Repurposing Political Yard Signs

When we have a garage sale, which is usually once a year, we’re always told we have great signs leading the way to our house. We put up at least 20 signs around town each time we have a sale, leading folks to our house from all directions. Little is left to question, and I believe the signs are a big reason we do so well with our sales.

We knew we wanted to keep our own political yard signs (especially the wire wickets) to use for future garage sale signs, but we wondered about all of those still up around town, especially those on public easement areas.

Shane made a quick call to one of the aldermen in our ward and asked for permission to take some of those down, too. The alderman said that it was perfectly alright for us (or anyone else) to take down the signs in the public areas, and that they all had to come down before next spring’s mowing season began. He said that he, along with some of the other alderman and the workers on the street department, would be the ones who took them down anyway, and that they’d appreciate our help.

So we went out this morning and gathered the signs, both large and small, along a stretch of roadway about a mile long. Along with the signs, we pulled up the metal wickets and/or fence posts they were attached to. We picked up the signs of disliked candidates that some people had ripped and left as litter on the ground. We took trash bags and picked up cans, bottles and other general litter, too.

We have materials for garage sales signs, the city workers have a little less work to do, and a small stretch of roadside is litter-free.

Win-win-win.

If there are political signs still up in your area, you might ask someone in your city council if it’s alright to pick them up. If you don’t have a use for them yourself, a church or scout group might be able to use to promote their car washes, bake sales or other fundraisers. Pulling up signs and picking up litter could even be a project for groups like these.