Darlene is a makeup artist (Sofia Coppola’s Somewhere!) with a serious talent for making people beautiful – and her apartment gets the same treatment! Damn, this girl has discipline when it comes to clutter. Get her top 10 tips for keeping it clean, below.
Tip 1 Organize First, Clean later
The easiest way for me to keep a clean apartment is to keep it organized and chaos free. That way when it’s time to clean things, I don’t waste my time organizing a mess first. Clutter mentally and physically cripples me, so keeping my life clutter-free keeps me sane!
Tip 2 Better Now Than Later
As soon as I read an email, I file or delete it. I open and sort through my mail as soon as I bring it in the house, I never go to bed with dirty dishes in the sink, I get rid of magazines as soon as I’ve read through them, and I always put things away when I’m not using them.
Tip 3 The Easy Edit
Things sort of float around the house for a while until they find the right spot to live. If they never fit anywhere, they get packed away or I get rid of them.
Tip 4 Pretty, Easy Storage
I have baskets and boxes everywhere in my house! I keep all my extra toiletries organized in the cabinets in baskets. I have clean white boxes in my walk-in closet to hold various electronic stuff, stationery, and office supplies. I even have a hanging basket in the kitchen to hold my fruits and veggies!
Tip 5 Like With Like
My makeup is organized into plastic storage drawers in my walk-in closet. Everything is separated into categories – Foundations, Powders, Skincare, Dry Goods, Color, etc.
Tip 6 My Can’t-Live-Without-It Product
The Honest Company’s Multi-Purpose Cleaner. The Honest Company is great. Their products are organic, plant-based, sustainable, and all-around eco-friendly.
Tip 7 Set it And Forget it
My Google calendar with alerts is invaluable. My husband and I share our calendars with each other so we can see each other’s schedules. I set alerts on it all the time so I get emails or messages on my phone reminding me of something coming up or a deadline I have to meet.
Tip 8 Do It Daily
I like to maintain a cleanliness between major cleanings. I wipe down the bathroom sink after each use. I designate a washcloth for this that stays on the sink so no one is using a dirty hand towel to dry their clean hands. I love the Swiffer Wet Jet to spot clean the floor, especially in the kitchen after a big meal. I am a klutz, so food inevitably finds its way onto my white tiles!
Tip 9 Keep It Natural
Clorox makes a great disinfecting wipe called Green Works that’s 99% natural and compostable. I love my Swiffer, but to make it eco-friendly, I use pliers to open up the bottle on the mop. I rinse it out and make my own chemical-free cleaning solution using vinegar and water.
Tip 10 Have A Lifeline
When things get crazy, I can always call my friend Sara, who happens to be my agent. She always reminds me of what’s what in my life!
