in your mailbox before you walk away."

Commenters and fellow gardeners loved this idea. "Oh my gosh, this is brilliant!" someone said, while another user added, "I love the flag reminder!!!!"

While this is a great idea, several viewers warned that people need to be careful about wasps and other insects building nests inside the mailbox. To keep the former at bay, we recommend placing a dryer sheet inside the box.