Sports rivalries may dominate daily chatter, especially this time of year, but there's another championship on the line this month that Chicago needs to win in a clean sweep—literally. It's time to haul out your garbage bags and grabber tools and pure civic pride for the second annual Clean-Off.

The Clean-Off is already in full swing, pitting Chicago against Philadelphia and Los Angeles in a high-stakes, month-long battle to see which city can haul away the most litter by October 31. Chicago earned the crown last year—squeaking past Philly by a razor-thin four-bag margin—but defending the title won’t be a walk in the park. With L.A. entering the ring this year, the competition has officially gone coast-to-coast.

After leading week one, Chicago has slipped to second place. L.A. is currently in first with 379 bags collected, leaving Chicago trailing at 327 and Philly following with 243. But if there’s one thing Chicagoans know how to do, it’s mount a comeback before winter hits.

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Organized by Cleanup Club Chicago, Block By Block Philly and South Central Cleanup, this friendly competition makes chores a lot more fun. Want to help put the Windy City back on top? It couldn't be simpler: grab a trash bag, fill it up with litter, take a quick photo of your haul and submit it online before midnight on Halloween.

Every standard 13-gallon kitchen bag counts toward the city’s grand total. Just remember the ground rules: no yard waste, no city employees on the clock and participants must stay within city limits. Individual volunteers can submit photos as many times as they clean up throughout the month.

Need extra motivation? Cleanup Club Chicago is sweetening the pot with prizes for top sweepers, including tickets to the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry, Morton Arboretum passes, gift cards and—because it wouldn't be Chicago without it—bottles of Jeppson’s Malört. If you need gear, you can rent a cleanup kit, grab free supplies from Friends of the Chicago River or even score 50% off a kayak rental from Wateriders to tackle river debris. You can also join an official group cleanup.

As Cleanup Club Chicago co-founder Katherine Tellock puts it, "There may be a winner, but nobody loses because at the end of the day, you still clean up your city." Very true, but let's get out there and show Philly and L.A. who's the best at keeping trash off city streets.