It's fall-cleaning time in Rolling Meadows

It must be the fall equivalent of spring-cleaning time.

This weekend in Rolling Meadows, some residents will be shedding unwanted items from their homes while others plan to rid the creek of unwanted trash.

Bargain hunts: If "garage-saling" is your thing, Saturday is your day.

Two mega sales will be set up half a mile apart from each other in Rolling Meadows.

The park district's second Community Garage Sale opens at 9 a.m. in the Community Center auditorium at 3705 Pheasant Drive.

Dozens of tables have been rented out and will be set up with items from individual households.

"It's for people from the community who don't want to have a garage sale in their front yard," says Dawn Puetz, recreation supervisor.

The sale runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Meanwhile, about a quarter mile to the south, the Rolling Meadows High School Music Boosters are having a sale of their own.

Families of students in the music program each will have a space in the school's parking lot to sell their wares. Proceeds will help pay for a band trip to San Antonio, Texas, next spring.

The sale runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and at least 40 vendors are signed up, says co-organizer Donna Soens, whose son, Richard, plays the trumpet.

Since the families' earnings go to students' individual accounts, there's just a hint of competition among them, Soens says. "The more creative you can be the better. We're thinking of offering brownies or something."

For more information on RMHS music activities, go to www.rollingmeadowsband.com.

Creek cleanup: Salt Creek and its tributaries measure a whopping 11½ miles in Rolling Meadows alone.

Undaunted and unafraid to get wet, volunteers aim to clear the bulk of the trash and debris from the creek and its banks on Saturday.

The effort, organized by Sue Walton and the city's Environmental Committee, starts at 9 a.m., when assignments will be given out at the old public works facility at 3200 Central Road.

The goal is to get rid of the garbage before the currents carry it south to the forest preserve, Walton said. "The Busse Woods folks get testy about that," she adds.

Around Earth Day each April, the committee sponsors a cleanup event that includes lunch and other activities. But Saturday's event will be no-frills. "This is just a straight cleanup," Walton said. "We found in April it was so sorely needed."

To participate, call Walton at (847) 397-6181. All ages are welcome, and boots, gloves, buckets and saws are encouraged.