Moving from chaos to order is no easy feat for parents raising kids with special needs. I know that from experience. That experience is what I drew upon for the first post in the series that shared five tips to implement in to move from chaos to order. Today’s post completes the series with 5 more steps I’ve learned about taming chaos over the years. recently when asked to speak to special needs parents about how to bring order from chaos.

From Chaos to Order in Ten Easy Steps, Part 2

The 5 steps explained in Part 1 of this series can go a long way in controlling chaos. But they aren’t enough. To maintain control, a mindset of order must replace the chaos. The next 5 steps can equip you do this.

From Chaos to Order: Step 6

The sixth step is remember that organization is a work in progress. Accept the fact that organization is not an end point but a lifelong journey, especially with kids in the house. My mom gave me a plaque when my kids were young. It said, “Cleaning with children in the house is like shoveling snow in a blizzard.” I put it on a shelf in my kitchen, and it encouraged me when my children’s messes were a source of frustration. It also reminded me to delight in their presence and their messes because one day they would no longer be at home.

From Chaos to Order: Step 7

Step 7 is to recruit organized people to help you because staying organized is much easier when you’re surrounded by people who value what you do. During my teaching years, I learned to find the teachers who were always on top of things. I asked them how they set up their grade books, handled correcting papers, and filling out report cards. It’s a win-win situation. You validate them by seeking their expertise, and you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. So look for parents of kids with special needs who seem to be on top of things and ask them how they do it.

From Chaos to Order: Step 8

The next thing to do is to dedicate specific spaces for important stuff. Put your purse, wallet, and car keys in the same place each day. The same with your kids’ meds, your phone, your tablet, planner, calendar, grocery list–anything crucial to organization. Have a place for it and always put it in that place.

From Chaos to Order: Step 9

Step 9 is to employ the easiest solution possible in every situation. What’s easier than making a bed in the morning? Or getting rid of extra doo-dads on the dresser? The easiest solution could be to fix the same breakfast every morning or assign each person in the house a certain color of socks to facilitate laundry sorting. Stick with easy solutions because they are, well, easy.

From Chaos to Order: Step 10

The final step in moving from chaos to order is to refine as you go. Look for little ways to tweak the systems you put in place so they become more streamlined, simpler, and easier to maintain. And when circumstances change in either big or small ways–a new therapy is added, a new child arrives, you move to a new house–keep refining and tweaking so order is maintained.

Very early in my parenting career I learned a very important key to implementing these 10 steps. I learned to select just one thing at a time–to shine the sink, make the bed, color code the socks, clean off the dresser–and wait until it’s a habit I moved on to the next thing. That was manageable. I could develop one organized habit at a time. I could do it. And you can too.

What are your tips for moving from chaos to order? Leave them in the comment box if you like!

Part 1

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