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RecentlyIreadabout a couple who lives in Oklahoma City, Okla- homa. They don't have a lot of clut- ter in their house, but they do find it nearly im- possible to part with their chil- dren's things. The guest cot- tage behind their house is nearly filled with old toys, outgrown clothes, the kids' artwork, school papers, trophies, sports paraphernalia, baby beds, bassinets and a rocking horse. They can't bring themselves to clean out the cottage and part with all of these things for fear their now- grown children will think they don't love them. I know the feeling and, honestly, I don't think it's that unusual. It's just that most of us don't have a guesthouse where we can stash all the clutter. Thankfully, it is possible to deal with clutter in realistic and reasonable ways so that it doesn't turn into chaos. Marla Cilley, known to many as FlyLady and author of "Sink Reflec- tions," says that the word "chaos" is an acronym for "can't have anyone over syndrome." Raise your hand if you can identify. Look at that. Hands are going up all over the room. The good news is that clutter does not have to control our homes and lives. It requires just a modicum of determi- nation to take that very first baby step, then an- other step, and another, all the way to peace and serenity. READ THIS BOOK. Honestly, I cannot give you a better piece of ad- vice than to read "Sink Reflections." You'll laugh, you might cry, but in the end you will for sure know what to do. Read it right now. Marla is a re- formed clutter bug and knows what she's talking about. She would moti- vate our friends in Okla- homa City to get that guest cottage cleaned out — and she'd do it in a loving, compelling way. They would be able to re- tain all of the memories, reassure their children of their love and end up with a place for guests to rest, relax and enjoy themselves. THE GIFT OF PHO- TOGRAPHY. All of those things that you can't part with because they hold so much meaning? Take a picture of each one. Take several. Zoom in; pan out. Take a pan- orama if you want. Now the memories will be preserved in a way you can really enjoy them, and you can part with the actual item — guilt- free. STASH THE CASH. I have a feeling that our friends in Oklahoma are sitting on a lot of poten- tial money. The rock- ing horse alone could be worth a few bucks at a garage sale or on Craig- slist. Who knows what other treasures are wast- ing away out there — things that could be turned into money and would fit nicely in a sav- ings account. TAKE THE DE- DUCTIONS. I'm think- ing about clothing and household items. I'm also thinking about all of the new things you, your family and your kids got for Christmas. Wow. Where did you put all of them? Now would be an awesome time to go through closets, drawers and cupboards. For each new thing you crammed in there, re- move one or more items you don't really use or enjoy anymore. But don't throw these things away! If they are in good con- dition, donate them to a charity like the Salvation Army or another simi- lar organization in your community. "Money For Your Used Clothing," a valuation workbook, is the only resource I rec- ommend to help you identify the true mar- ket value of each of your items. Make sure you use the correct edition of the workbook for the tax year that you are filing. The 2015 edition — used for taxes you will file on or before April 18, 2016 — is still available at a discount ($20 plus ship- ping). Just because you can't imagine changing your life from chaos to calm in a single day doesn't mean you shouldn't get started. According to Marla Cilley, "Things done imperfectly still bless our lives." And isn't that great news. Wouldyouliketosend a tip to Mary? You can email her at mary@ everydaycheapskate. com. EVERYDAYCHEAPSKATE From clutter to chaos to calm Altacal Audubon Pro- gram and Field Trip activi- ties for March are listed be- low. All programs and activ- ities are free of cost unless otherwise indicated and are open to the public. Birds, Ancient Palaces, Temples & Mosques of In- dia, 6:30 p.m. Monday, March 21 at the Chico Creek Nature Center Last year Carol Anderson had an invitation to visit a friend in India and happily packed her binoculars, cam- era and a copy of the Princ- eton field guide, Birds of In- dia. Although the friend had no interest in birds, she ex- perienced new birds from purple sunbirds to Indian hornbills at every stop. These stops included Delhi, Chandigarh — capital of the Punjab and Haryana — Jai- pur, in Uttarakhand at the Rajaji wildlife refuge and holy city of Rishikesh. Not only did she see new birds in many of the parks and back yards, she saw an- cient palaces, Hindu tem- ples, Sikh gurdwaras, Jain temples, some of the earli- est mosques in India and many wonderful colorful people. Fort Bragg Birding, March 19-20, The group will bird the coast looking for sea ducks — scoters, grebes, mergan- sers, harlequin ducks — gulls and shorebirds. Mem- bers will camp or stay in a hotel on Saturday night. There are trails around lakes and in wooded habi- tat. March is whale-watch- ing time. Bring binocu- lars and scopes if you have them. Wear lots of layers for varying weather. Write to Mary at mmuchowski@ earthlink.net or call 228- 0625 for more information. RSVP required by March 5. Rain cancels. ALTACAL AuduboneventsscheduledforMarch Mary Hunt COURTESYPHOTO Pictured are the top three players in the Red Bluff Ki- wanis Cards 4 Kids poker tournament held Feb. 27 at the Red Bluff Community Center. From left are third place Danny Rabalais, first place Roy Gould and second place Kirk Bare. The tournament netted around $7,500 for the club and will help pay to send 100 local children to Ki- wanis Camp at Camp Te- hama this summer. For more information about Kiwanis, like Red Bluff Ki- wanis Club on Facebook. The club meets at noon each Wednesday at the Red Bluff Elks Lodge and visi- tors are welcome. Gould wins annual poker tournament fundraiser RED BLUFF KIWANIS The Active 20-30 Club of Redding is excited to an- nounce the 8th Annual Sun- dial Film Festival Saturday with two screenings. Tickets are still available for both the Silver Screen show at 1 p.m. and the Pre- mier Screening at 7 p.m. If you want to see all of the spectacular films on offer, you can purchase a Festi- val Pass for both showings for $20. This year's Festival in- cludes a silent auction, where festival-goers can bid on everything from Disnley- land Park Hopper tickets to power tools. For more information and tickets visit www.sun- dialfilmfestival.com. The Sundial Film Fes- tival showcases the tal- ent and diversity of film- makers and photographers throughout the North State. For a look at what films are on offer this year, check out the program at www.sundi- alfilmfestival.com or on the festival's Facebook page. EVENT Tickets on sale for Redding's Sundial Film Festival Dignity Health Solano Street Clinic will be host- ing an evening of fun at Marco's Pizza at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 10 as a part of Corning in the Evening. Appetizers, pizza and drinks will be provided at this opportunity to meet members of your local healthcare team. During this time, com- munity members are en- couraged to learn about the Dignity Health So- lano Street Clinic and its list of primary care and specialty services includ- ing orthopedics, cardiol- ogy, obstetrics and gyne- cology. Community mem- bers will be able to take a virtual tour of the clinic. CORNING IN THE EVENING Clinic to host mixer at pizza restaurant March 10 Thankyou! PLEASE RECYCLE THIS NEWSPAPER. As the state heads fur- ther into the rainy season and awaits more of the heavy rains predicted as part of El Nino, there are several steps that Califor- nians can take to reduce the pollution that runs off cars and highways and causes increased storm- water pollution. By following the tips below, drivers can help do their part to reduce pol- lution in our waterways during the rainy season: Inspect and maintain your car regularly: Un- maintained vehicles are a key source of stormwater pollution. Visual inspec- tion and routine main- tenance go a long way to prevention. Fluid leaks: Prevent leakage of oil, antifreeze and other toxic auto fluids. Tire inflation: Improp- erly inflated tires lower gas mileage, increase wear and are vulnerable to blowouts. Keeping your tires properly inflated helps improve gas mileage and reduces metal parti- cles that could end up in storm drains. Vehicle residue: Dirt and residue on and under a vehicle —such as brake dust—wash off onto high- ways when it rains. Car wash facilities remove this residue, and recycle water. Secure loads: Trash, vegetation and other hazards from unsecured loads can fly out of truck beds. Ensure loads are properly secured with tarps and tied down. Disposeofcigarettebutts properly:Cigarettebuttsre- mainoneofthetoplittered itemsalongCaliforniahigh- ways.Theyareafirehazard andcontaintoxicchemicals that can easily wash down storm drains. Properly dispose of all trash and debris: Trash, recyclables and other de- bris can accumulate in vehicles, and sometimes these items fall out when people are getting in and out of vehicles, or are blown out of an open win- dow or truck bed. Use alternative trans- portation: An easy way to reduce water pollution is by carpooling, walk- ing, riding a bike or tak- ing public transporta- tion. It reduces the num- ber of cars on the highway, which reduces the amount of heavy metals from tires and brakes getting into the storm drains. During a drought, pol- lution becomes even more concentrated in bodies of water because of the al- ready existing lower wa- ter levels. CALTRANS Ti ps f or r ed uc in g w at er pollution during rainy season 525AntelopeBlvd,RedBluff (530) 527-5272 Mon.–Fri.8am-5pm Saturday by appointment Locally owned & operated THE MICHELIN ® PILOT ® SPORT A/S 3+ Command the road. Sumit to no season. SHIFTINTOSAVINGS Get a $70 MasterCard ® Reward Card after submission* with purchase of four new MICHELIN ® passenger or light truck tires. 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