Vogue Fashion Editor Kate Darvill has two sets of twins under two. Here’s how she does it.

Kate Darvill lives the most unglamorous, glamourous life.

At work, she’s a Senior Fashion Editor at Vogue. At home, she the mother of two sets of twins born less than two years apart.

Now, Matilda and Jack are three-and-a-half. And Stella and Olive are 21 months.

So, just how does she hold down one of the magazine industry’s best jobs and four kids under two?

1. AVOID BUTTERY FINGERS

Kate Darvill gets dressed at her front door.

“I pretty much say good bye to my children, put on my work clothes and walk out the door. Same thing when I come back in”.

But it’s not always so easy. Plan B?

“I do have baby wipes in my desk and I’m often wiping down my pants when I’m sitting at my desk. It’s definitely a different level, I sit at the desk … and I think ‘my legs are hairy, I need a pedicure, a manicure’ but you know, I managed to wash my hair last night and that’s a triumph.”

2. GO BLACK

Know your ‘work outfits’ and keep them black. It’s safe and stress-free. Keep your pops of colour with accessories.

“Since I’ve gone back to work, I’ve worked on a conceptual wardrobe. It’s much smaller and concise and mixes and matches … it’s based around black. It just works”.

3. GET STEAMY

Who has time to iron? Certainly not Kate. But how do you look polished without spending hours at the ironing board? Crisis averted.

“I’m going to invest in a little handheld steamer which I’ve been told is the bomb. It’s really quick and easy and you can just plug it in and it’s easier than setting up an ironing board. Kmart have them. I’m going to go and get one … and then I can get around to wearing those things [I avoid wearing] in my wardrobe”.

4. PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER

Organisation is something that comes naturally to Kate after spending years planning photoshoots. And it’s paid off.

“We have to be organised. As a stylist, working on a shoot, [it’s all about] coming up with a concept, liasing with hair and makeup, casting models. There’s a lot of organisation involved. As much as its creative, you also have to have your other hat on which is the organisational side of things.

“I guess that’s helped me in preparing to have a lot of small children at one time. You really do need to be organised. I’ve always been in to writing lists and planning ahead … that’s what I do with the kids, planning the week ahead.”

5. DON’T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT YOUR RECIPES. EVER.

Think beyond lists and use your phone wisely.

“All my recipes, I keep them in my phone. I have them in a recipes folder in my Photos section. So if I’m at home on the couch trying to figure out what I’m [cooking] for the week or if I’m at the shops trying to figure out dinner, I will literally scroll through my phone and think ‘that’s what I want to do’ and you have all ingredients there straight away”.

Genius. Get snapping.

6. CALL IT QUITS

We all need a break and Kate’s husband is clever enough to know when he needs to step up.

“My husband is amazing … at saying to me of an evening, “look, I’ve got this” [so] go to a movie on my own or go and get a bite to eat so he’s really good at giving me a break when he thinks I need it”.

7. DO YOUR READING

Most experienced mums tell new mums to throw away the ‘baby advice books’ … but with twins on the way, Kate needed all the advice she could get and it suited her family perfectly.

“I did Save Our Sleep [by Tizzie Hall] … I didn’t stick to it verbatim, I stuck to the bits that worked for me. The general routine worked well for me … some days it worked … at least it gave me something to work towards.

“I had a panic when I was having twins and I didn’t want to have endless nights awake. I read up and came up with a good plan before Matilda and Jack were born so I was as organised as I could be before they arrived.”

8. CLEAN-UP ONCE A DAY … NO MORE

At the end of the day, once the kids are in bed, Kate does a ‘pack up’. But not before they’re sound asleep.

“Everything has to have a place for my own sense of calmness … I can’t relax until the house is in order … because I know the next day it’ll be crazy again. For my own satisfaction and mental state, I have to feel like I’m on top of it and go to bed feeling everything is calm.

9. BE POSITIVE

Kate Darvill just goes with it. Everything in her life is fluid, changing and evolving. Her work, relationships, friendships and most of all, her children.

Her energy is wonderfully relaxed, calm and positive.

“I try to tell people and they don’t often believe me … [that] having two sets of twins is actually easier … rather than four different ages where you’ve got four different developmental stages.

“That’s really hard when you’ve got someone at school and you have a newborn baby and someone going to Kindy, that’s really hard. You’d have to be more organised than me … so in a lot of ways we think it’s a lot easier than people think.

10. KEEP AN OPEN MIND

As a mother of four kids under two, having an open mind has always been A MUST.

When asked if she’d think about having more kids, she considers the question and laughs, “I don’t think anytime soon … [but] never say never”.