Letter to the Editor, published in the Baltimore Sun, March 22, 2007:

Taking simple steps can clean up the city

I don't have an anti-litter slogan for the city, but I do have a call to action ("Readers toss out slogan ideas to inspire tidiness," March 20).

The city would be much cleaner if people would do these three simple things:

• Every day, pick up any trash immediately in front of or behind your house. Just pick up what you see as you go to and from your car. If you go for a daily walk, bring along a bag and pick up some trash along the way.

• Every week, spend 30 minutes picking up any trash on your block.

• Every month, participate in a larger cleanup in your neighborhood. If there isn't one already organized, start one with your family and neighbors or ask your neighborhood association's president to hold one.

Even two or three people can make a big difference in a surprisingly short time.

If even one person on every block did these three things even one-third of the time, imagine how much cleaner Baltimore would be.

There will always be people who are going to litter, but if the rest of us pick it up, rather than taking the attitude "That's not my trash," we can keep the city clean.

Ben Lefstein
Baltimore

The writer is president of the Architect's Row Community Association.