Refusing to take in neighbours parcels

[Enwi]

Hi everyone,
I feel like a real grinch now but I’m just so, so tired of this happening and I’d really like some opinions from someone slightly less sleep deprived and emotional than me right now.
I’m a childminder and almost every day I am at home between 12-2pm as it’s nap time for my mindees. The post almost always comes about 1pm, which is fine. Every single day, the post man knocks on my door and asks me to take in a parcel for a next door neighbour (almost always the same neighbour, but we’ve had a parcel for most houses on the street at some point!). My usual postman is pretty good and knows I have babies sleeping, but still as the nursery is directly above the front door babies get woken. We also have loads of other delivery drivers from DPD/Hermes etc who aren’t as considerate, and knock so ridiculously hard on the door it frightens the life out of me. The parcels from one particular neighbour range in size, but sometimes take up my entire hallway which is already tight with children’s bags, coats, car seats etc. Neighbour then comes to collect the parcel at 5pm, which is the same time most of my mindees are being collected so said hallway then has parents, mindees, bags, coats, car seats, neighbour’s parcels and neighbour who is trying to make conversation and never seems to see that she is in the way.
Today a post lady has knocked on the door. I was on the toilet so didn’t come immediately, so she hammered much harder and woke the baby up who 1) isn’t feeling well at the moment and 2) fell asleep 10 minutes ago. I went downstairs and she said that she had a parcel for a neighbour and could I sign for it. I said ‘I’m sorry I won’t. I take one in every day and my baby has just been woken up. Sorry’. The lady said ‘what?’ And I repeated myself. She then rolled her eyes, said ‘right fine’ and huffily walked back to her car.
I know the neighbourly thing to do is just to take the parcel, and I’m now worried that this could have been a present for someone that they wanted to arrive before Christmas, but I’m really annoyed that said neighbour just assumes I’m fine with receiving her deliveries every single day. DP told me to put up a sign saying ‘no deliveries please’ or something to that effect, but I don’t want to not be able to receive my own parcels if a friend was to deliver something to me/ my family overseas sent presents etc.
Am I a total grinch? Do I need to go and speak to the neighbour and clarify that I won’t be receiving parcels anymore? How do I do that without sounding like an unreasonable cow?

I'm in a lot but I only ever get asked to take in parcels for next door (both sides) and only once for a house directly opposite. I have never been asked to take a parcel for houses further down the street. Obviously a more sensible class of courier around here! My immediate neighbours gladly reciprocate on the rare occasion I miss a delivery or the courier doesn't follow the safe place instructions

I wouldn't be putting up with the level of inconvenience you are having though OP. I think a note on the door is definitely the way to go.

Have you ever considered a Brizebox Parcel Delivery Box?
They are safe and secure, can be used by any courier and continue to receive parcels until full.
In short, they allow you to carry on with your life!

I dont like doing it either OP

Earlier this year one of our neighbours came knocking- our relationship was frosty anyway which made it worse. Apparently a courier had delivered their parcel to our address, which our DNanny claimed wasn't true.

It caused a pretty nasty frackar- only for us to find the parcel shoved under our back gate 4 days later (bet you can't guess who the courier was )

I too now refuse to sign for anyone else's goods. You wouldn't ask a neighbour you hardly knew to wait in for the plumber- so why would you trust them to sign for a parcel that could be worth hundreds of pounds?

You’re not a grinch. As someone else said, for someone with anxiety this is a big deal.

First you have to deal with the person delivering it to you, then you have to figure out how to get the package to the intended recipient.

I can barely deal with my own packages let alone someone else’s. If I do get a package I can’t take it round til the street is quiet which usually means after dark and then the recipient will find it odd to be getting a knock at that time of night so I cannot win.

It’s far too stressful and I just can’t cope with it.

Brizeboxes are so ugly though. I dont think even a lick of Elephant’s Breath can prettify them, plus, they only allow certain sized parcels, unless you get the huge one then we’re back to the ugly problem. I have enough of that with my multiple bins.

Thank goodness we don't do this in Oz. If your not home you get a card in your letterbox telling you to pick up from your Post office, sometimes you have the option of having something left in a secure spot or diverted to the post office. When my next door neighbours go on holiday they arrange to have there mail held over the period, and I collect there junk mail for when they return so the house looks occupied. As if I have the time, energy or inclination to act as a human PO Box.

Their not there. I hate my phone.