The Art of Manliness - A Butler's Guide to Managing Your Household

00:00:00.000 Brett McKay here and welcome to another edition of the Art of Manliness podcast.

00:00:11.300 It's a tough job to manage a household. Things need to be regularly fixed, maintained, and clean.

00:00:16.760 How do you stay on top of these tasks in order to keep your home in tip-top shape?

00:00:20.180 My guest knows his way all around this issue and has some field-tested insider advice to offer.

00:00:24.960 Charles McPherson spent two decades as the major domo or chief butler of a grand household.

00:00:29.900 He's also the founder of North America's only registered school for butlers and household managers

00:00:33.780 and the author of several books drawn from his butlering experience, including The Butler Speaks,

00:00:39.040 A Return to Proper Etiquette, Stylish Entertaining, and the Art of Good Housekeeping.

00:00:43.560 In the first part of our conversation, Charles charts the history of domestic service

00:00:47.260 and describes why the practice of having servants like a butler and maid ebbed in the mid-20th century

00:00:51.460 but has made a comeback today.

00:00:53.280 We then turn to what average folks who don't have a household staff can do to better manage their homes.

00:00:58.060 Charles recommends keeping something called a butler's book to stay on top of household schedules

00:01:02.160 and maintenance checklists.

00:01:03.660 We then discuss how to clean your home more logically and efficiently.

00:01:06.980 Charles shares his golden rules of housecleaning, the cleaning task you've probably neglected,

00:01:11.380 hint, go take a look at the side of the door of your dishwasher,

00:01:14.760 his surprising choice for best product to use to clean your shower,

00:01:17.440 how often you should change your bedsheets, and much more.

00:01:19.400 After the show's over, check out our show notes at awim.is slash butler.

00:01:36.980 All right, Charles McPherson, welcome to the show.

00:01:39.940 Thank you very much. It's a pleasure to be here.

00:01:41.820 So you have served as a professional butler for over two decades,

00:01:45.380 and you now run an organization that trains butlers and other professional domestic staff.

00:01:51.640 And I think most people, when they think of butlers,

00:01:54.780 they think of butlers as men who served English aristocrats and American robber barons,

00:01:59.940 you know, the 19th and early 20th centuries.

00:02:02.280 But butlering is still alive and well today.

00:02:05.760 And I want to talk about what it looks like today.

00:02:07.380 But before we do, can you kind of give us a brief history of domestic service?

00:02:11.420 What was it like 100 years ago?

00:02:13.740 When did it reach its peak, et cetera?

00:02:16.420 So that's a great question,

00:02:18.000 because I think understanding history allows us to really understand where we are today.

00:02:21.460 So, you know, let's very briefly start back, you know, 150 years ago or so.

00:02:25.420 We're in the Victorian era.

00:02:26.860 Queen Victoria is on the throne.

00:02:28.660 And there is a huge amount of domestic staff.

00:02:31.520 In fact, it's the second largest employer, if you will,

00:02:34.720 in the United Kingdom compared to farming after right after farming, which is number one.

00:02:38.700 And so these people are required that the amount of domestic staff are required

00:02:43.000 because the homes of the day didn't have running water, didn't have electricity.

00:02:48.140 And so for the wealthy to live, as we all know, when we watch PBS and, you know,

00:02:52.520 watch, you know, Agatha Christie and so on,

00:02:55.480 that took a mountain of people to be able to undertake.

00:02:59.020 And so that's the height of the most number of domestic people. 0.80

00:03:02.800 And then we go, you know, Queen Victoria dies, her son, King Edward, you know,

00:03:06.280 so we go into the Edwardian era, World War I.

00:03:08.460 And now for the first time in history, we have people leaving domestic service.

00:03:12.080 And so all of a sudden, this is when men start to leave domestic service, really.

00:03:16.180 And so now this is where, you know, women are starting to really become prominent in domestic service. 1.00

00:03:20.260 And they're now serving at the dining room table, which society is shocked by to see a woman in the front of the house. 1.00

00:03:25.820 And then all of a sudden, you know, we go through World War II.

00:03:28.260 Now we're into the 1950s.

00:03:29.860 And all of a sudden, the world has changed.

00:03:32.420 And, you know, there is now the modern conveniences based on the war.

00:03:35.680 So we have clothing that's available.

00:03:37.140 We have food that's available.

00:03:38.160 We can go to grocery stores.

00:03:39.900 And so being in domestic service is a dying art.

00:03:42.580 And as we go into the 60s and to the 70s, there is no one going into domestic service.

00:03:47.100 It really has come to an end.

00:03:48.480 And it's just the very few that are left.

00:03:50.660 But then we get into, you know, 1980 and Ronald Reagan becomes president.

00:03:54.020 Margaret Thatcher becomes prime minister.

00:03:55.440 And we have Reaganomics.

00:03:57.000 And now all of a sudden, we have a huge amount of wealth that's being created by a very small group of people.

00:04:02.720 And 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.

00:04:10.960 And so all of a sudden, there's, you know, well, let's hire a butler.

00:04:13.160 But there really are no butlers except some old timers.

00:04:15.700 And so all of a sudden, there's this demand for butlering.

00:04:19.480 And people start to go back into private service.

00:04:22.080 And 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.

00:04:34.780 And so it's incredible the career that it's become.

00:04:38.220 And 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.

00:04:46.180 But being in domestic service today is actually an honorable career.

00:04:49.460 And so it's really interesting how it went from the height to almost being extinct in the 60s and early 70s.

00:04:55.960 And now all of a sudden, here we back are at 2024.

00:04:59.060 And there is more demand for domestic service than can actually meet.

00:05:03.380 So the supply, we just don't have the supply.

00:05:05.500 That's interesting.

00:05:06.400 So 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.

00:05:13.680 Exactly.

00:05:14.280 That's what people typically think of domestic service. 0.97

00:05:16.900 Like how many people did a typical aristocrat have in their home?

00:05:21.320 Well, so, I mean, you know, when you think about it, it really comes down to what was the size of the house.

00:05:25.100 But I mean, some people could have, you know, 20, 30, 40, 50 or 100.

00:05:28.620 So it was all, you know, remember, you know, farming was all done by hand.

00:05:32.000 So there was a huge amount of people on the estate just dealing with the farms, which generated income for the estate.

00:05:37.800 But to run the inside of the household, you know, there's no microwave, there's no fridge, there's no electric mixer.

00:05:42.980 So, you know, just in the kitchen alone, to be able to produce the meals they did, you needed an army of people.

00:05:47.100 And then the washing of all the dishes and all that stuff was done by hand, of course, because there are no dishwashers.

00:05:51.920 There's no electricity.

00:05:53.380 And 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.

00:06:01.920 And the butler at that time, like his job was just to oversee that, manage all that?

00:06:06.340 So 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.

00:06:14.140 And he's the one who serves that table and he's the lead, but he's really running the front of the house.

00:06:20.360 So he's running everything that the guests and the family see.

00:06:23.520 And 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. 0.99

00:06:30.040 And then chef was responsible for the kitchen.

00:06:32.800 And if you were really fancy back then, you had a French chef that was de rigueur of the time.

00:06:37.200 So butler really is front of the house, head housekeeper is back of the house, and chef is the kitchen. 0.88

00:06:41.300 So it's still interesting that there's still three very senior positions.

00:06:44.640 But the butler ultimately was responsible for overall everything.

00:06:47.940 And 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.

00:07:02.860 Like they really took their job seriously.

00:07:05.080 Yes, absolutely.

00:07:07.060 And 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.

00:07:17.820 And 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.

00:07:24.820 So 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. 0.98

00:07:31.460 And 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.

00:07:43.020 So it's actually quite interesting.

00:07:44.500 So as that first book kind of takes popularity and is still in print today, which is quite interesting.

00:07:49.300 And 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.

00:07:58.020 And so that's where you have all these books being written in the late 1800s, early 1900s.

00:08:02.860 But 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.

00:08:15.080 They were probably solidly middle class, maybe upper middle class.

00:08:20.140 Even in the early 20th century, they would usually have a maid and a cook.

00:08:25.100 And you rarely see that today.

00:08:27.400 Well, I mean, when you think about it again, those homes were hard to manage.

00:08:30.980 They didn't necessarily have running hot water.

00:08:33.200 A lot of things were still, you know, oil lamps and so or candles at nighttime.

00:08:37.000 So 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.

00:08:43.240 And so you had all this soot and dust in the house and your lighting implements.

00:08:47.260 But, you know, if you were middle class, you usually at least had a housekeeper or I should say a maid.

00:08:52.780 A housekeeper is different from a maid. 0.99

00:08:54.200 They're two different things.

00:08:55.380 What's the difference?

00:08:56.020 So a housekeeper is truly a professional who is able to manage the household, if you will.

00:09:01.960 You know, employees can report to her where a maid is just the worker bee, if you will. 1.00

00:09:07.760 The maid isn't isn't in management position. 1.00

00:09:09.900 So the management position is really the housekeeper or the head housekeeper.

00:09:13.720 OK.

00:09:14.060 And so, yeah, through the mid 20th century, many middle upper middle class families had that.

00:09:19.720 But then eventually it went away.

00:09:21.580 Well, it went away because, you know, the world is changing.

00:09:23.840 First of all, you know, the cost is becoming prohibitive.

00:09:26.720 But 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.

00:09:34.080 When the war comes to an end, there's this excess of capacity for production.

00:09:38.880 And 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.

00:09:50.620 And so they start producing for the mass markets.

00:09:52.440 And 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.

00:10:00.800 Right.

00:10:01.100 Because you have washing machines, dryers, vacuum cleaners.

00:10:04.180 Exactly.

00:10:04.640 All those things are starting to come in.

00:10:05.940 And so, you know, those appliances that are saving time.

00:10:08.980 You 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.

00:10:14.400 And mom stayed home and took care of the house while dad worked.

00:10:17.140 And so she kind of fairly or unfairly, you know, becomes the mate and takes over. 0.99

00:10:21.860 But at least she has the appliances to be able to make it easier. 0.69

00:10:25.580 It's not easy, but to make it easier.

00:10:27.880 Okay.

00:10:27.960 So domestic service started going down throughout the 60s and 70s.

00:10:31.180 But then in the 80s, you started to see the revival of it.

00:10:34.080 Yeah.

00:10:34.200 How did you get involved in butlering?

00:10:36.680 And then how did you learn how to be a butler when, like, it kind of became a lost art?

00:10:40.380 So what's fascinating is that in the 1990s, you know, I was in the catering business.

00:10:45.760 I was in the off-premise catering business.

00:10:47.200 And one of my clients was one of Canada's wealthiest families that every Canadian knows and loves.

00:10:52.480 And 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.

00:10:59.360 And she said, oh, my God, what are you going to do?

00:11:00.760 And I said, I haven't figured it out.

00:11:02.080 And she said, well, you know, Rick, my butler, is going to be leaving soon.

00:11:05.540 So why don't you come and work for me?

00:11:06.940 And so I said, well, let me think about it.

00:11:08.420 And I told my mother, my mother said, absolutely not.

00:11:10.380 I don't want you to be a servant.

00:11:11.420 I said, well, I think it's a good job.

00:11:12.620 And I thought about it.

00:11:14.360 And, of course, I did the opposite of what my mother recommended.

00:11:16.760 And I took the job.

00:11:18.440 And so it was the lady of the house who taught me how to buttle. 0.69

00:11:20.660 And so that, you know, that is a verb that is you can use correctly.

00:11:24.300 And so every week she would give me lessons on, you know, how do you drive the car so the person in the backseat isn't nauseous?

00:11:30.100 Or how do you get the grass stains out of her children's T-shirts and jeans? 0.89

00:11:33.800 What's the difference between a breakfast table, a luncheon table, a dinner table?

00:11:36.740 Where does the oyster fork go?

00:11:37.920 How do you open the door for someone?

00:11:39.540 How do you take their coat?

00:11:40.360 How do you put their coat back on?

00:11:41.500 How do you walk with someone with an umbrella?

00:11:43.180 It was quite fascinating.

00:11:44.100 So after a year, I was the major domo for the household.

00:11:47.240 The family had three homes.

00:11:48.720 I had up to 30 full-time staff that were reporting to me throughout the year.

00:11:51.800 And it was really an incredible opportunity.

00:11:54.960 And I call it my Shirley MacLaine, you know, moment.

00:11:57.580 I 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.

00:12:04.920 I was either a butler or a nobleman who had a butler.

00:12:07.160 Because the career, this career just seems so logical to me and so evident of just what to do.

00:12:13.980 It was never a mystery.

00:12:15.000 As I was learning, I realized that what my job was about was logic.

00:12:18.940 And just to think about, well, what's logical?

00:12:20.380 And that's really how my education became was because of this lady and just continuing to learn on my own and meeting others.

00:12:29.080 So back 150 years ago, the duties of a butler was to take care of the front of the house.

00:12:33.320 What are the duties of a butler in 2024?

00:12:35.800 What's the typical?

00:12:36.880 So, you know, in 2024, the butler is now an expensive commodity.

00:12:41.540 But the butler is actually managing the household.

00:12:44.360 And so some households, the butler may be in the front of the house for serving.

00:12:47.760 In some households, the butler doesn't serve.

00:12:50.320 The butler is purely an administrative position.

00:12:52.420 But 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.

00:13:05.820 So you're really a business person taking care of a business.

00:13:09.160 And 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.

00:13:16.840 And when are things cleaned and when are things maintained?

00:13:19.080 Taking care of accounts, you know, when plumbers are coming or electricians to fix things because things always break down in those homes.

00:13:25.420 Making sure that those bills are authorized for payment and that that work's been completed.

00:13:29.560 You know, making sure that that the household is running.

00:13:32.080 And 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.

00:13:43.660 And so it's quite fascinating, actually.

00:13:46.040 But it's not as much of a service role, but it is a very detailed role that keeps you really busy.

00:13:51.580 You 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.

00:14:03.580 And so it becomes complicated.

00:14:05.900 It's not just the little furnaces that, you know, you and I grew up with and probably still have in our homes today.

00:14:12.000 So it sounds like a butler today is like a chief operations officer.

00:14:16.140 That's a great way to put it.

00:14:17.400 Absolutely.

00:14:17.780 Does domestic staff still live with homeowners like they did a century ago?

00:14:22.680 Oh, great question.

00:14:23.720 And so the answer is no.

00:14:24.940 Domestic staff today have a life.

00:14:27.300 They have a family.

00:14:28.680 And so they don't live in.

00:14:29.840 And in fact, it's hard to find people who want to live in.

00:14:32.860 And 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.

00:14:39.820 Okay.

00:14:40.240 The 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.

00:14:46.540 Oh, absolutely.

00:14:47.240 I mean, where can you go to butler school, which is, you know, four, six, eight weeks.

00:14:51.500 And, you know, you walk out with a job starting at $65,000, $70,000 a year.

00:14:56.120 And 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.

00:15:06.140 And 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.

00:15:14.520 So you can make a lot of money if you're good at it.

00:15:18.160 And there's nothing to be ashamed of.

00:15:19.500 I think it's an honorable career to be able to manage a household.

00:15:23.060 And 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.

00:15:35.520 And, you know, seeing what's happening and knowing what's going to happen before the rest of the world knows what's happening.

00:15:40.480 And I think it's pretty fascinating.

00:15:42.480 I think it's a really great career.

00:15:43.620 And I think a lot of people don't actually think of it as a genuine career.

00:15:48.500 So 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.

00:15:58.960 And 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.

00:16:11.920 And I start off, you talk about that butlers traditionally had this thing called the butler's book.

00:16:17.520 What's the butler's book?

00:16:18.740 What sort of information does a butler keep in a butler's book?

00:16:21.680 So the butler's book is really the Bible for the butler of how the household runs and it keeps track of everything.

00:16:26.680 So 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?

00:16:38.280 Or you've got household schedules of when employees are working.

00:16:42.520 You have things like inventory.

00:16:44.520 So, 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.

00:16:55.000 And, you know, everyone would say, well, you know, it would be nice to use the green dishes for that thing.

00:17:00.060 And 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.

00:17:05.600 So we're short a plate.

00:17:06.580 So 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.

00:17:11.740 So, 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.

00:17:23.020 So all that's in the butler's book.

00:17:24.660 So the butler's book really is the Bible.

00:17:26.740 It's the one place when you need something, that's where you go.

00:17:30.120 And I can see this being useful for just anybody who has a house.

00:17:33.700 Oh, absolutely.

00:17:34.800 Absolutely.

00:17:35.320 Yeah.

00:17:35.460 My wife and I run in that experience where, you know, we're hosting a party and we think, well, do we have this thing?

00:17:42.080 And I'm like, well, I don't know.

00:17:43.200 We kind of, we have to spend 30 minutes looking for it and like, well, we can't find it.

00:17:47.080 So let's go buy another one.

00:17:48.400 So you buy another one.

00:17:49.160 And then after the party happens, like, oh, here's this thing that we were looking for.

00:17:52.320 We just wasted money.

00:17:53.980 Exactly.

00:17:55.140 No, but I think the butler's book would be able to tell you the kind of thing where you keep those things.

00:17:58.820 And as long as you put them back where you're supposed to, then you're in good shape.

00:18:01.840 But the butler's book is really this tool that makes you more efficient and more successful at doing what you want to do.

00:18:09.540 So what sorts of information do you think are just a lay person should keep in their own butler's book for their household?

00:18:14.080 So 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?

00:18:23.520 And where's the main disconnect to turn the power off?

00:18:25.640 And, you know, when do you open your pool if you have a swimming pool and when do you close it?

00:18:30.360 You know, so kind of keeping a calendar or when do you want to clean the e-straps?

00:18:34.300 When do you want to be able to deal with certain things in the yard?

00:18:36.360 Or when do you want to clean the windows or put the storm windows on or take the storm windows off?

00:18:40.600 When do you want to do a bit of a deep clean inside the house?

00:18:42.780 And 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.

00:18:54.540 And in the following month, you know, you can barely keep up.

00:18:57.720 So that's what's great about the calendar within the butler's book is that it allows you to kind of to plan things.

00:19:02.300 So that way, you know, you can plan things ahead of time.

00:19:04.500 So, you know, that, you know, you want to have your windows washed in April.

00:19:08.760 And 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.

00:19:17.280 So it's not the last minute when you're trying to get a hold of them and everyone else is.

00:19:20.540 And 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.

00:19:27.480 Where do you recommend keeping your butler's book?

00:19:29.680 Is this in a physical book that you keep around?

00:19:32.140 Well, 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.

00:19:38.800 But most of us don't have butler's pantries today.

00:19:41.100 So I always love it in the kitchen somewhere because I think that's where everyone can find it.

00:19:45.640 And I'm also a really firm believer that that the butler's book is a living, breathing document.

00:19:49.960 And so you shouldn't be afraid to write in it when something changes or when you learn something.

00:19:54.780 And so maybe it's something that just is always kind of handwritten.

00:19:57.920 Or 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.

00:20:04.180 But I think that the butler's book needs to be in a place where everyone knows where it is.

00:20:08.000 Everyone has access to it and where you're not afraid to write in it to update information.

00:20:13.420 And I was doing some research before this conversation about modern butler's book.

00:20:18.980 There'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.

00:20:26.620 So I know a lot of butler's for really affluent families who have maybe two, three, four homes.

00:20:33.360 They have to know what's going on in all these different homes.

00:20:35.620 So they have all this stuff just on the Internet.

00:20:37.680 Yes, but I'm not a firm believer in things becoming overly computerized in a household.

00:20:45.420 I think that it becomes overly complicated and you end up being a data entry person versus a manager.

00:20:52.060 And 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.

00:21:01.700 Now, 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.

00:21:11.140 But 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?

00:21:22.620 You know, I think the theory is always really great and this great fantasy, but I don't think it actually works in reality.

00:21:29.680 And 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.

00:21:41.300 I think just makes it easier.

00:21:43.840 So you mentioned one of the things you can keep in a butler's book is a calendar of home maintenance.

00:21:48.120 I 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?

00:22:00.080 So I think you need to, first of all, think about where you locate it.

00:22:02.560 So, 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.

00:22:12.020 So, 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.

00:22:25.720 So do you have salt?

00:22:26.920 Do you have sand?

00:22:27.960 Do you have a good brush to take the snow off the car?

00:22:31.220 Do you have enough windshield washer fluid?

00:22:32.940 So 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.

00:22:51.460 And 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?

00:23:06.920 Does it need an overhaul once a year?

00:23:08.500 And if so, what time of the year are you going to do that?

00:23:10.620 So 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.

00:23:22.340 And 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.

00:23:32.180 And so you can start to fill it in over the year as you go through the life in your household.

00:23:36.360 And 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.

00:23:42.160 And 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?

00:23:55.000 Or when do you want to be able to fertilize or do what you need to do to your roses that are in your garden?

00:23:59.540 So 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.

00:24:08.820 Okay, so your household maintenance routine, it's very seasonal.

00:24:11.460 And 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.

00:24:18.500 So, 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.

00:24:33.500 Summer, you've got clean out and organize your garage, wash out garbage and recycle bins.

00:24:38.300 And then fall, you've got have chimney cleaned and expected, and then clean the dryer vent.

00:24:44.860 We're going to take a quick break for your word from our sponsors.

00:24:48.500 And now back to the show.

00:24:53.900 Something 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.

00:25:03.000 Do you have any advice on that?

00:25:05.020 So, you know, finding a good person, you know, they're worth their weight in gold, if you can find them.

00:25:09.820 But once you do, you need to be able to stay in touch.

00:25:12.860 And 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.

00:25:20.560 But 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.

00:25:28.900 And 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.

00:25:35.720 It 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.

00:25:44.320 And 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.

00:25:59.160 He was really good, but he wasn't really clean.

00:26:01.140 So 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.

00:26:08.320 And so just to remind yourselves that the next time John comes over, you say, OK, John, remember, I need to take your boots off.

00:26:13.560 Oh, yeah, yeah. OK, no problem.

00:26:15.240 So 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.

00:26:28.000 OK, yes, if you find a good one, make sure you put that in your butler book.

00:26:31.560 Put 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.

00:26:37.240 So 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.

00:26:43.900 I 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.

00:26:49.460 And 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.

00:26:55.400 That's how I kept the trades happy. And so being nice to trades, you get it back tenfold.

00:27:00.640 First of all, you should just be a nice person and they're doing a job that you need.

00:27:04.120 But 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.

00:27:08.940 Let's talk about managing the inventory in our home.

00:27:12.340 So 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,

00:27:19.080 like, how much toilet paper do I really need to keep?

00:27:22.140 And how do I know when I need to restock?

00:27:24.260 Because I'm tired of having to when I need it the most, it's all gone.

00:27:27.400 So any advice there on managing just household inventories could be dishes, cleaning supplies, paper towels, toilet paper, etc.

00:27:34.860 So you're talking about two different inventories.

00:27:36.840 And so, you know, if we're going to talk about furniture, fixtures and equipment, you know, which we call FF&E,

00:27:41.320 that's stuff like dishes and furniture and art and all those kinds of things.

00:27:46.240 So that's one kind of inventory that you're keeping.

00:27:49.480 So, 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.

00:27:55.600 But the inventory that your friend is talking about is what we call a consumables inventory.

00:28:00.400 And so what we're actually consuming.

00:28:01.720 So everything within the kitchen, whether it's a spice or a meat or anything that's in the freezer.

00:28:05.560 But then that's also cleaning supplies.

00:28:07.520 And, you know, there'll also be toiletries.

00:28:09.460 It'll also be makeup and shaving cream and all that kind of stuff.

00:28:12.420 So those are all consumables.

00:28:14.220 And so the easiest thing to do, first of all, so let's take the toilet paper.

00:28:18.420 Let's answer the question to your friend, how much toilet paper do I need?

00:28:21.860 So first of all, you need to figure out, you know, how many bathrooms do you have?

00:28:25.020 So you have two bathrooms or three bathrooms.

00:28:26.800 So right away, that's going to be one roll in each of those bathrooms. 1.00

00:28:29.740 And then you want to have, you know, potentially a couple of rolls that are there for a change underneath the counter.

00:28:35.420 So if we have three bathrooms, we had three rolls because we have two extra.

00:28:38.420 So that's nine rolls already just to keep the bathrooms full. 0.62

00:28:42.120 And then on average, you're going through, for the sake of the argument, you know, you're going through a roll a week.

00:28:47.820 And 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.

00:28:55.880 And so what we do is we do what's called a minimum maximum inventory number.

00:28:59.740 So what's the minimum number?

00:29:00.700 We know we never want to have less than nine rolls of toilet paper, but we never really need more than 24.

00:29:05.300 And so once a month or every, you know, two months, you count the toilet paper.

00:29:10.320 And when you get down to nine, then, you know, you need to order the balance to get you back up to 24.

00:29:15.960 So you need to order 16 kind of thing.

00:29:18.080 So it's actually simpler than you think.

00:29:20.920 Once you come up with the minimum maximum, then you just set an inventory date.

00:29:24.540 And maybe it's once every three months kind of scenario.

00:29:26.780 Yeah.

00:29:27.440 And I thought that was really interesting.

00:29:29.180 You mentioned the FFE, the Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipment Inventory.

00:29:34.820 Yeah.

00:29:35.040 This would be good for any household to do because this is important for insurance purposes, right?

00:29:40.160 You want to know if you have art or furniture.

00:29:43.480 You 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.

00:29:51.920 You say, here's what I had.

00:29:53.420 And you start making claims.

00:29:54.560 So what's interesting is that most people are underinsured and the insurance companies will tell you.

00:30:00.520 And so nobody really wants to spend their weekend doing, you know, a household inventory.

00:30:05.460 But let me tell you, God forbid you should ever need it.

00:30:08.300 You'll be the happiest person in the world to have that.

00:30:11.500 Because 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.

00:30:18.380 And, you know, what's interesting is the insurance company, you know, if you're insured for the sake of the argument for $100,000,

00:30:23.160 the 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.

00:30:30.240 So that's, I think, important to know right there.

00:30:32.260 And 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.

00:30:38.900 And so now all of a sudden you have less than when you started.

00:30:41.520 So, you know, do you have a stamp collection or do you have china or silverware or jewelry?

00:30:46.940 Do you have books kind of stuff?

00:30:49.000 What kind of art do you have?

00:30:50.520 What kind of household tools do you have?

00:30:52.460 All that kind of stuff is important.

00:30:54.720 And 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.

00:31:03.160 Okay, we talked about home maintenance, talked about managing toilet paper inventory, talked about managing your big inventory in your house.

00:31:10.340 Let's talk about keeping our homes clean.

00:31:13.260 First question is, what do you think are the pros and cons of cleaning your own house versus hiring someone to clean it for you?

00:31:20.620 I think the main thing is, if you're going to do it yourself, is do you have the time to do it properly?

00:31:25.460 And if you do, and if you want to do it on your own, then I think that's great.

00:31:28.480 Then go for it.

00:31:29.160 But if you don't have the time and you want to hire someone, that's okay, too.

00:31:34.640 But the biggest mistake is that people aren't clear about what they want.

00:31:38.740 And so a cleaning person will come in and do what they think needs to be done. 0.60

00:31:42.800 And then you're upset.

00:31:43.540 Well, I can't believe they didn't clean the chandelier.

00:31:45.780 It's like, well, you know, they only had three hours to be in your house.

00:31:49.240 They can't do everything.

00:31:50.080 Or, you know, they didn't iron the sheets.

00:31:52.000 Well, are they supposed to?

00:31:52.920 Did you talk about that before you hired them?

00:31:54.920 And so most people don't have a proper job description in place.

00:31:58.640 And that's, I think, where things fall apart the most is that the expectations are one thing and the deliverables are another.

00:32:06.080 And no one's speaking to each other about what they're going to do.

00:32:08.800 And so people are disappointed.

00:32:10.780 So I think being clear about what your needs are if you're going to hire someone.

00:32:15.280 But I think that whether you hire someone or you do it yourself, I don't think there's a right or wrong way.

00:32:21.160 I think it just comes down to time.

00:32:22.420 And, you know, if you can afford that.

00:32:24.640 Yeah.

00:32:24.980 In the book, you make a distinction between housecleaning, housekeeping, and deep cleaning.

00:32:29.980 What are the differences between the three?

00:32:31.780 Yeah.

00:32:32.080 So deep cleaning is really when you're pulling something apart.

00:32:34.540 So you're cleaning the chandeliers.

00:32:36.100 You're wiping the baseboards.

00:32:37.140 You're lifting the carpets.

00:32:38.560 You're taking the pillows off the couch.

00:32:41.080 And you're vacuuming inside the couch and underneath the couch.

00:32:43.240 And so you're really pulling the room apart is a deep cleaning.

00:32:48.800 Housecleaning 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.

00:32:59.040 You're not doing the deep cleaning.

00:33:01.220 And then housekeeping is really making a house a home and making it feel inviting, that things are where they should be and that you need.

00:33:09.480 So, you know, the housekeeping is everything overall.

00:33:12.000 How do you feel within that space?

00:33:14.700 Housecleaning is what we do on a weekly or biweekly basis or twice weekly.

00:33:20.240 And then deep cleaning is those special projects.

00:33:22.820 You know, when we flip the mattresses, when we turn carpets around so that they wear evenly in every direction.

00:33:29.360 So those are always the big jobs.

00:33:31.460 Let's talk about just housecleaning.

00:33:32.780 You have these golden rules of housecleaning.

00:33:34.700 What are some of those golden rules of housecleaning?

00:33:36.460 Well, 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.

00:33:49.360 And you're starting in one place and you're working towards another so that you know where you are at any one point.

00:33:54.340 And 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.

00:34:02.320 And so we're not using the bathroom cloths in the kitchen or in the bedroom and so on and so forth.

00:34:06.760 And 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.

00:34:15.640 So that's why you don't want to work from the bottom up.

00:34:18.140 And so the golden rules are just about being logical about what we need to do.

00:34:23.740 So one of the ways you recommend being logical and efficient about cleaning your house is to have a cleaning list.

00:34:29.200 So 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.

00:34:38.540 So here in the book, you got daily cleaning on the list, tidy clutter, wipe down counters and stovetops.

00:34:43.900 Weekly, you want to give each room in the house a good cleaning, dust all the surfaces, vacuum all the floors, clean the bathroom.

00:34:51.000 That includes cleaning the shower, toilet, and counters.

00:34:54.100 Replace the sheets on your bed.

00:34:55.300 And a point you make on the weekly cleaning is that you don't have to do all this in one day.

00:35:00.360 You can break it up throughout the week.

00:35:02.860 So, you know, one day you do the bathrooms, another day you do the bedrooms, and, you know, the next day you do the kitchen.

00:35:08.620 And then for the monthly list, you have things like, you know, scrub shower grout, descale shower heads, clean doorknobs and handles, and dust vents.

00:35:16.720 So 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?

00:35:23.260 So, 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.

00:35:29.280 But 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.

00:35:38.980 I don't need to wash the walls down every week because, you know, the humidity actually captures dirt.

00:35:44.420 Or the light fixture above the sink doesn't need to be cleaned necessarily every week.

00:35:47.900 You 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.

00:35:54.000 And so that's what you're really kind of keeping track of is every week, what do we need to do?

00:35:58.280 Every month, what do we need to do?

00:35:59.980 And then what are the special projects that we want to do?

00:36:02.140 And sometimes there's no special project for that particular room.

00:36:05.240 Gotcha.

00:36:05.780 And one job I saw on these checklists that people probably don't think about a lot is clean the dishwasher.

00:36:12.800 So what's interesting is that, you know, you think to yourself, what do you mean I need to clean my dishwasher?

00:36:16.880 But that to me would be something that, you know, I would put on my quarterly list.

00:36:20.060 I would say, okay, it's March.

00:36:21.740 I do it every three months.

00:36:22.620 It's time to clean the dishwasher.

00:36:24.340 And 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.

00:36:33.700 That gets really dirty because as you're putting dirty dishes into the dishwasher, food product falls in that area.

00:36:40.680 And it doesn't get washed when the dishwasher door is closed.

00:36:44.020 So you actually need to clean that.

00:36:46.280 You 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.

00:36:52.280 Sometimes, you know, if you have a very fancy dishwasher, it'll do it by itself.

00:36:56.180 But you need to keep an eye on all that kind of stuff.

00:36:59.440 I'm not a really big believer that you need to run a chemical through your dishwasher, although there are those that are available.

00:37:04.700 But you need to actually clean the filter if it is necessary.

00:37:08.340 And you need to actually clean the door, the sides of the door.

00:37:11.400 Okay.

00:37:11.920 So 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.

00:37:19.080 You recommend to be efficient with this to have a butler's caddy.

00:37:22.460 What's a butler's caddy and what do you keep in it?

00:37:24.280 So a butler's caddy is the caddy that you're going to carry around.

00:37:27.880 So what are you going to have when you're cleaning throughout the house?

00:37:31.040 And so the caddy is going to have your cleaning cloths in it.

00:37:33.840 It's going to have, you know, whatever chemicals that you happen to be using, your tools.

00:37:39.100 So, you know, for example, do you need soaps or do you need any sprays to disinfect something?

00:37:44.360 Or do you need a squeegee?

00:37:45.980 Do you need paper towel?

00:37:47.180 Do you need baking soda?

00:37:48.560 Do you need like a cream cleaner for certain, you know, ceramic sinks that you're cleaning?

00:37:52.400 So it's about thinking about where are you going to be cleaning and what are the things that you need?

00:37:57.080 Because 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.

00:38:08.880 And so you don't really do it, you know, you just kind of, oh, I'll do it next time.

00:38:12.340 And you just kind of forget about it again.

00:38:14.640 So the caddy just makes it easy.

00:38:16.920 If everything's in there, then no matter where you are in the house, you have what you need.

00:38:20.800 You know, even, for example, like the different color cloths.

00:38:23.020 So I always have said blue for poo and pink for the sink in the kitchen so that we don't have cross-contamination.

00:38:29.100 So 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.

00:38:35.120 All that's just in the caddy.

00:38:36.560 And so it makes it really easy as you're moving around the house that you have the right tools.

00:38:41.260 So you mentioned about cleaning a room effectively and efficiently.

00:38:45.440 One thing you mentioned is you clean from top to bottom.

00:38:48.200 Any other tips on cleaning a room effectively and efficiently?

00:38:52.060 So the most important thing is, as you've said, is to start from the top and to work your way down.

00:38:55.680 But then you always want to work in a circular direction.

00:38:57.880 Now, 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.

00:39:05.940 So you know exactly where you were in that process.

00:39:08.520 So where, you know, where to go.

00:39:09.700 But 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.

00:39:17.540 But when you're going in a circle, you know exactly where you are and what you're doing.

00:39:22.000 And I find that very helpful.

00:39:23.940 Gotcha.

00:39:24.340 Do you dust first, then vacuum?

00:39:26.740 So it depends on what kind of vacuum you have because some vacuums actually put dust out.

00:39:32.580 So you have to think about it.

00:39:33.620 So sometimes you're going to want to vacuum first and then dust.

00:39:37.500 Sometimes you're dusting and vacuuming.

00:39:39.380 In my house, for example, I have a central vacuum.

00:39:41.460 So for me, I would dust a room and then I would vacuum the room as I kind of work my way out of the room.

00:39:45.680 So that's how I do it.

00:39:47.540 But, you know, you need to have a good vacuum to make sure it's not putting dust in the air.

00:39:51.840 What do you want is a good filter on your vacuum.

00:39:54.840 Any tips on dusting?

00:39:56.780 So dusting, the biggest mistake that people make is that they use too much water.

00:40:01.120 You don't need a chemical.

00:40:02.440 You know, you just need to have a really good cotton cloth.

00:40:04.960 Cotton T-shirts, you know, as they wear out in your house are great to be able to cut up for dusting claws.

00:40:10.160 And so what you do is you wet your hands under the running sink.

00:40:12.740 You give them one shake and then you dry them off in that cloth.

00:40:16.640 And then that cloth at that point is the perfect humidity level to be able to dust.

00:40:20.860 Because you just want it to be able to grab the dust.

00:40:23.400 But I think that we tend to use too much water, which actually does more damage than good.

00:40:28.480 Let's talk about bed making.

00:40:30.040 How often should you change the sheets on your bed?

00:40:31.980 I know this is a contentious issue.

00:40:33.240 Oh my God, it's such a contentious issue.

00:40:35.940 And so, you know, there's surveys, for example, in the UK where the average man changes his sheets every three to four months.

00:40:41.840 You know, exactly.

00:40:44.500 And that kind of shocked the nation when those when those surveys came out last year.

00:40:47.980 But you need to do it at least once a week.

00:40:50.520 And 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.

00:41:01.460 And so we've got this liquid that's going into the bed, first of all.

00:41:05.640 And you just have, you know, skin that is falling off.

00:41:08.540 We all have natural skin, dead skin that's falling off.

00:41:11.340 It's not because you're not healthy or sick.

00:41:13.780 It's just as normal.

00:41:14.940 So we have that dead skin that's falling in the bed. 1.00

00:41:17.440 We have the humidity that's in the bed.

00:41:19.160 And we all drool at night.

00:41:20.740 We don't like to think that we do, but we do.

00:41:23.100 So all this kind of stuff is important.

00:41:24.700 And so minimum once a week is when you should be doing your bed.

00:41:28.820 Any advice on making a bed?

00:41:31.740 Well, you know, I wouldn't make my bed as a kid.

00:41:34.260 My mother and I thought about that bitterly until finally my mother said to me one year, she said, oh, I'm going to give you a present.

00:41:41.980 I said, you are?

00:41:42.740 She said, yes, I'm going to buy you a new duvet for your bed.

00:41:45.080 So let's go shopping.

00:41:46.140 So I was all excited.

00:41:47.180 And I went and I picked out some new sheets with my mother.

00:41:49.700 And my mother changed the bed recipe for me.

00:41:51.720 And so what she did is she put a fitted sheet on the bed and she gave me a duvet that had a duvet cover on it.

00:41:57.460 And that was it.

00:41:58.600 And I was told every morning if I wanted to come down for breakfast, I had to just give the duvet a flick so that my bed was made.

00:42:04.880 And it was so simple.

00:42:05.820 I actually did it.

00:42:07.760 So I think it's about being smart about the bed recipe versus maybe parents want to have a more complicated bed.

00:42:14.360 So maybe you have a fitted sheet and a flat sheet and a blanket and a duvet.

00:42:18.240 All that's really great.

00:42:19.420 It's just a lot more work.

00:42:20.680 And there's not one right or wrong way to do it.

00:42:23.180 They're just different.

00:42:23.980 So 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?

00:42:32.260 Do you recommend letting the bed air out a little bit before you make it?

00:42:35.480 Oh, absolutely.

00:42:36.320 For that exact reason, that because of the humidity that's in the bed, the bed needs to be able to air out.

00:42:41.780 And bed bugs and bugs, they love that moisture and they love that humidity and they love that warmth.

00:42:46.340 So if you make the bed right away, that humidity stays trapped in the bed, which is something you don't want.

00:42:52.080 Okay.

00:42:52.120 I'm going to ask you.

00:42:52.640 This is a greedy question.

00:42:54.240 This is for me.

00:42:55.180 I clean the showers in our home.

00:42:56.900 So I'm always looking for advice on how to do this job better.

00:43:00.500 Any advice on the best way to clean a shower?

00:43:03.780 So 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.

00:43:12.460 What I have in my shower is I actually have a squeegee that you buy at the hardware store for windows.

00:43:18.800 So it's got a proper black rubber tip on the end so that it squeegees perfectly.

00:43:23.980 So first of all, I think you need a professional squeegee.

00:43:26.140 But 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.

00:43:41.700 It becomes really easy because the more often you do it, the easier it is to do and the faster it becomes.

00:43:48.460 The 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.

00:43:56.900 So 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.

00:44:11.260 It makes it really easy so that A, the bathroom always looks good.

00:44:14.340 But 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.

00:44:23.520 It's just a quick rubdown.

00:44:25.440 All right.

00:44:25.520 So you recommend squeegeeing after every use?

00:44:28.400 Absolutely.

00:44:29.020 Because the problem is the watermarks go onto the glass and they don't necessarily come off when it gets wet again.

00:44:35.760 And so that just makes it harder to clean.

00:44:37.280 And the problem is, of course, nobody ever wants to squeegee after you shower.

00:44:39.760 Everyone likes the ability to be able to just have a shower and thank you, goodbye.

00:44:43.300 And so that's what you need to think about.

00:44:44.780 You know, are you prepared to squeegee your shower?

00:44:46.780 Or if not, maybe a shower curtain is the way to go. 0.53

00:44:49.960 Best product for cleaning your shower?

00:44:52.900 Well, I think the issue is that, you know, you need a soap.

00:44:55.940 And so I'm a really firm believer in dish soap because it's got a low pH balance, so it doesn't really affect anything.

00:45:01.840 It works fine on metal surfaces.

00:45:03.420 It works really well on tiles and tubs and all that kind of stuff.

00:45:07.400 So a dish soap actually is a great cleaner.

00:45:11.220 But if you need a bit of a chemical, pine salt is very good at getting rid of water stains.

00:45:16.440 That is a great way to go.

00:45:18.160 I'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.

00:45:29.140 But if you're doing it regularly, there really generally isn't a need to be able to use a harsh chemical.

00:45:34.740 And so the most important thing is making sure that the bathroom air is out, that the door is open.

00:45:40.160 And if you have a window, that the windows open every once in a while to let the air and the humidity escape.

00:45:45.700 One 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.

00:45:53.840 Vinegar and water is a great mixture for certain things, absolutely.

00:45:57.940 And, 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.

00:46:05.740 So I think that, again, then it would be having, you know, a squeegee bottle with the vinegar and the water already mixed in it.

00:46:12.880 That'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.

00:46:21.560 So, again, it's about the easier you make it for yourself, then the more likely you are to do it.

00:46:26.740 And the more often you do it, the easier the job becomes.

00:46:29.500 So final question, in The Butler Speaks, you wrote that being a butler is about giving people the little luxuries in life.

00:46:36.640 So after you've taken care of the big stuff of keeping a house, right, you're doing the maintenance, the cleaning, managing inventory.

00:46:42.040 What are some of the little luxuries people can give themselves to make their home a joy to live in?

00:46:47.820 I think it's about thinking of anticipating.

00:46:50.880 So, 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.

00:47:03.600 So whether you're making it for someone else or you're making it for yourself, that becomes something really enjoyable.

00:47:08.960 Or, for example, you know, my mother, you know, she likes to have a glass of wine, you know, in the evening.

00:47:13.140 She uses a nice glass.

00:47:14.540 She 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.

00:47:21.200 And she says, well, I have to wash the glass by hand no matter what glass it is.

00:47:24.640 So whether it's just an everyday glass or a crystal glass, it's the same thing.

00:47:28.660 And so she gets more pleasure out of using the crystal glass.

00:47:31.880 Or a simple pleasure can just be, for example, just having your bed made.

00:47:35.580 So when you come home and you crawl into bed, there's nothing, I think, nicer than crawling into a freshly made bed.

00:47:40.840 So to me, those are the little things that are enjoyable, you know, to try to think about.

00:47:46.240 So this has been a great conversation, Charles.

00:47:47.620 Where can people go to learn more about the books in your work?

00:47:50.600 So the books, you can go to Amazon, which is anywhere in the world.

00:47:54.120 And so the books are available there.

00:47:55.780 And you can go onto our website at charlesmcpherson.com.

00:47:59.280 And, you know, that's where you can find out about a lot of things there, too.

00:48:02.960 Fantastic.

00:48:03.240 Well, Charles McPherson, thanks for your time.

00:48:04.400 It's been a pleasure.

00:48:05.360 The pleasure has been all mine.

00:48:06.260 Thank you.

00:48:08.260 My guest here is Charles McPherson.

00:48:09.220 He's the author of several books, including the book The Butler Speaks.

00:48:12.360 It's available on Amazon.com.

00:48:14.080 You can find more information about his work at his website, charlesmcpherson.com.

00:48:17.600 Also, check out our show notes at aom.is slash butler.

00:48:20.420 We find links to resources.

00:48:21.620 We delve deeper into this topic.

00:48:30.220 Well, that wraps up another edition of the AOM podcast.

00:48:32.960 Make sure to check out our website at artofmanly.com, where you find our podcast archives,

00:48:36.240 as well as thousands of articles that we've written over the years about pretty much anything

00:48:39.280 you'd think of.

00:48:40.380 And if you haven't done this already, I'd appreciate it if you take one minute to give

00:48:42.740 you a review of a podcast or Spotify.

00:48:44.000 It helps out a lot.

00:48:44.800 And if you've done that already, thank you.

00:48:46.520 Please consider sharing the show with a friend or family member who you think we've

00:48:49.000 had something out of it.

00:48:50.080 As always, thank you for the continued support.

00:48:51.720 Until next time, I'm Brett McKay.

00:48:53.140 Remind you to not listen to the AOM podcast, but put what you've heard into action.

00:48:56.360 Thank you.

The Art of Manliness - March 11, 2024

A Butler's Guide to Managing Your Household

Episode Stats

Summary

Transcript