by Emily Schilling
EditorAs we begin the New Year, the
Electric Consumer staff is moving into renovated offices. Fourteen years of customary wear and tear to carpet and wallpaper necessitated some slight “cosmetic” changes to our decor which were finished in late December.
So throughout this issue’s deadline cycle — from early to mid-December, we worked in a makeshift office in a part of the building relatively secluded from the carpet and wallpaper ripping and redoing. Our workstations were huddled together in one of our statewide association’s meeting rooms, separated by partitions but affording us no privacy whatsoever. As a former newspaper reporter used to noisy newsrooms, I once worked best with lots of commotion around me. I must admit, years of having private office privileges did make it difficult to adjust to hearing others’ conversations and radios while attempting to write. But, after a few days, I “tuned out” — as easily as a preteen does when being told what to do! It’s amazing how quickly one can revert to old habits.
Before being housed in our temporary digs, we packed most of our belongings in moving boxes to be stored in our association’s board room during the renovation. You don’t realize how much junk you collect on the job until you have to pack it up. It was a real “nostalgia fest” finding clippings, files and photos from 20 years ago. Several times during packing, we paused to chuckle about a certain found item or two, and reminisce about former employees and funny events.
Journalists, I find, tend to be pack rats who feel as if they should keep everything lest they need it for a story in the future. So, most of the memory-jogging items made it into a box, to be moved back to our remodeled offices. But after three or four days of loading up box after never-ending box, it does get easier to part with things. Soon, recycling bins were overflowing and that weird dichotomous feeling of “Should I have really thrown that away?/Boy, it feels good to get rid of stuff!” set in. So far, I haven’t missed anything I ditched ... which makes me think I should really throw more stuff out!
Our office remodeling forced us to clean up, clear out and start fresh. It’s going to be great starting out the new year with a made-over, clutter-free office. Now, if I could just keep up my decluttering mode and tackle my closet at home!