Charles Mcpherson spent two decades as the major domo, or chief butler, of a grand household. He s also the founder of North America s only registered school for butlers and household managers, and the author of several books drawn from his butler experience, including The Butler Speaks, A Return to Proper Etiquette, Stylish Entertaining, and The Art of Good Housekeeping.
00:03:57.000And now all of a sudden, we have a huge amount of wealth that's being created by a very small group of people.
00:04:02.720And so as they acquire their wealth and they start to acquire toys of homes and boats and airplanes, you know, they want to live comfortably.
00:04:10.960And so all of a sudden, there's, you know, well, let's hire a butler.
00:04:13.160But there really are no butlers except some old timers.
00:04:15.700And so all of a sudden, there's this demand for butlering.
00:04:19.480And people start to go back into private service.
00:04:22.080And so all of a sudden, you know, as we get into, you know, 2000 and up, all of a sudden, there's a huge amount of demand for private service because the wealthy continue to be wealthy and to generate money.
00:04:34.780And so it's incredible the career that it's become.
00:04:38.220And so now it's really a career where you can make a lot of money and where it's no longer, you know, being in servitude like you were 150 years ago.
00:04:46.180But being in domestic service today is actually an honorable career.
00:04:49.460And so it's really interesting how it went from the height to almost being extinct in the 60s and early 70s.
00:04:55.960And now all of a sudden, here we back are at 2024.
00:04:59.060And there is more demand for domestic service than can actually meet.
00:05:03.380So the supply, we just don't have the supply.
00:05:06.400So at its peak, you know, when in the Victorian era, when you had just a household of staff, if anyone's seen Downton Abbey, they've probably.
00:05:53.380And so those houses, you know, often had 20, 30, sometimes 40 people because that's how much staff it took to be able to make all that happen.
00:06:01.920And the butler at that time, like his job was just to oversee that, manage all that?
00:06:06.340So the butler at the time, so if we go, you know, in the 1800s, the butler at that period is really, yes, he's running the household.
00:06:14.140And he's the one who serves that table and he's the lead, but he's really running the front of the house.
00:06:20.360So he's running everything that the guests and the family see.
00:06:23.520And it's the head housekeeper who runs the back of the house, who is dealing with the housekeepers and the laundry and all that kind of stuff.
00:06:30.040And then chef was responsible for the kitchen.
00:06:32.800And if you were really fancy back then, you had a French chef that was de rigueur of the time.
00:06:37.200So butler really is front of the house, head housekeeper is back of the house, and chef is the kitchen.
00:06:41.300So it's still interesting that there's still three very senior positions.
00:06:44.640But the butler ultimately was responsible for overall everything.
00:06:47.940And then you highlight in this history that you did of domestic service that in the 19th century and early 20th century, there's all these really detailed guides written by butlers and other domestic servants on how to do what they do with the professionalism.
00:07:02.860Like they really took their job seriously.
00:07:07.060And I think that, well, you know, what's interesting is that when, you know, Mrs. Beaton wrote her book on household management in 1861, that's considered the first self-help book to ever be written.
00:07:17.820And that was, you know, as, you know, we've gone through and we get the first industrial revolution, we're getting into the second industrial revolution in the 1870s.
00:07:24.820So all of a sudden, you know, we have the birth of this middle class and so they want to live, but the problem is they don't know how to live.
00:07:31.460And so Isabel Beaton writes this book on household management, teaching the middle class how to run a home and if they are lucky enough to have a servant or two, how to manage them and so on.
00:07:44.500So as that first book kind of takes popularity and is still in print today, which is quite interesting.
00:07:49.300And that is, then, you know, we have other people who see that and everyone kind of jumps on the bandwagon and everyone says, well, if she can write a book, I can write a book.
00:07:58.020And so that's where you have all these books being written in the late 1800s, early 1900s.
00:08:02.860But I think it's interesting, speaking of how domestic service started to wane in the 20th century, I think it's interesting that whenever I read biographies or histories of famous people who were, you know, they weren't rich.
00:08:15.080They were probably solidly middle class, maybe upper middle class.
00:08:20.140Even in the early 20th century, they would usually have a maid and a cook.
00:08:27.400Well, I mean, when you think about it again, those homes were hard to manage.
00:08:30.980They didn't necessarily have running hot water.
00:08:33.200A lot of things were still, you know, oil lamps and so or candles at nighttime.
00:08:37.000So all that had to be taken care of into the dust and the soot, which is actually how, you know, spring cleaning came to be because everything was closed up all winter.
00:08:43.240And so you had all this soot and dust in the house and your lighting implements.
00:08:47.260But, you know, if you were middle class, you usually at least had a housekeeper or I should say a maid.
00:08:52.780A housekeeper is different from a maid.
00:09:21.580Well, it went away because, you know, the world is changing.
00:09:23.840First of all, you know, the cost is becoming prohibitive.
00:09:26.720But what's fascinating is that during World War I, World War II, we were able to mass produce to be able to keep the war machines going.
00:09:34.080When the war comes to an end, there's this excess of capacity for production.
00:09:38.880And so that's why all of a sudden foods and clothing and everything become so readily available after World War II because the capacity of these factories is there and they have nothing else to do.
00:09:50.620And so they start producing for the mass markets.
00:09:52.440And as we get the, you know, the birth of the middle class that continues to grow in the 1950s, it allowed you to be able to function without staff.
00:10:04.640All those things are starting to come in.
00:10:05.940And so, you know, those appliances that are saving time.
00:10:08.980You know, at the time, when you think about it, particularly in America, you know, the dream was, you know, 2.2 kids and a dog and a white picket fence.
00:10:14.400And mom stayed home and took care of the house while dad worked.
00:10:17.140And so she kind of fairly or unfairly, you know, becomes the mate and takes over.
00:10:21.860But at least she has the appliances to be able to make it easier.
00:10:34.200How did you get involved in butlering?
00:10:36.680And then how did you learn how to be a butler when, like, it kind of became a lost art?
00:10:40.380So what's fascinating is that in the 1990s, you know, I was in the catering business.
00:10:45.760I was in the off-premise catering business.
00:10:47.200And one of my clients was one of Canada's wealthiest families that every Canadian knows and loves.
00:10:52.480And I had mentioned to the lady of the house one day just in conversation that I was thinking of maybe leaving the catering world and to do something else.
00:10:59.360And she said, oh, my God, what are you going to do?
00:11:48.720I had up to 30 full-time staff that were reporting to me throughout the year.
00:11:51.800And it was really an incredible opportunity.
00:11:54.960And I call it my Shirley MacLaine, you know, moment.
00:11:57.580I don't know if there really is reincarnation, but if there is such a thing, if I am fortunate enough to be reincarnated from a previous life, I was very lucky.
00:12:04.920I was either a butler or a nobleman who had a butler.
00:12:07.160Because the career, this career just seems so logical to me and so evident of just what to do.
00:12:36.880So, you know, in 2024, the butler is now an expensive commodity.
00:12:41.540But the butler is actually managing the household.
00:12:44.360And so some households, the butler may be in the front of the house for serving.
00:12:47.760In some households, the butler doesn't serve.
00:12:50.320The butler is purely an administrative position.
00:12:52.420But when you think about it, the butler is actually managing the household from a perspective of that the average household spends more money and has as many or more employees than very small businesses in the U.S.
00:13:05.820So you're really a business person taking care of a business.
00:13:09.160And so you're taking care of everything from whether it's staff management, whether it's, you know, putting together operational manuals of how the household is going to run.
00:13:16.840And when are things cleaned and when are things maintained?
00:13:19.080Taking care of accounts, you know, when plumbers are coming or electricians to fix things because things always break down in those homes.
00:13:25.420Making sure that those bills are authorized for payment and that that work's been completed.
00:13:29.560You know, making sure that that the household is running.
00:13:32.080And so the butler today really is trying to be at least one or two steps ahead of their employer to always be thinking and anticipating what's going to happen, what needs to happen for the family.
00:13:43.660And so it's quite fascinating, actually.
00:13:46.040But it's not as much of a service role, but it is a very detailed role that keeps you really busy.
00:13:51.580You know, when you think of these large homes, they're actually commercial facilities with the amount of, you know, when you're talking about 10, 20, 30, 40,000 square feet, we're talking about commercial cooling units and commercial kitchens.
00:14:29.840And in fact, it's hard to find people who want to live in.
00:14:32.860And if you're going to live in, you actually can make more money than if you live out because that's considered a premium to be able to live in versus live out.
00:14:40.240The way you've made it sound like is that being a butler or being on domestic staff, like this could be a lucrative, very fulfilling career.
00:14:47.240I mean, where can you go to butler school, which is, you know, four, six, eight weeks.
00:14:51.500And, you know, you walk out with a job starting at $65,000, $70,000 a year.
00:14:56.120And a good butler, by the time they're within five years with the right experience, they're at $100,000, $125,000 plus benefits, full benefits and a retirement plan.
00:15:06.140And we have butlers that are making anywhere from a quarter of a million to $350,000 a year based on the home that they're managing and the work that they do.
00:15:14.520So you can make a lot of money if you're good at it.
00:15:19.500I think it's an honorable career to be able to manage a household.
00:15:23.060And what I love is, you know, as I jokingly say, but it's, you know, you're kind of seeing history happen, you know, from being a fly on the wall and watching, you know, the movie stars or the captains of industry or the politicians that are coming to the household for your family.
00:15:35.520And, you know, seeing what's happening and knowing what's going to happen before the rest of the world knows what's happening.
00:15:43.620And I think a lot of people don't actually think of it as a genuine career.
00:15:48.500So you've written several books based on your insights and experience as a butler that can help the average person who might not be able to afford a butler, how they can improve different facets of their lives.
00:15:58.960And I want to focus on this conversation today on what we can learn from butlers about managing a home and making it not only a place that runs efficiently, but it's pleasant to spend your time in.
00:16:11.920And I start off, you talk about that butlers traditionally had this thing called the butler's book.
00:16:18.740What sort of information does a butler keep in a butler's book?
00:16:21.680So the butler's book is really the Bible for the butler of how the household runs and it keeps track of everything.
00:16:26.680So whether it's, you know, contractors' telephone numbers or how do you use the remote control to go from the DVD player to the satellite dish to regular cable television so that you've got kind of like the cheat sheets in there?
00:16:38.280Or you've got household schedules of when employees are working.
00:16:44.520So, for example, in my butler book, one of the things that I used to keep was all the inventories of the different Chinas so that when we were entertaining and when I'd be sitting with Mrs. in a meeting and the chef and we'd be discussing about a party that would be coming up.
00:16:55.000And, you know, everyone would say, well, you know, it would be nice to use the green dishes for that thing.
00:17:00.060And then I'd be able to look in my butler's book and say, well, there's 36 people coming for dinner and we have 35 dinner plates.
00:17:06.580So either we have to change to a different service or I have to go buy some more of this green service if I can find it kind of scenario.
00:17:11.740So, you know, you keep cheat sheets like that that are there for you or master things on, you know, when are you taking care of certain inventories or mechanical things around the household or what are the spring cleaning projects and all that kind of stuff.
00:17:55.140No, but I think the butler's book would be able to tell you the kind of thing where you keep those things.
00:17:58.820And as long as you put them back where you're supposed to, then you're in good shape.
00:18:01.840But the butler's book is really this tool that makes you more efficient and more successful at doing what you want to do.
00:18:09.540So what sorts of information do you think are just a lay person should keep in their own butler's book for their household?
00:18:14.080So I think that just keeping simple things like all your telephone numbers for, you know, the plumber, the electrician, you know, where is the electrical boxes if you have more than one in your household?
00:18:23.520And where's the main disconnect to turn the power off?
00:18:25.640And, you know, when do you open your pool if you have a swimming pool and when do you close it?
00:18:30.360You know, so kind of keeping a calendar or when do you want to clean the e-straps?
00:18:34.300When do you want to be able to deal with certain things in the yard?
00:18:36.360Or when do you want to clean the windows or put the storm windows on or take the storm windows off?
00:18:40.600When do you want to do a bit of a deep clean inside the house?
00:18:42.780And so what's interesting is that when you start to look at all these projects, when you look at the calendar, it allows you to be able to spread it out throughout over the year so that there isn't one month where, you know, you have nothing to do.
00:18:54.540And in the following month, you know, you can barely keep up.
00:18:57.720So that's what's great about the calendar within the butler's book is that it allows you to kind of to plan things.
00:19:02.300So that way, you know, you can plan things ahead of time.
00:19:04.500So, you know, that, you know, you want to have your windows washed in April.
00:19:08.760And so in January or February, as you're just kind of looking ahead of things that, you know, you want to do, you say, oh, you want to let's schedule the window cleaner now and let's get it done so that at least they're scheduled.
00:19:17.280So it's not the last minute when you're trying to get a hold of them and everyone else is.
00:19:20.540And so the butler's book is really there as a tool to help you plan and just to remind you of what needs to be done.
00:19:27.480Where do you recommend keeping your butler's book?
00:19:29.680Is this in a physical book that you keep around?
00:19:32.140Well, traditionally, the butler's book was always kept in the butler's pantry, which is between the kitchen and off the dining room kind of scenario.
00:19:38.800But most of us don't have butler's pantries today.
00:19:41.100So I always love it in the kitchen somewhere because I think that's where everyone can find it.
00:19:45.640And I'm also a really firm believer that that the butler's book is a living, breathing document.
00:19:49.960And so you shouldn't be afraid to write in it when something changes or when you learn something.
00:19:54.780And so maybe it's something that just is always kind of handwritten.
00:19:57.920Or maybe, you know, once a year you sit down and you type out all the changes and then you just print off a clean copy.
00:20:04.180But I think that the butler's book needs to be in a place where everyone knows where it is.
00:20:08.000Everyone has access to it and where you're not afraid to write in it to update information.
00:20:13.420And I was doing some research before this conversation about modern butler's book.
00:20:18.980There's actually software that modern butler's can use these days where they basically create a butler's book, but it's in the cloud.
00:20:26.620So I know a lot of butler's for really affluent families who have maybe two, three, four homes.
00:20:33.360They have to know what's going on in all these different homes.
00:20:35.620So they have all this stuff just on the Internet.
00:20:37.680Yes, but I'm not a firm believer in things becoming overly computerized in a household.
00:20:45.420I think that it becomes overly complicated and you end up being a data entry person versus a manager.
00:20:52.060And so I'm actually a real firm believer that, you know, the butler's book, as an example, should just be in a three-ring binder that's in a place where everyone knows where it is.
00:21:01.700Now, you can keep the master document, you know, in a Word file, for example, that's in the cloud so that, you know, you can check it from wherever you are if you need to look something up.
00:21:11.140But I'm not a firm believer that everything should be in the cloud because, you know, if the power goes out or you can't turn the computer on for whatever reason, how are we going to access this information in the cloud while we're in this emergency kind of scenario?
00:21:22.620You know, I think the theory is always really great and this great fantasy, but I don't think it actually works in reality.
00:21:29.680And so I think it's much easier to be able to have it printed where, you know, you can take the book with you to the mechanical room that's telling you how to do something so you can follow the steps.
00:21:43.840So you mentioned one of the things you can keep in a butler's book is a calendar of home maintenance.
00:21:48.120I know it's going to vary from location to location and home to home, but generally what sort of home maintenance regimen do you recommend people keep to keep their home running in tip-top shape?
00:22:00.080So I think you need to, first of all, think about where you locate it.
00:22:02.560So, for example, you know, if you're going to be, for example, in Florida or you're going to be somewhere warm, you're going to have obviously very many different requirements than if you are going to be up in the north where there's snow, for example.
00:22:12.020So, first of all, based on your physical location, if so, let's, you know, where there's snow, which is where I happen to be right now, you know, the butler's book would say to me in October, for example, okay, so you need to get ready because winter's coming.
00:22:27.960Do you have a good brush to take the snow off the car?
00:22:31.220Do you have enough windshield washer fluid?
00:22:32.940So it kind of gives you those checklists of things to do as you get ready so that once you have that first snowfall, it's not a panic kind of scenario of not being ready for it or, you know, you're going to the hardware store to go and get sand or salt or whatever, and it's all sold out because everyone's, you know, thinking at the last minute.
00:22:51.460And then when you're down south, you know, simple things like, you know, how do you get your house ready for hurricane season if you're in Florida, for example, or what do you need to think about if you're in Arizona, you know, from a temperature perspective, you know, from the outside of the physical house, what are you going to do for the air conditioning unit?
00:23:08.500And if so, what time of the year are you going to do that?
00:23:10.620So I think you start with the location of where your house is and then the kind of home you have, you know, whether it's an apartment or whether it's a physical house or a townhouse or whatever, everything needs some kind of maintenance.
00:23:22.340And so the other thing, the reason I like the binder concept is that, you know, as you put your calendar in the Butler's book, you might not think of everything right away.
00:23:32.180And so you can start to fill it in over the year as you go through the life in your household.
00:23:36.360And so when it's the first day of that first snowfall and you're not ready, you think, okay, now I know I need to get ready.
00:23:42.160And so now you make a note in your book of what you need and to get ready for that particular item, you know, or when are you going to open the pool if your pool closes in the winter because you're in the north and when do you open it again kind of thing?
00:23:55.000Or when do you want to be able to fertilize or do what you need to do to your roses that are in your garden?
00:23:59.540So I think there's always something, and I think it comes to you really easily as you go throughout the year in the life of living within your household.
00:24:08.820Okay, so your household maintenance routine, it's very seasonal.
00:24:11.460And as you say, it's going to vary by where you live, but you have a good annual list in the book that can apply to most everyone.
00:24:18.500So, for example, in winter, you have things like vacuum your fridge coils, flip the mattresses, spring, change batteries on smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors, wash the outside of the windows, have AC inspected, get your outdoor grill ready.
00:24:33.500Summer, you've got clean out and organize your garage, wash out garbage and recycle bins.
00:24:38.300And then fall, you've got have chimney cleaned and expected, and then clean the dryer vent.
00:24:44.860We're going to take a quick break for your word from our sponsors.
00:24:53.900Something else I'm curious about, one of the things I've had problems with, with managing my own home, is finding good contractors and maintenance workers.
00:25:05.020So, you know, finding a good person, you know, they're worth their weight in gold, if you can find them.
00:25:09.820But once you do, you need to be able to stay in touch.
00:25:12.860And so that's, first of all, you know, when you when you are looking for a tradesperson, go to your neighbors, go to people you trust, read reviews online.
00:25:20.560But you need to be able to be clear about what are you looking for so that when you actually speak to the trade person, you can actually ask them intelligent questions.
00:25:28.900And because you've thought about what do you need or why, you know, something needs to be fixed or repaired or why you want to build something.
00:25:35.720It doesn't matter what the situation, but you need to have a clear plan of what do I need this person to do so that you can be clear to them so that they understand what your needs are so you can compare.
00:25:44.320And I think that, you know, when you interview two or three people, you kind of get a gut feeling right away who's the good one and who's not and listen to your gut instinct and then make a note of things in your butler's book of, you know, OK, so we tried John the electrician.
00:25:59.160He was really good, but he wasn't really clean.
00:26:01.140So the next time he comes, I need to make sure he knows to take his boots off before he comes in my house and so on and so forth, because the work is good, but he just was a bit messy.
00:26:08.320And so just to remind yourselves that the next time John comes over, you say, OK, John, remember, I need to take your boots off.
00:26:15.240So I think that being clear about what you're looking for is really important because I think that's where the relationship breaks down is that both parties aren't communicating well with each other.
00:26:28.000OK, yes, if you find a good one, make sure you put that in your butler book.
00:26:31.560Put it in your butler book. But also, for example, you know, pay them on time because then they'll want to come back, you know, kind of scenario.
00:26:37.240So you've got to think of things like that, too, and be nice to them and offering them a glass of water on a hot day or a cup of coffee.
00:26:43.900I remember as the butler, what we used to do is we used to make muffins and coffee for every trade that would come to the house every day.
00:26:49.460And so we became the popular house because they all wanted to come to us first thing in the morning to get their coffee and their muffin for free.
00:26:55.400That's how I kept the trades happy. And so being nice to trades, you get it back tenfold.
00:27:00.640First of all, you should just be a nice person and they're doing a job that you need.
00:27:04.120But second of all, you know, if you keep them happy, they're going to be more willing to come back the next time you need them.
00:27:08.940Let's talk about managing the inventory in our home.
00:27:12.340So we mentioned dishes or things for parties, but I was actually having this conversation with a friend the other day and he wanted to know,
00:27:19.080like, how much toilet paper do I really need to keep?
00:27:22.140And how do I know when I need to restock?
00:27:24.260Because I'm tired of having to when I need it the most, it's all gone.
00:27:27.400So any advice there on managing just household inventories could be dishes, cleaning supplies, paper towels, toilet paper, etc.
00:27:34.860So you're talking about two different inventories.
00:27:36.840And so, you know, if we're going to talk about furniture, fixtures and equipment, you know, which we call FF&E,
00:27:41.320that's stuff like dishes and furniture and art and all those kinds of things.
00:27:46.240So that's one kind of inventory that you're keeping.
00:27:49.480So, you know, usually we do a picture of it and then we record how many of that item there are in inventory and where it is in the household.
00:27:55.600But the inventory that your friend is talking about is what we call a consumables inventory.
00:28:14.220And so the easiest thing to do, first of all, so let's take the toilet paper.
00:28:18.420Let's answer the question to your friend, how much toilet paper do I need?
00:28:21.860So first of all, you need to figure out, you know, how many bathrooms do you have?
00:28:25.020So you have two bathrooms or three bathrooms.
00:28:26.800So right away, that's going to be one roll in each of those bathrooms.
00:28:29.740And then you want to have, you know, potentially a couple of rolls that are there for a change underneath the counter.
00:28:35.420So if we have three bathrooms, we had three rolls because we have two extra.
00:28:38.420So that's nine rolls already just to keep the bathrooms full.
00:28:42.120And then on average, you're going through, for the sake of the argument, you know, you're going through a roll a week.
00:28:47.820And so you'll know at the end of the month kind of how much you're consuming and how much you need or, you know, you're using two, three or four a week or a month.
00:28:55.880And so what we do is we do what's called a minimum maximum inventory number.
00:29:35.040This would be good for any household to do because this is important for insurance purposes, right?
00:29:40.160You want to know if you have art or furniture.
00:29:43.480You want to have a picture of it and like, you know, value of it because if your house, you know, God forbid, burns down, you'll be able to have a reference to your property.
00:29:54.560So what's interesting is that most people are underinsured and the insurance companies will tell you.
00:30:00.520And so nobody really wants to spend their weekend doing, you know, a household inventory.
00:30:05.460But let me tell you, God forbid you should ever need it.
00:30:08.300You'll be the happiest person in the world to have that.
00:30:11.500Because if God forbid, you know, something happens to your house and you need to make an insurance claim, they're going to want to see all that kind of stuff.
00:30:18.380And, you know, what's interesting is the insurance company, you know, if you're insured for the sake of the argument for $100,000,
00:30:23.160the insurance company doesn't just write you a check for $100,000, you have to actually go and buy the stuff and the insurance company reimburses you.
00:30:30.240So that's, I think, important to know right there.
00:30:32.260And second of all, you know, maybe you're insured for $100,000, but maybe you have $150,000 worth of stuff that you didn't think about.
00:30:38.900And so now all of a sudden you have less than when you started.
00:30:41.520So, you know, do you have a stamp collection or do you have china or silverware or jewelry?
00:30:54.720And so doing an inventory really helps you understand what kind of insurance coverage you need and then what you have in case of an emergency.
00:31:03.160Okay, we talked about home maintenance, talked about managing toilet paper inventory, talked about managing your big inventory in your house.
00:31:10.340Let's talk about keeping our homes clean.
00:31:13.260First question is, what do you think are the pros and cons of cleaning your own house versus hiring someone to clean it for you?
00:31:20.620I think the main thing is, if you're going to do it yourself, is do you have the time to do it properly?
00:31:25.460And if you do, and if you want to do it on your own, then I think that's great.
00:32:38.560You're taking the pillows off the couch.
00:32:41.080And you're vacuuming inside the couch and underneath the couch.
00:32:43.240And so you're really pulling the room apart is a deep cleaning.
00:32:48.800Housecleaning is really just taking care of the house on a weekly basis, usually, or twice weekly, where you're vacuuming, you're dusting, but you're just keeping things going.
00:33:32.780You have these golden rules of housecleaning.
00:33:34.700What are some of those golden rules of housecleaning?
00:33:36.460Well, the golden rules of housekeeping or cleaning are really about making sure that you're organized and that you have the right tools, that you have the right chemicals, and that you're working methodically throughout the household.
00:33:49.360And you're starting in one place and you're working towards another so that you know where you are at any one point.
00:33:54.340And so the golden rules are making sure that, you know, we don't cross contaminate and so making sure that, you know, we understand that we have different cloths for different locations.
00:34:02.320And so we're not using the bathroom cloths in the kitchen or in the bedroom and so on and so forth.
00:34:06.760And one of the golden rules that we remember also is remember that, you know, when you're cleaning from a room, you always start from the top and you work your way down because dust, of course, falls.
00:34:15.640So that's why you don't want to work from the bottom up.
00:34:18.140And so the golden rules are just about being logical about what we need to do.
00:34:23.740So one of the ways you recommend being logical and efficient about cleaning your house is to have a cleaning list.
00:34:29.200So just as your butler's book should have a maintenance list for your home, you have different cleaning lists broken down by daily, weekly, and monthly.
00:34:38.540So here in the book, you got daily cleaning on the list, tidy clutter, wipe down counters and stovetops.
00:34:43.900Weekly, you want to give each room in the house a good cleaning, dust all the surfaces, vacuum all the floors, clean the bathroom.
00:34:51.000That includes cleaning the shower, toilet, and counters.
00:34:55.300And a point you make on the weekly cleaning is that you don't have to do all this in one day.
00:35:00.360You can break it up throughout the week.
00:35:02.860So, you know, one day you do the bathrooms, another day you do the bedrooms, and, you know, the next day you do the kitchen.
00:35:08.620And then for the monthly list, you have things like, you know, scrub shower grout, descale shower heads, clean doorknobs and handles, and dust vents.
00:35:16.720So to your point is, you know, weekly, monthly, yearly kind of scenario, whatever, but it's about, you know, what do I need to do every week in my bathroom?
00:35:23.260So, you know, I know every week I'm going to need to be able to clean the shower and the sink and the counter, and I'm going to need to clean the toilet and the floor.
00:35:29.280But I don't need to every week pull the medicine cabinet apart, or I don't need to take the shower curtain off if it's cloth and wash it, you know, kind of scenario.
00:35:38.980I don't need to wash the walls down every week because, you know, the humidity actually captures dirt.
00:35:44.420Or the light fixture above the sink doesn't need to be cleaned necessarily every week.
00:35:47.900You know, you might give it a dust with a duster, but you're not pulling it apart and really cleaning it that thoroughly every week.
00:35:54.000And so that's what you're really kind of keeping track of is every week, what do we need to do?
00:36:24.340And so, you know, the side of the door, so when you open the door and the door is open, there's the edge that runs on the three sides, the top and the two sides.
00:36:33.700That gets really dirty because as you're putting dirty dishes into the dishwasher, food product falls in that area.
00:36:40.680And it doesn't get washed when the dishwasher door is closed.
00:36:46.280You need to, you know, if you have filters in the dishwasher, in the bottom of the dishwasher, sometimes they need to be emptied and cleaned out.
00:36:52.280Sometimes, you know, if you have a very fancy dishwasher, it'll do it by itself.
00:36:56.180But you need to keep an eye on all that kind of stuff.
00:36:59.440I'm not a really big believer that you need to run a chemical through your dishwasher, although there are those that are available.
00:37:04.700But you need to actually clean the filter if it is necessary.
00:37:08.340And you need to actually clean the door, the sides of the door.
00:37:11.920So for your weekly cleaning, so this is when you're kind of, it's not a deep clean, but just sort of the maintenance cleaning you're doing to make sure everything looks nice.
00:37:19.080You recommend to be efficient with this to have a butler's caddy.
00:37:22.460What's a butler's caddy and what do you keep in it?
00:37:24.280So a butler's caddy is the caddy that you're going to carry around.
00:37:27.880So what are you going to have when you're cleaning throughout the house?
00:37:31.040And so the caddy is going to have your cleaning cloths in it.
00:37:33.840It's going to have, you know, whatever chemicals that you happen to be using, your tools.
00:37:39.100So, you know, for example, do you need soaps or do you need any sprays to disinfect something?
00:37:48.560Do you need like a cream cleaner for certain, you know, ceramic sinks that you're cleaning?
00:37:52.400So it's about thinking about where are you going to be cleaning and what are the things that you need?
00:37:57.080Because the worst thing is, is that, you know, as you're cleaning, you're kind of carrying everything in your hand and then you realize you've forgotten something and you don't really want to go back to the closet wherever you keep all your cleaning supplies or under the sink or wherever it happens to be.
00:38:08.880And so you don't really do it, you know, you just kind of, oh, I'll do it next time.
00:38:12.340And you just kind of forget about it again.
00:38:16.920If everything's in there, then no matter where you are in the house, you have what you need.
00:38:20.800You know, even, for example, like the different color cloths.
00:38:23.020So I always have said blue for poo and pink for the sink in the kitchen so that we don't have cross-contamination.
00:38:29.100So that, you know, we're using blue cloths in the bathroom and pink cloths in the kitchen and then a different color cloth everywhere else in the house.
00:38:36.560And so it makes it really easy as you're moving around the house that you have the right tools.
00:38:41.260So you mentioned about cleaning a room effectively and efficiently.
00:38:45.440One thing you mentioned is you clean from top to bottom.
00:38:48.200Any other tips on cleaning a room effectively and efficiently?
00:38:52.060So the most important thing is, as you've said, is to start from the top and to work your way down.
00:38:55.680But then you always want to work in a circular direction.
00:38:57.880Now, it doesn't matter if you go clockwise or counterclockwise, but you need to be in a circular direction because at some point you may need to stop.
00:39:05.940So you know exactly where you were in that process.
00:39:09.700But if you're doing what I call the zigzag method, where you're just kind of moving all over the room, you tend to forget something because it's not logical.
00:39:17.540But when you're going in a circle, you know exactly where you are and what you're doing.
00:40:44.500And that kind of shocked the nation when those when those surveys came out last year.
00:40:47.980But you need to do it at least once a week.
00:40:50.520And the reason you need to do it at least once a week, even if you are the only person sleeping in that bed, is the average person sweats, give or take a liter of fluid throughout the night.
00:41:01.460And so we've got this liquid that's going into the bed, first of all.
00:41:05.640And you just have, you know, skin that is falling off.
00:41:08.540We all have natural skin, dead skin that's falling off.
00:41:11.340It's not because you're not healthy or sick.
00:42:23.980So I think it's about thinking about the application of who sleeps in the bed, who has to make the bed, and who has the time, and ultimately what do you want?
00:42:32.260Do you recommend letting the bed air out a little bit before you make it?
00:42:56.900So I'm always looking for advice on how to do this job better.
00:43:00.500Any advice on the best way to clean a shower?
00:43:03.780So I think the best way is, first of all, is to have a squeegee in the shower and not the one that you buy for showers because they're not good generally.
00:43:12.460What I have in my shower is I actually have a squeegee that you buy at the hardware store for windows.
00:43:18.800So it's got a proper black rubber tip on the end so that it squeegees perfectly.
00:43:23.980So first of all, I think you need a professional squeegee.
00:43:26.140But second of all, if you have the ability to somewhere either, you know, under the kitchen, the bathroom sink or somewhere to be able to keep some soap and a brush so that you can actually brush down the shower on a regular basis and then rinse it and then squeegee it.
00:43:41.700It becomes really easy because the more often you do it, the easier it is to do and the faster it becomes.
00:43:48.460The mistake that people do is that they wait too long and then the buildup starts and then it becomes really difficult to clean and then you resent it and then you don't want to clean it.
00:43:56.900So having the ability to rinse down the shower, having the squeegee right there, that's a good one for windows, allows you to squeegee whether you're doing tiles or you're doing a glass shower door or glass shower wall, which is what I do.
00:44:11.260It makes it really easy so that A, the bathroom always looks good.
00:44:14.340But B, I never get enough buildup that I never really resent that once a week when I use the soap or twice a week when I use the soap because it's really not hard.
00:45:18.160I'm not really a believer that you need to bleach the shower because there's no bacteria per se in the shower unless you've got buildup that's been there for years and years and then you've got mold and bacteria.
00:45:29.140But if you're doing it regularly, there really generally isn't a need to be able to use a harsh chemical.
00:45:34.740And so the most important thing is making sure that the bathroom air is out, that the door is open.
00:45:40.160And if you have a window, that the windows open every once in a while to let the air and the humidity escape.
00:45:45.700One tip that I picked up recently that's been a game changer for cleaning the glass, at least in the shower, vinegar seems to be really awesome at like a vinegar mixture.
00:45:53.840Vinegar and water is a great mixture for certain things, absolutely.
00:45:57.940And, you know, there's pros and cons to what they call green cleaning products, which, you know, is in this particular case would be the water and the vinegar.
00:46:05.740So I think that, again, then it would be having, you know, a squeegee bottle with the vinegar and the water already mixed in it.
00:46:12.880That's somewhere handy so that you can grab it quickly, give it a little bit of a quick spray, and then you can rinse it and, you know, use your squeegee.
00:46:21.560So, again, it's about the easier you make it for yourself, then the more likely you are to do it.
00:46:26.740And the more often you do it, the easier the job becomes.
00:46:29.500So final question, in The Butler Speaks, you wrote that being a butler is about giving people the little luxuries in life.
00:46:36.640So after you've taken care of the big stuff of keeping a house, right, you're doing the maintenance, the cleaning, managing inventory.
00:46:42.040What are some of the little luxuries people can give themselves to make their home a joy to live in?
00:46:47.820I think it's about thinking of anticipating.
00:46:50.880So, for example, if you like to have a cup of tea in the afternoon, then, you know, that cup of tea can be a real pleasure if you have a nice teacup and you have a nice little teapot, you have some of your favorite teas, that becomes a pleasure.
00:47:03.600So whether you're making it for someone else or you're making it for yourself, that becomes something really enjoyable.
00:47:08.960Or, for example, you know, my mother, you know, she likes to have a glass of wine, you know, in the evening.
00:47:14.540She uses one of her crystal glasses from the dining room, not because she's trying to be particularly fancy, but she just really enjoys that glass.
00:47:21.200And she says, well, I have to wash the glass by hand no matter what glass it is.
00:47:24.640So whether it's just an everyday glass or a crystal glass, it's the same thing.
00:47:28.660And so she gets more pleasure out of using the crystal glass.
00:47:31.880Or a simple pleasure can just be, for example, just having your bed made.
00:47:35.580So when you come home and you crawl into bed, there's nothing, I think, nicer than crawling into a freshly made bed.
00:47:40.840So to me, those are the little things that are enjoyable, you know, to try to think about.
00:47:46.240So this has been a great conversation, Charles.
00:47:47.620Where can people go to learn more about the books in your work?
00:47:50.600So the books, you can go to Amazon, which is anywhere in the world.