We don't want any!

Several months ago, wifey put up a sign on our front door that says "No Solicitation". The primary reason was because we kept getting people coming over in the middle of the day trying to sell us new windows, give us lawn care service, save our souls, sign a petition, help a kid through college by subscribing to a newspaper...you get the idea. Without fail, these people would ring the doorbell just after wifey got our daughter down to bed. The dogs would bark their heads off like crazy and nap time for the little one would be shot for the day. That pretty much guarantees no sale at this house...you try selling products to someone just after you have ruined their afternoon.

While the number of callers we get has been greatly reduced, we still get the occasional person who ignores the sign and rings anyway. As if that isn't bad enough they usually ask me if my parents are home. I understand that they are trying to do their job, but it takes all my self control not to go off on them not only for interrupting our family dinner but also for assuming that I'm not old enough to own my own house. I know I'm not being fair, but it's the way I feel.

I'm seriously thinking of putting up a sign in hot pink that says "If you don't know us and you are trying to sell us stuff, please do not ring our doorbell because we don't want any. If you do decide to ring the doorbell, unless the person who answers the door is under 3' tall, you ARE speaking to the owner of the house." I just don't think that I can bring myself to do it because I know that I will blow up at the next unknown person who decides to ring our doorbell. With my luck, it would be somebody trying to do a good deed by returning one of our dogs, or something like that.