This is the half way point of the One Room Challenge and my closet makeover yet I’m not sure I’m half way to completion—yikes! Here are my posts for week 1 and week 2 if you need to catch up. I’ve got a lot of things to do in short succession and this is where careful project management is key to make sure I follow the critical path.
Here is what I’ve done thus far:
- Designed the overall look I wanted
- Purged what I no longer need—probably the hardest part of this whole project.
- Assessed needs for medium/long hang, short hang, shoes, bags, luggage, accessories, etc. This included measuring stacks of jeans and shorts as well as the linear length of hanging clothes.
- Detailed design work with with the Container Store for ELFA solution. This is a personal choice, not a sponsor-influenced selection.
- Ordered & received rug and chair for closet.


And this is what remains:
- Take EVERYTHING out of the closet, including the furniture, so I can…
- Take down current shelves
- Patch holes
- Paint
- Select & install new light fixture
- New closet installation (this is supposed to happen on Tuesday)
- Put clothes, shoes, accessories, etc. back where they are supposed to go. This is also a good time to look at cloths a 2nd time to see if I REALLY want to keep them.
- Put door back on
- Final touches!
So 9 items to do over the course of 3 weeks doesn’t seem so bad but in any home project you have to account for delay and things beyond your control. I haven’t picked paint colors yet and that is something I usually labor over a long time.

However, it HAS to be done by Tuesday because the new system will be installed then. Deadlines are good for me but they also give me anxiety thinking things like, “will this really work?” “Am I going to like this?” “Did I measure correctly (gulp)?” “Should I have gone with platinum finish instead of white?”

It’s pretty easy, you just fold, stack, and measure.


One thing I’ve been stressing over is not only the color of the closet but also the walls themselves. I’ve always thought that a wallpaper would look great and be a fun addition but I just didn’t get my act together in time to select one. I was anxious thinking about where to go, what it should look like, who would install it on short notice, etc. You can practically cut the anxiety with a knife.
But I have to remind myself that it is a closet and it doesn’t have to be perfect—life isn’t perfect. You make the best decisions you can with the information you have at the time and go with it. If you delay waiting for it to be perfect, you’ll never get it done. You just keep spinning in circles getting nowhere.
Let me go find find my fan deck so I can select a paint color! I definitely want a light color since there’s not a ton of light in the closet and the clothes will absorb a lot. Right now I’m thinking of…
This is why choosing a paint color is stressful! What do you suggest? I’d love to hear in the Comments below. 🙂
Have you been reading about the other transformations going on? There are some amazing projects taking place. I’d rather binge-read all of the updates is than watch TV! Click here to look at the others participating.
Happy organizing!