Okay, so now we’ve posted a fresh new edition of our front-door message:
Please be kind enough not to steal this sign
NO SOLICITING, PLEASE
NO PETITIONS, PLEASE
Kindly do not jangle the doorbell.
Occupant is ill and does not wish to yak with you.
Occupant does NOT buy from solicitors.
Astonishingly, I’ve found this little poster actually works to discourage nuisances and idiots from leaning on the doorbell or pounding on the screen door in their efforts to peddle stuff. These days, I hardly get ANY hustlers at the door!
Before I came up with this thing, I’d get at least one pest every two or three days — often one or two a day.
Frankly, I really am amazed that it does work. I seal it inside one of those transparent plastic binder sheet holders. This keeps it dry and seems to protect it pretty well from the ravages of the sun — although it’s in the shade most of the day, anyhow.
LOL! I guess they figure if you’re gonna go to that much trouble to make a sign to shoo them off, you’re not gonna buy anything from them or stand around listening to their political gab. First time I made one of these things, I figured they’d just steal it.
But amazingly, no! Never have had one stolen(!!). And the nuisance doorbell-jangling has fallen to nil. That’s why I know it’s working: we get rafts of those pests.
You do have to put it inside a plastic binder sheet, partly because if they can tear down a piece of paper, they will take that, and partly because the plastic cover nicely protects your sign from rain and blasting sunlight.
Gawd. What a world, eh? Where you have to erect weather-proof signs to keep people from pestering you in your own home!