Posting a Garage Sale Sign? Lost Dog Flier? Well, She’ll Tear It Down

One of the biggest frustrations that Marilyn White-Sedel has had about living in Studio City for the past 55 years is the papering of her neighborhood—and she said it is getting worse and worse. 

No, not toilet-papering, or newspaper deliveries. But, if there’s a lost dog or cat or hamster or parrot (yes, there were ), then someone makes a sign that is copied and then spread throughout the neighborhood. That bothers White-Sedel, and she'll take those signs down as part of her one-person crusade to keep Studio City clean.

“It’s ugly, it causes garbage, it’s illegal and no one is doing a thing about it except for me,” said White-Sedel, who has lived in Studio City for most of her life.

“The worst part of it is that after their sale, the people don’t even come by and clean up their mess and take the signs down,” she said.

It’s not just in residential neighborhoods, it’s even in the business district, as with a recent flier campaign

Over the years, White-Sedel said, she has seen signs become an increasing blight to Studio City. She brought her case again last week to the Studio City Neighborhood Council, and asked for help

“I’m the only one taking the signs down; it’s a terrible sight in some neighborhoods—awful,” she said. “I could use some help.”

She brought some of the signs she recently collected from her neighborhood to the SCNC meeting. She said sometimes she brings the signs to the people holding the sale and points out they are illegal.

“I need a way to get the community involved. I can’t be the only one taking these down,” she told the council.

“I think it’s disrespectful to the whole neighborhood that they don’t come by to take them down after the yard sale is over, and some are up for weeks and months,” she said.

“One recent sign I took down was from a cat that was lost for three months,” she concluded. “Those people should realize that the coyotes got that cat a long time ago.”

One way to help reduce illegal sign posting is by using Patch. Anyone can post a garage sale or lost pet sign on the site, and it would be seen by more people than a conventional sign.

Go to the bottom right of the page where it says "Contribute," and click on "Announce something to everyone" and fill out the form. You could put in an Accomplishment, a Birth Notice, Sports Awards, Lost & Found, Thank Yous, Wedding Notices, Volunteers Needed and much more.

Have a yard sale coming up? Go to the Contribute box and click on "Put an event on the calendar." Then you can click on Garage Sale, or you can put in a School Event, or other events related to Sports, Theater, Home and Real Estate, Organizations and more.

It's free, it's easier than writing an email, and it's less time-consuming than painting posterboard and walking around nailing things into trees.