Monday marks the busiest mailing day for Postal Service

SALT LAKE CITY — Utahns were expected to mail 2 million cards and packages Monday, making it the busiest mailing day of the year.

The U.S. Postal Service expected to process more than 650 million letters and packages nationwide on Monday, Dec. 17, and expects to deliver 365 million packages during the holiday season — a 20 percent increase over last year.

Overall, the Postal Service will handle nearly 18 billion cards, packages and letters between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve.

To make sure letters and packages arrive on time, first class mail needs to be posted by Dec. 20, priority mail by Dec. 21 and express mail by Dec. 22.

Dec. 19 and 20 are expected to be the busiest delivery days of the year.

Self-Service Ship and Mail Centers can be found in 30 postal lobbies across the Wasatch Front. Customers can purchase stamps, and weigh and mail cards and packages 24/7, using their debit or credit cards. The machines can be found in most Salt Lake metro area post offices, two Ogden post offices — Ben Lomond and Mount Ogden; and all post offices in American Fork, Layton, Lehi, Logan, Orem, Pleasant Grove, Provo, Roy and St. George.

In addition to the nearly 200 post offices in the state, there are also more than 30 full-service contract post offices. To find the nearest postal location, call 1-800-ASK-USPS (1-800-275-8777) or go to usps.com.