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

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00:01:06.180 Hey, this is Brett.

00:01:06.780 We're taking a break this week from a new episode

00:01:08.340 because it is Thanksgiving here in the United States.

00:01:10.460 So we're going to rebroadcast episode number 973,

00:01:13.740 A Butler's Guide to Managing Your Household.

00:01:16.160 Hope you enjoy it.

00:01:17.240 Happy Thanksgiving.

00:01:18.080 Eat lots of turkey, lots of pie.

00:01:19.980 We're grateful for you for listening to the show.

00:01:21.900 We'll see you next week with a brand new episode.

00:01:24.220 Brett McKay here, and welcome to another edition

00:01:34.240 of the Art of Manliness podcast.

00:01:36.460 It's a tough job to manage a household.

00:01:38.640 Things need to be regularly fixed, maintained, and clean.

00:01:41.880 How do you stay on top of these tasks

00:01:43.200 in order to keep your home in tip-top shape?

00:01:45.280 My guest knows his way all around this issue

00:01:47.220 and has some field-tested insider advice to offer.

00:01:50.140 Charles McPherson spent two decades

00:01:51.740 as the major domo or chief butler of a grand household.

00:01:54.960 He's also the founder of North America's

00:01:56.460 only registered school for butlers and household managers

00:01:58.920 and the author of several books

00:02:00.560 drawn from his butler-ing experience,

00:02:02.280 including The Butler Speaks,

00:02:04.040 a return to proper etiquette,

00:02:05.700 stylish entertaining, and the art of good housekeeping.

00:02:08.840 In the first part of our conversation,

00:02:10.640 Charles charts the history of domestic service

00:02:12.380 and describes why the practice of having servants

00:02:14.320 like a butler are made ebbed in the mid-20th century

00:02:16.600 but has made a comeback today.

00:02:18.740 We then turn to what average folks

00:02:20.080 who don't have a household staff

00:02:21.280 can do to better manage their homes.

00:02:23.920 Charles recommends keeping something

00:02:24.940 called a butler's book

00:02:25.800 to stay on top of household schedules

00:02:27.280 and maintenance checklists.

00:02:28.780 We then discuss how to clean your home

00:02:30.140 more logically and efficiently.

00:02:32.120 Charles shares his golden rules of housecleaning,

00:02:34.380 the cleaning task you've probably neglected.

00:02:36.500 Hint, go take a look at the side

00:02:38.120 of the door of your dishwasher.

00:02:39.880 It's a surprising choice for best product

00:02:41.220 you use to clean your shower,

00:02:42.560 how often you should change your bedsheets,

00:02:43.960 and much more.

00:02:45.100 After the show's over,

00:02:45.920 check out our show notes at awim.is slash butler.

00:02:48.360 All right, Charles McPherson, welcome to the show.

00:03:05.080 Thank you very much.

00:03:05.760 It's a pleasure to be here.

00:03:06.960 So you have served as a professional butler

00:03:09.220 for over two decades,

00:03:10.480 and you now run an organization

00:03:12.480 that trains butlers

00:03:14.120 and other professional domestic staff.

00:03:16.180 And I think most people,

00:03:18.200 when they think of butlers,

00:03:19.920 they think of butlers as men

00:03:21.240 who served English aristocrats

00:03:23.260 and American robber barons,

00:03:25.080 you know, the 19th and early 20th centuries.

00:03:27.440 But butlerine is still alive and well today.

00:03:30.700 And I want to talk about what it looks like today.

00:03:32.520 But before we do,

00:03:33.300 can you kind of give us a brief history

00:03:34.760 of domestic service?

00:03:36.840 What was it like 100 years ago?

00:03:38.840 When did it reach its peak, et cetera?

00:03:41.520 So that's a great question,

00:03:43.120 because I think understanding history

00:03:44.320 allows us to really understand

00:03:45.540 where we are today.

00:03:46.660 So, you know, let's very briefly start back,

00:03:48.860 you know, 150 years ago or so.

00:03:50.540 We're in the Victorian era.

00:03:51.980 Queen Victoria is on the throne.

00:03:53.800 And there is a huge amount of domestic staff.

00:03:56.660 In fact, it's the second largest employer,

00:03:59.220 if you will, in the United Kingdom

00:04:00.620 compared to farming after right after farming,

00:04:02.800 which is number one.

00:04:04.280 And so these people are required

00:04:06.260 that the amount of domestic staff are required

00:04:08.140 because the homes of the day

00:04:10.300 didn't have running water,

00:04:11.840 didn't have electricity.

00:04:13.260 And so for the wealthy to live,

00:04:15.100 as we all know, when we watch PBS

00:04:16.840 and, you know, watch, you know,

00:04:18.180 Agatha Christie and so on,

00:04:20.580 that took a mountain of people

00:04:22.400 to be able to undertake.

00:04:24.140 And so that's the height

00:04:25.620 of the most number of domestic people.

00:04:28.140 And then we go, you know,

00:04:28.880 Queen Victoria dies, her son, King Edward,

00:04:31.240 you know, so we go into the Edwardian era,

00:04:32.900 World War I.

00:04:33.580 And now for the first time in history,

00:04:34.900 we have people leaving domestic service.

00:04:36.520 And so all of a sudden,

00:04:38.420 this is when men start

00:04:39.560 to leave domestic service, really.

00:04:41.360 And so now this is where, you know,

00:04:42.800 women are starting to really become prominent

00:04:44.400 in domestic service.

00:04:45.380 And they're now serving

00:04:46.420 at the dining room table,

00:04:47.220 which society is shocked by

00:04:49.000 to see a woman in the front of the house.

00:04:50.940 And then all of a sudden, you know,

00:04:52.000 we go through World War II.

00:04:53.360 Now we're into the 1950s.

00:04:55.000 And all of a sudden,

00:04:55.840 the world has changed.

00:04:57.420 And, you know,

00:04:58.120 there is now the modern conveniences

00:04:59.800 based on the war.

00:05:00.800 So we have clothing that's available.

00:05:02.220 We have food that's available.

00:05:03.280 We can go to grocery stores.

00:05:04.320 And so being in domestic service

00:05:06.700 is a dying art.

00:05:07.720 And as we go into the 60s,

00:05:08.920 into the 70s,

00:05:09.720 there is no one going into domestic service.

00:05:12.240 It really has come to an end.

00:05:13.640 And it's just the very few that are left.

00:05:15.780 But then we get into, you know,

00:05:17.060 1980 and Ronald Reagan becomes president.

00:05:19.140 Margaret Thatcher becomes prime minister.

00:05:20.780 And we have Reaganomics.

00:05:22.100 And now we have a huge amount of wealth

00:05:23.820 that's being created

00:05:24.660 by a very small group of people.

00:05:27.460 And so as they acquire their wealth

00:05:29.460 and they start to acquire toys

00:05:31.280 of homes and boats and airplanes,

00:05:34.060 you know, they want to live comfortably.

00:05:36.080 And so all of a sudden there's,

00:05:37.160 you know, well, let's hire a butler.

00:05:38.280 But there really are no butlers

00:05:39.480 except some old timers.

00:05:40.840 And so all of a sudden

00:05:42.420 there's this demand for butlering

00:05:44.140 and people start to go back

00:05:46.220 into private service.

00:05:47.780 And so all of a sudden,

00:05:48.820 you know, as we get into,

00:05:49.880 you know, 2000 and up,

00:05:51.300 all of a sudden there's a huge amount

00:05:53.180 of demand for private service

00:05:55.180 because the wealthy continue

00:05:56.820 to be wealthy

00:05:58.320 and to generate money.

00:05:59.780 So it's incredible

00:06:01.360 the career that it's become.

00:06:03.360 And so now it's really a career

00:06:05.020 where you can make a lot of money

00:06:06.080 and where it's no longer,

00:06:08.500 you know, being in servitude

00:06:09.620 like you were 150 years ago.

00:06:11.320 But being in domestic service today

00:06:12.980 is actually an honorable career.

00:06:14.740 And so it's really interesting

00:06:16.100 how it went from the height

00:06:17.500 to almost being extinct

00:06:19.040 in the 60s and early 70s.

00:06:21.060 And now all of a sudden

00:06:21.960 here we back are at 2024

00:06:23.600 and there is more demand

00:06:25.680 for domestic service

00:06:26.920 than can actually meet.

00:06:28.340 So the supply,

00:06:29.420 we just don't have the supply.

00:06:30.640 That's interesting.

00:06:31.540 So at its peak,

00:06:32.320 you know,

00:06:32.620 when in the Victorian era,

00:06:34.200 when you had just

00:06:34.900 a household of staff,

00:06:36.020 if anyone's seen Downton Abbey,

00:06:38.400 they've probably,

00:06:39.400 that's what people typically

00:06:40.980 think of domestic service.

00:06:41.980 Like how many people

00:06:43.220 did a typical aristocrat

00:06:45.260 have in their home?

00:06:46.420 Well, so, I mean,

00:06:47.080 you know,

00:06:47.340 when you think about it,

00:06:48.000 it really comes down

00:06:48.640 to what was the size of the house.

00:06:50.260 But I mean,

00:06:50.560 some people could have,

00:06:51.500 you know,

00:06:51.880 20, 30, 40, 50, or 100.

00:06:53.840 So it was all,

00:06:55.080 you know,

00:06:55.200 remember, you know,

00:06:55.860 farming was all done by hand.

00:06:57.120 So there was a huge amount

00:06:57.960 of people on the estate

00:06:59.160 just dealing with the farms,

00:07:00.740 which generated income

00:07:01.840 for the estate.

00:07:02.720 But to run the inside

00:07:03.800 of the household,

00:07:04.880 you know,

00:07:05.080 there's no microwave,

00:07:05.960 there's no fridge,

00:07:06.780 there's no electric mixer.

00:07:08.100 So, you know,

00:07:08.680 just in the kitchen alone

00:07:09.620 to be able to produce

00:07:10.340 the meals they did,

00:07:11.140 you needed an army of people.

00:07:12.240 And then the washing

00:07:13.080 of all the dishes

00:07:13.800 and all that stuff

00:07:14.300 was done by hand,

00:07:15.000 of course,

00:07:15.820 because there are

00:07:16.140 no dishwashers,

00:07:17.020 there's no electricity.

00:07:18.500 And so those houses,

00:07:19.740 you know,

00:07:19.960 often had 20, 30,

00:07:21.520 sometimes 40 people

00:07:22.420 because that's how much

00:07:23.980 staff it took

00:07:24.640 to be able to make

00:07:25.560 all that happen.

00:07:27.060 And the butler at that time,

00:07:28.100 like his job

00:07:28.620 was just to oversee that,

00:07:30.440 manage all that?

00:07:31.460 So the butler at the time,

00:07:33.000 so if we go,

00:07:33.620 you know,

00:07:33.880 in the 1800s,

00:07:35.080 the butler at that period

00:07:36.340 is really,

00:07:37.480 yes,

00:07:37.880 he's running the household

00:07:39.060 and he's the one

00:07:40.340 who serves that table

00:07:41.540 and he's the lead,

00:07:42.980 but he's really running

00:07:44.380 the front of the house.

00:07:45.480 So he's running everything

00:07:46.380 that the guests

00:07:46.960 and the family see.

00:07:48.660 And it's the head housekeeper

00:07:49.940 who runs the back

00:07:51.300 of the house,

00:07:52.020 who is dealing

00:07:52.880 with the housekeepers

00:07:53.540 and the laundry

00:07:54.100 and all that kind of stuff.

00:07:55.520 And then chef

00:07:56.060 was responsible

00:07:56.840 for the kitchen.

00:07:57.840 And if you were really fancy

00:07:59.260 back then,

00:07:59.620 you had a French chef

00:08:00.460 that was de rigueur

00:08:01.620 of the time.

00:08:02.320 So butler really

00:08:03.000 is front of the house,

00:08:04.140 head housekeeper

00:08:04.660 is back of the house

00:08:05.440 and chef is the kitchen.

00:08:06.440 So it's still interesting

00:08:07.600 that there's still three

00:08:08.500 very senior positions,

00:08:09.780 but the butler

00:08:10.420 ultimately was responsible

00:08:11.980 for overall everything.

00:08:13.740 And then you highlight

00:08:14.440 in this history

00:08:15.340 that you did

00:08:15.660 of domestic service

00:08:16.800 that in the 19th century

00:08:18.580 and early 20th century,

00:08:19.800 there's all these

00:08:20.640 really detailed guides

00:08:22.220 written by butlers

00:08:23.560 and other domestic servants

00:08:24.820 on how to do

00:08:26.240 what they do

00:08:26.760 with the professionalism.

00:08:28.000 Like they really

00:08:28.440 took their job seriously.

00:08:30.920 Yes, absolutely.

00:08:32.160 And I think that,

00:08:32.760 well, you know,

00:08:33.400 what's interesting

00:08:33.940 is that when,

00:08:34.920 you know,

00:08:35.560 Mrs. Beaton

00:08:36.180 wrote her book

00:08:37.360 on household management

00:08:38.340 in 1861,

00:08:39.540 that's considered

00:08:40.400 the first self-help book

00:08:41.880 to ever be written.

00:08:42.960 And that was,

00:08:43.540 you know,

00:08:44.100 as, you know,

00:08:44.760 we've gone through

00:08:45.580 and we get

00:08:46.140 the first industrial revolution,

00:08:47.280 we're getting into

00:08:47.860 the second industrial revolution

00:08:48.860 in the 1870s.

00:08:50.120 So all of a sudden,

00:08:51.340 you know,

00:08:51.720 we have the birth

00:08:52.500 of this middle class

00:08:53.480 and so they want to live

00:08:54.740 but the problem is

00:08:55.220 they don't know how to live.

00:08:56.940 And so Isabel Beaton

00:08:58.060 writes this book

00:08:58.840 on household management

00:08:59.800 teaching the middle class

00:09:01.440 how to run a home

00:09:02.500 and if they are lucky enough

00:09:03.940 to have a servant

00:09:04.920 or two,

00:09:06.200 how to manage them

00:09:07.260 and so on.

00:09:08.140 So it's actually

00:09:08.920 quite interesting.

00:09:09.600 So as that first book

00:09:11.120 kind of takes popularity

00:09:12.220 and it is still in print today,

00:09:13.620 which is quite interesting.

00:09:15.020 And that is,

00:09:16.260 then, you know,

00:09:16.980 we have other people

00:09:17.640 who see that

00:09:18.420 and everyone kind of

00:09:19.240 jumps on the bandwagon

00:09:20.220 and everyone says,

00:09:21.040 well, if she can write a book,

00:09:22.320 I can write a book.

00:09:23.100 And so that's where

00:09:24.160 you have all these books

00:09:25.000 being written

00:09:25.540 in the late 1800s,

00:09:26.860 early 1900s.

00:09:28.000 But I think it's interesting

00:09:28.960 speaking of how

00:09:30.100 domestic service

00:09:31.220 started to wane

00:09:32.120 in the 20th century.

00:09:33.840 I think it's interesting

00:09:34.420 that whenever I read

00:09:35.420 biographies

00:09:36.580 or histories

00:09:37.280 of famous people

00:09:38.120 who were,

00:09:39.280 you know,

00:09:39.460 they weren't rich.

00:09:40.300 They were probably

00:09:41.040 solidly middle class,

00:09:43.160 maybe upper middle class.

00:09:45.240 Even in the early

00:09:46.220 20th century,

00:09:47.140 they would usually

00:09:48.420 have a maid

00:09:49.340 and a cook

00:09:49.980 and you rarely

00:09:51.040 see that today.

00:09:52.520 Well, I mean,

00:09:52.760 when you think about it,

00:09:53.520 again,

00:09:53.940 those homes

00:09:54.840 were hard to manage.

00:09:56.100 They didn't necessarily

00:09:56.700 have running hot water.

00:09:58.320 A lot of things

00:09:58.960 were still,

00:09:59.400 you know,

00:09:59.880 oil lamps

00:10:00.620 and so or candles

00:10:01.540 at nighttime.

00:10:02.120 So all that had to be

00:10:03.000 taken care of

00:10:03.480 into the dust

00:10:04.060 and the soot,

00:10:04.940 which is actually how,

00:10:05.700 you know,

00:10:06.020 spring cleaning came to be

00:10:07.080 because everything

00:10:07.420 was closed up all winter.

00:10:08.360 And so you had all

00:10:09.100 this soot and dust

00:10:09.820 in the house

00:10:10.300 and your lighting

00:10:11.240 implements.

00:10:12.360 But, you know,

00:10:13.640 if you were middle class,

00:10:14.220 you usually at least

00:10:14.860 had a housekeeper

00:10:15.640 or I should say a maid.

00:10:17.900 A housekeeper is different

00:10:18.740 from a maid.

00:10:19.320 They're two different things.

00:10:20.500 What's the difference?

00:10:21.680 So a housekeeper

00:10:22.780 is truly a professional

00:10:24.160 who is able to manage

00:10:25.500 the household,

00:10:26.160 if you will.

00:10:27.040 You know,

00:10:27.340 employees can report to her

00:10:28.640 where a maid

00:10:30.260 is just the worker bee,

00:10:32.200 if you will.

00:10:32.880 The maid isn't

00:10:33.600 in management position.

00:10:35.120 So the management position

00:10:35.880 is really the housekeeper

00:10:37.060 or the head housekeeper.

00:10:38.740 Okay.

00:10:39.260 And so, yeah,

00:10:40.100 through the mid-20th century,

00:10:41.560 many middle,

00:10:42.900 upper middle class families,

00:10:44.300 had that,

00:10:44.840 but then eventually

00:10:45.420 it went away.

00:10:46.540 Well, it went away

00:10:47.260 because, you know,

00:10:47.800 the world is changing.

00:10:49.120 First of all,

00:10:49.720 you know,

00:10:49.920 the cost is becoming prohibitive.

00:10:51.820 But what's fascinating

00:10:52.680 is that during World War I

00:10:53.940 and World War II,

00:10:55.020 we were able to mass produce

00:10:57.280 to be able to keep

00:10:58.160 the war machines going.

00:10:59.200 When the war comes to an end,

00:11:00.540 there's this excess

00:11:01.360 of capacity for production.

00:11:03.900 And so that's why

00:11:04.840 all of a sudden

00:11:05.460 foods and clothing

00:11:06.900 and everything

00:11:07.340 become so readily available

00:11:08.860 after World War II

00:11:10.240 because the capacity

00:11:11.600 of these factories

00:11:13.240 is there

00:11:13.820 and they have

00:11:15.040 nothing else to do.

00:11:15.780 And so they start

00:11:16.200 producing for the mass markets.

00:11:17.560 And as we get

00:11:18.140 the birth of the middle class

00:11:19.600 that continues to grow

00:11:20.660 in the 1950s,

00:11:22.420 it allowed you

00:11:23.400 to be able to function

00:11:24.620 without staff.

00:11:25.980 Right.

00:11:26.240 Because you have

00:11:26.560 washing machines,

00:11:27.420 dryers,

00:11:28.000 vacuum cleaners.

00:11:29.080 Exactly.

00:11:29.780 All those things

00:11:30.160 are starting to come in.

00:11:31.080 And so, you know,

00:11:31.820 those appliances

00:11:32.480 that are saving time.

00:11:34.100 You know, at the time,

00:11:35.060 when you think about it,

00:11:35.820 particularly in America,

00:11:36.720 you know, the dream

00:11:37.240 was, you know,

00:11:37.580 2.2 kids and a dog

00:11:38.700 and a white picket fence

00:11:39.480 and mom stayed home

00:11:40.340 and took care of the house

00:11:41.540 while dad worked.

00:11:42.740 And so she kind of

00:11:43.680 fairly or unfairly,

00:11:44.900 you know,

00:11:45.120 becomes the mate

00:11:46.020 and takes over.

00:11:46.960 But at least she has

00:11:47.640 the appliances

00:11:48.240 to be able to make it easier.

00:11:50.700 It's not easy,

00:11:51.560 but to make it easier.

00:11:52.880 Okay.

00:11:53.060 So domestic service

00:11:54.060 started going down

00:11:54.880 throughout the 60s

00:11:55.760 and 70s.

00:11:56.300 But then in the 80s,

00:11:57.320 you started to see

00:11:57.740 the revival of it.

00:11:59.220 How did you get involved

00:12:00.400 in butlering?

00:12:01.800 And then how did you learn

00:12:02.620 how to be a butler

00:12:03.280 when like it kind of

00:12:04.160 became a lost art?

00:12:05.680 So what's fascinating

00:12:06.620 is that in the 1990s,

00:12:08.320 you know,

00:12:09.000 I was in the catering business.

00:12:10.780 I was in the off-premise

00:12:11.700 catering business.

00:12:12.320 And one of my clients

00:12:13.160 was one of Canada's

00:12:14.640 wealthiest families

00:12:15.400 that every Canadian

00:12:16.040 knows and loves.

00:12:17.600 And I had mentioned

00:12:19.120 to the lady of the house

00:12:19.820 one day just in conversation

00:12:20.780 that I was thinking

00:12:21.220 of maybe leaving

00:12:22.480 the catering world

00:12:23.520 and to do something else.

00:12:24.480 And she said,

00:12:24.880 oh my God,

00:12:25.260 what are you going to do?

00:12:25.860 And I said,

00:12:26.040 I haven't figured it out.

00:12:27.400 And she said,

00:12:27.720 well, you know,

00:12:28.760 Rick, my butler

00:12:29.560 is going to be leaving soon.

00:12:30.660 So why don't you come

00:12:31.400 and work for me?

00:12:32.060 And so I said,

00:12:32.740 well, let me think about it.

00:12:33.560 And I told my mother,

00:12:34.480 my mother said,

00:12:34.900 absolutely not.

00:12:35.500 I don't want you

00:12:35.860 to be a servant.

00:12:36.540 I said,

00:12:36.720 well, I think it's a good job.

00:12:37.660 And I thought about it.

00:12:39.500 And of course,

00:12:39.920 I did the opposite

00:12:40.840 of what my mother recommended

00:12:41.780 and I took the job.

00:12:43.580 And so it was the lady

00:12:44.280 of the house

00:12:44.640 who taught me how to buttle.

00:12:45.780 And so that,

00:12:46.380 you know,

00:12:46.540 that is a verb

00:12:47.240 that is,

00:12:47.760 you can use correctly.

00:12:49.620 And so every week

00:12:50.700 she would give me lessons

00:12:51.580 on, you know,

00:12:52.360 how do you drive the car

00:12:53.500 so the person in the backseat

00:12:54.540 isn't nauseous?

00:12:55.220 Or how do you get

00:12:55.880 the grass stains

00:12:56.540 out of her children's

00:12:57.400 t-shirts and jeans?

00:12:58.920 What's the difference

00:12:59.540 between a breakfast table,

00:13:00.580 a luncheon table,

00:13:01.300 a dinner table?

00:13:01.880 Where does the oyster fork go?

00:13:03.100 How do you open the door

00:13:03.820 for someone?

00:13:04.660 How do you take their coat?

00:13:05.480 How do you put their coat back on?

00:13:06.620 How do you walk with someone

00:13:07.380 with an umbrella?

00:13:08.300 It was quite fascinating.

00:13:09.240 So after a year,

00:13:10.120 I was the major domo

00:13:11.440 for the household.

00:13:12.380 The family had three homes.

00:13:13.820 I had up to 30 full-time staff

00:13:15.240 that were reporting to me

00:13:16.260 throughout the year.

00:13:17.440 And it was really

00:13:18.240 an incredible opportunity.

00:13:20.000 And I call it

00:13:21.140 my Shirley MacLaine,

00:13:22.120 you know, moment.

00:13:22.700 I don't know if there really

00:13:23.340 is reincarnation,

00:13:24.540 but if there is such a thing,

00:13:25.740 if I am fortunate enough

00:13:27.380 to be reincarnated

00:13:28.280 from a previous life,

00:13:29.240 I was very lucky.

00:13:30.120 I was either a butler

00:13:30.800 or a nobleman

00:13:31.560 who had a butler

00:13:32.280 because the career,

00:13:34.580 this career just seems

00:13:35.440 so logical to me

00:13:36.560 and so evident

00:13:38.060 of just what to do.

00:13:39.100 It was never a mystery.

00:13:40.120 As I was learning,

00:13:41.040 it just,

00:13:41.540 I realized that

00:13:42.360 what my job was about

00:13:43.340 was logic

00:13:43.900 and just to think about

00:13:44.740 what's logical.

00:13:46.220 And that's really

00:13:46.960 how my education became

00:13:48.800 was because of this lady

00:13:49.940 and just continuing

00:13:51.260 to learn on my own

00:13:52.120 and meeting others.

00:13:54.200 So back 150 years ago,

00:13:56.020 the duties of a butler

00:13:56.800 was to take care

00:13:57.320 of the front of the house.

00:13:58.420 What are the duties

00:13:59.040 of a butler in 2024?

00:14:00.920 What's the typical?

00:14:02.080 So, you know,

00:14:02.920 in 2024,

00:14:03.920 the butler is now

00:14:04.960 an expensive commodity,

00:14:06.380 but the butler

00:14:07.440 is actually managing

00:14:08.380 the household.

00:14:09.480 And so some households,

00:14:10.920 the butler may be

00:14:11.560 in the front of the house

00:14:12.320 for serving.

00:14:13.460 In some households,

00:14:14.420 the butler doesn't serve.

00:14:15.420 The butler is purely

00:14:16.120 an administrative position.

00:14:17.120 But when you think about it,

00:14:18.500 the butler is actually

00:14:19.300 managing the household

00:14:21.160 from a perspective

00:14:22.040 of that the average household

00:14:24.740 spends more money

00:14:26.200 and has as many

00:14:28.120 or more employees

00:14:29.040 than very small businesses

00:14:30.440 in the U.S.

00:14:30.940 So you're really

00:14:31.460 a business person

00:14:32.260 taking care of a business.

00:14:34.280 And so you're taking care

00:14:35.040 of everything from

00:14:35.680 whether it's staff management,

00:14:37.560 whether it's, you know,

00:14:38.880 putting together

00:14:39.500 operational manuals

00:14:40.760 of how the household

00:14:41.380 is going to run,

00:14:42.060 when are things cleaned

00:14:42.800 and when are things maintained,

00:14:44.200 taking care of accounts,

00:14:45.540 you know, when plumbers

00:14:46.820 are coming or electricians

00:14:47.780 to fix things

00:14:48.360 because things always

00:14:49.080 break down in those homes,

00:14:50.540 making sure that those bills

00:14:51.420 are authorized for payment

00:14:52.860 and that that work's

00:14:53.580 been completed,

00:14:54.680 you know, making sure

00:14:55.400 that the household

00:14:56.780 is running.

00:14:57.320 And so the butler today

00:14:58.540 really is trying to be

00:15:00.500 at least one or two steps

00:15:02.340 ahead of their employer

00:15:03.260 to always be thinking

00:15:04.520 and anticipating

00:15:05.180 what's going to happen,

00:15:06.480 what needs to happen

00:15:07.400 for the family.

00:15:08.780 And so it's quite

00:15:09.840 fascinating actually,

00:15:11.220 but it's not as much

00:15:12.300 of a service role,

00:15:13.340 but it is a very detailed role.

00:15:15.540 That keeps you really busy.

00:15:16.880 You know, when you think

00:15:17.640 of these large homes,

00:15:18.660 they're actually commercial

00:15:19.680 facilities with the amount of,

00:15:21.660 you know, when you're talking

00:15:22.340 about 10, 20, 30,

00:15:23.620 40,000 square feet,

00:15:24.820 we're talking about

00:15:25.480 commercial cooling units

00:15:26.840 and commercial kitchens.

00:15:28.700 And so it becomes complicated.

00:15:31.040 It's not just the little furnaces

00:15:32.360 that, you know,

00:15:33.100 you and I grew up with

00:15:34.760 and probably still

00:15:35.620 have in our homes today.

00:15:37.100 So it sounds like a butler today

00:15:38.580 is like a chief operations officer.

00:15:41.300 That's a great way

00:15:42.060 to put it.

00:15:42.520 Absolutely.

00:15:43.760 Does domestic staff

00:15:44.920 still live with homeowners

00:15:45.880 like they did a century ago?

00:15:47.800 Oh, great question.

00:15:48.860 And so the answer is no.

00:15:50.100 Domestic staff today

00:15:51.140 have a life.

00:15:52.420 They have a family

00:15:53.220 and so they don't live in.

00:15:54.960 And in fact,

00:15:55.640 it's hard to find people

00:15:56.920 who want to live in.

00:15:57.980 And if you're going to live in,

00:15:59.200 you actually can make more money

00:16:00.420 than if you live out

00:16:01.120 because that's considered

00:16:01.760 a premium

00:16:02.300 to be able to live in

00:16:03.780 versus live out.

00:16:05.120 Okay.

00:16:05.360 The way you've made it sound like

00:16:06.460 is that being a butler

00:16:07.700 or being on domestic staff,

00:16:09.060 like this could be a lucrative,

00:16:10.300 very fulfilling career.

00:16:11.220 Oh, absolutely.

00:16:12.580 I mean,

00:16:13.080 where can you go

00:16:13.840 to butler school,

00:16:14.660 which is, you know,

00:16:15.240 four, six, eight weeks

00:16:16.360 and, you know,

00:16:17.260 you walk out with a job

00:16:18.380 starting at $65,000,

00:16:19.420 $70,000 a year

00:16:20.700 and a good butler

00:16:22.540 by the time they're

00:16:23.500 within five years

00:16:24.460 with the right experience,

00:16:25.920 they're at $100,000,

00:16:26.540 $125,000 plus benefits,

00:16:29.180 full benefits

00:16:29.960 and a retirement plan.

00:16:31.740 And we have butlers

00:16:32.500 that are making

00:16:33.080 anywhere from

00:16:33.600 a quarter of a million

00:16:34.340 to $350,000 a year

00:16:36.680 based on the home

00:16:37.680 that they're managing

00:16:38.240 and the work that they do.

00:16:39.640 So you can make

00:16:41.000 a lot of money

00:16:41.860 if you're good at it

00:16:43.120 and there's nothing

00:16:43.740 to be ashamed of.

00:16:44.620 I think it's an honorable career

00:16:46.080 to be able to manage a household

00:16:48.180 and what I love is,

00:16:49.580 you know,

00:16:49.780 as I jokingly say,

00:16:50.880 but it's, you know,

00:16:51.700 you're kind of seeing history happen,

00:16:53.200 you know,

00:16:53.480 from being a fly on the wall

00:16:55.080 and watching, you know,

00:16:56.280 the movie stars

00:16:56.940 or the captains of industry

00:16:58.080 or the politicians

00:16:58.900 that are coming to the household

00:16:59.960 for your family

00:17:00.640 and, you know,

00:17:01.740 seeing what's happening

00:17:02.520 and knowing what's going to happen

00:17:03.580 before the rest of the world

00:17:04.780 knows what's happening

00:17:05.460 and I think it's pretty fascinating.

00:17:07.300 I think it's a really great career

00:17:08.680 and I think a lot of people

00:17:09.840 don't actually think of it

00:17:10.960 as a genuine career.

00:17:13.620 So you've written several books

00:17:15.080 based on your insights

00:17:16.280 and experience as a butler

00:17:17.580 that can help the average person

00:17:19.580 who might not,

00:17:20.320 might not be able

00:17:21.080 to afford a butler,

00:17:22.000 how they can improve

00:17:22.900 different facets of their lives

00:17:24.080 and I want to focus

00:17:25.240 on this conversation today

00:17:26.900 on what we can learn

00:17:28.620 from butlers

00:17:29.240 about managing a home

00:17:30.720 and making it

00:17:32.280 not only a place

00:17:33.040 that runs efficiently,

00:17:34.260 but it's pleasant

00:17:35.520 to spend your time in

00:17:36.660 and I start off,

00:17:37.940 you talk about

00:17:38.580 that butlers traditionally

00:17:40.160 had this thing

00:17:40.860 called the butler's book.

00:17:42.660 What's the butler's book?

00:17:43.880 What sort of information

00:17:44.580 does a butler keep

00:17:45.440 in a butler's book?

00:17:46.860 So the butler's book

00:17:47.540 is really the Bible

00:17:48.400 for the butler

00:17:49.000 of how the household run

00:17:50.080 and it keeps track

00:17:51.360 of everything.

00:17:51.960 So whether it's,

00:17:53.020 you know,

00:17:53.480 contractors' telephone numbers

00:17:54.620 or how do you use

00:17:56.000 the remote control

00:17:56.940 to go from the DVD player

00:17:58.520 to the satellite dish

00:17:59.520 to regular cable television

00:18:00.920 so that you've got

00:18:01.880 kind of like the cheat sheets

00:18:02.760 in there

00:18:03.180 or you've got

00:18:04.280 household schedules

00:18:05.200 of when employees

00:18:06.580 are working.

00:18:07.640 You have things

00:18:08.600 like inventory.

00:18:09.640 So for example,

00:18:10.340 in my butler book,

00:18:11.060 one of the things

00:18:11.340 that I used to keep

00:18:12.000 was all the inventories

00:18:13.020 of the different Chinas

00:18:13.900 so that when we were

00:18:14.640 entertaining

00:18:15.000 and when I'd be sitting

00:18:15.780 with Mrs. in a meeting

00:18:17.060 and the chef

00:18:17.740 and we'd be discussing

00:18:18.940 about a party

00:18:19.440 that would be coming up

00:18:20.120 and, you know,

00:18:21.020 everyone would say,

00:18:21.560 well, you know,

00:18:22.260 it would be nice

00:18:23.340 to use the green dishes

00:18:24.300 for that thing

00:18:25.120 and then I'd be able

00:18:25.800 to look in my butler's book

00:18:26.880 and say,

00:18:27.160 well, there's 36 people

00:18:28.660 coming for dinner

00:18:29.200 and we have 35 dinner plates

00:18:30.620 so we're short a plate

00:18:31.600 so either we have to change

00:18:32.560 to a different service

00:18:33.300 or I have to go buy

00:18:34.000 some more of this green service

00:18:35.020 if I can find it

00:18:35.820 kind of scenario.

00:18:36.900 So, you know,

00:18:37.540 you keep cheat sheets

00:18:38.300 like that that are there

00:18:39.140 for you

00:18:39.520 or master things on,

00:18:41.240 you know,

00:18:41.400 when are you taking care

00:18:42.380 of certain inventories

00:18:43.840 or mechanical things

00:18:45.300 around the household

00:18:45.780 or what are the spring

00:18:46.780 cleaning projects

00:18:47.540 and all that kind of stuff.

00:18:48.180 So all that's

00:18:48.780 in the butler's book.

00:18:49.780 So the butler's book

00:18:50.840 really is the Bible.

00:18:51.860 It's the one place

00:18:52.680 when you need something,

00:18:53.460 that's where you go.

00:18:55.260 And I actually can see

00:18:55.960 this being useful

00:18:56.640 for just anybody

00:18:57.660 who has a house.

00:18:58.920 Oh, absolutely.

00:18:59.960 Absolutely.

00:19:00.460 Yeah, my wife

00:19:01.000 and I run in that experience

00:19:02.300 where, you know,

00:19:02.980 we're hosting a party

00:19:03.860 and we think,

00:19:04.880 well, do we have this thing?

00:19:07.220 And I'm like,

00:19:07.680 well, I don't know.

00:19:08.340 We kind of,

00:19:08.700 we have to spend

00:19:09.300 30 minutes looking for it

00:19:11.080 and like,

00:19:11.320 well, we can't find it.

00:19:12.220 So let's go buy another one.

00:19:13.540 So you buy another one

00:19:14.300 and then after the party happens,

00:19:15.660 like, oh,

00:19:16.060 here's this thing

00:19:16.620 that we were looking for.

00:19:17.460 We just wasted money.

00:19:19.040 Exactly.

00:19:20.160 No, but I think

00:19:20.860 the butler's book

00:19:21.440 would be able to tell you

00:19:22.540 the kind of thing

00:19:22.920 where you keep those things

00:19:23.920 and as long as you put them

00:19:24.620 back where you're supposed to,

00:19:26.140 then you're in good shape.

00:19:27.020 But the butler's book

00:19:28.080 is really this tool

00:19:29.480 that makes you more efficient

00:19:31.540 and more successful

00:19:32.520 at doing what you want to do.

00:19:34.660 So what sorts of information

00:19:35.480 do you think

00:19:35.780 are just a lay person

00:19:36.620 should keep in their own

00:19:37.620 butler's book

00:19:38.520 for their household?

00:19:39.760 I think that just keeping

00:19:40.920 simple things

00:19:41.960 like all your telephone numbers

00:19:43.160 for, you know,

00:19:43.900 the plumber,

00:19:44.480 the electrician,

00:19:45.180 you know,

00:19:45.580 where is the electrical boxes

00:19:47.040 if you have more than one

00:19:48.040 in your household

00:19:48.560 and where's the main disconnect

00:19:49.680 to turn the power off

00:19:50.720 and, you know,

00:19:51.620 when do you open your pool

00:19:53.260 if you have a swimming pool

00:19:54.180 and when do you close it?

00:19:55.540 You know,

00:19:55.660 so kind of keeping a calendar

00:19:56.720 or when do you want

00:19:58.100 to clean the e-strops?

00:19:59.480 When do you want to be able

00:20:00.300 to deal with certain things

00:20:01.040 in the yard

00:20:01.460 or when do you want

00:20:01.980 to clean the windows

00:20:02.640 or put the storm windows on

00:20:04.140 or take the storm windows off?

00:20:05.720 When do you want to do

00:20:06.480 a bit of a deep clean

00:20:07.240 inside the house?

00:20:07.980 And so what's interesting

00:20:08.680 is that when you start

00:20:09.940 to look at all these projects,

00:20:11.700 when you look at the calendar,

00:20:13.280 it allows you to be able

00:20:14.380 to spread it out

00:20:15.620 throughout over the year

00:20:16.440 so that there isn't one month

00:20:17.840 where, you know,

00:20:18.560 you have nothing to do

00:20:19.600 and the following month,

00:20:20.880 you know,

00:20:21.220 you can barely keep up.

00:20:22.840 So that's what's great

00:20:23.520 about the calendar

00:20:24.400 within the butler's book

00:20:25.300 is that it allows you

00:20:26.440 to kind of to plan things

00:20:27.300 so that way,

00:20:28.240 you know,

00:20:28.400 you can plan things

00:20:29.160 ahead of time.

00:20:29.720 So you know that,

00:20:30.740 you know,

00:20:30.900 you want to have

00:20:31.460 your windows washed in April

00:20:33.280 and so in January or February

00:20:35.240 as you're just kind of

00:20:35.960 looking ahead of things

00:20:36.700 that, you know,

00:20:37.080 you want to do,

00:20:37.940 you say,

00:20:38.240 oh, you want to,

00:20:38.580 let's schedule

00:20:39.240 the window cleaner now

00:20:40.040 and let's get it done

00:20:40.720 so that at least

00:20:41.760 they're scheduled

00:20:42.300 so it's not the last minute

00:20:43.220 when you're trying

00:20:43.580 to get a hold of

00:20:44.020 when everyone else is.

00:20:45.660 And so the butler's book

00:20:46.720 is really there

00:20:47.420 as a tool

00:20:48.020 to help you plan

00:20:49.680 and just to remind you

00:20:50.760 of what needs to be done.

00:20:52.600 Where do you recommend

00:20:53.060 keeping your butler's book?

00:20:54.860 Is this in a physical book

00:20:56.480 that you keep around?

00:20:57.260 Well, traditionally

00:20:58.260 the butler's book

00:20:58.900 was always kept

00:20:59.480 in the butler's pantry

00:21:00.260 which is between the kitchen

00:21:01.740 and off the dining room

00:21:02.900 kind of scenario

00:21:03.600 but most of us

00:21:04.760 don't have butler's pantries today

00:21:06.100 so I always love it

00:21:07.740 in the kitchen somewhere

00:21:08.640 because I think

00:21:09.100 that's where everyone

00:21:09.680 can find it

00:21:10.280 and I'm also a really

00:21:11.660 firm believer

00:21:12.280 that the butler's book

00:21:13.660 is a living,

00:21:14.340 breathing document

00:21:14.960 and so you shouldn't

00:21:16.340 be afraid to write in it

00:21:17.420 when something changes

00:21:18.440 or when you learn something

00:21:19.900 and so maybe it's something

00:21:21.680 that just is always

00:21:22.300 kind of handwritten

00:21:23.020 or maybe,

00:21:24.000 you know,

00:21:24.300 once a year

00:21:24.880 you sit down

00:21:25.540 and you type out

00:21:26.280 all the changes

00:21:27.060 and then you just

00:21:27.540 print off a clean copy

00:21:28.540 but I think that

00:21:30.140 the butler's book

00:21:30.720 needs to be in a place

00:21:31.480 where everyone knows

00:21:32.340 where it is,

00:21:33.060 everyone has access to it

00:21:34.460 and where you're not afraid

00:21:36.400 to write in it

00:21:37.320 to update information.

00:21:38.540 And I was doing some research

00:21:40.680 before this conversation

00:21:42.240 about modern butler's book.

00:21:44.120 There's actually software

00:21:45.160 that modern butler's

00:21:47.060 can use these days

00:21:48.340 where they basically

00:21:49.020 create a butler's book

00:21:50.420 but it's in the cloud.

00:21:51.780 So I know a lot of butler's

00:21:53.540 for really affluent families

00:21:55.360 who have maybe

00:21:56.220 two, three, four homes.

00:21:58.560 They have to know

00:21:59.420 what's going on

00:21:59.960 in all these different homes

00:22:00.740 so they have all this stuff

00:22:01.980 just on the internet.

00:22:02.800 Yes, but I'm not

00:22:06.340 a firm believer

00:22:07.460 in things becoming

00:22:09.000 overly computerized

00:22:09.920 in a household.

00:22:10.540 I think that

00:22:11.000 it becomes overly complicated

00:22:12.980 and you end up being

00:22:13.680 a data entry person

00:22:15.280 versus a manager.

00:22:17.180 And so I'm actually

00:22:18.720 a real firm believer

00:22:19.520 that the butler's book

00:22:20.640 as an example

00:22:22.220 should just be

00:22:23.340 in a three ring binder

00:22:24.380 that's in a place

00:22:25.720 where everyone knows

00:22:26.300 where it is.

00:22:27.180 Now you can keep

00:22:27.820 the master document

00:22:28.920 in a word file

00:22:30.400 for example

00:22:31.320 that's in the cloud

00:22:32.220 so that you can check it

00:22:33.420 from wherever you are

00:22:34.620 if you need to look

00:22:35.180 something up.

00:22:36.280 But I'm not a firm believer

00:22:37.540 that everything should be

00:22:38.380 in the cloud

00:22:38.720 because if the power goes out

00:22:40.660 or you can't turn

00:22:42.120 the computer on

00:22:42.800 for whatever reason

00:22:43.540 how are we going to access

00:22:44.560 this information in the cloud

00:22:45.700 while we're in this

00:22:46.260 emergency kind of scenario?

00:22:48.480 I think the theory

00:22:49.560 is always really great

00:22:50.760 and this great fantasy

00:22:52.420 but I don't think

00:22:53.080 it actually works in reality.

00:22:54.860 And so I think

00:22:55.680 it's much easier

00:22:56.320 to be able to have it

00:22:58.360 printed where

00:22:59.580 you can take the book

00:23:00.920 with you

00:23:01.300 to the mechanical room

00:23:02.760 that's telling you

00:23:03.660 how to do something

00:23:04.680 so you can follow the steps

00:23:05.940 I think just makes it easier.

00:23:08.980 So you mentioned

00:23:09.460 one of the things

00:23:10.200 you can keep in a butler's book

00:23:11.320 is a calendar

00:23:12.160 of home maintenance.

00:23:13.420 I know it's going to vary

00:23:14.280 from location to location

00:23:15.660 and home to home

00:23:16.400 but generally

00:23:17.320 what sort of

00:23:18.780 home maintenance regimen

00:23:20.020 do you recommend

00:23:20.620 people keep

00:23:22.360 to keep their home

00:23:23.560 running in tip-top shape?

00:23:25.100 So I think you need to

00:23:26.020 first of all

00:23:26.360 think about where you locate it.

00:23:27.700 So for example

00:23:28.120 if you're going to be

00:23:28.840 for example in Florida

00:23:29.800 or you're going to be

00:23:30.420 somewhere warm

00:23:31.100 you're going to have

00:23:31.940 obviously very many

00:23:32.660 different requirements

00:23:33.760 than if you are going

00:23:34.980 to be up in the north

00:23:35.840 where there's snow

00:23:36.560 for example.

00:23:37.820 So first of all

00:23:38.900 based on your physical location

00:23:40.260 if so let's you know

00:23:41.700 where there's snow

00:23:42.500 which is where I happen

00:23:43.260 to be right now

00:23:44.100 you know

00:23:44.840 the butler's book

00:23:45.920 would say to me

00:23:46.660 in October for example

00:23:48.280 okay so you need to get ready

00:23:49.820 because winter's coming

00:23:50.720 so do you have salt?

00:23:52.080 Do you have sand?

00:23:53.120 Do you have a good brush

00:23:54.720 to take the snow off the car?

00:23:56.260 Do you have enough

00:23:57.080 windshield washer fluid?

00:23:58.080 So it kind of gives you

00:23:59.100 those checklists

00:23:59.980 of things to do

00:24:01.160 as you get ready

00:24:02.300 so that once you have

00:24:03.400 that first snowfall

00:24:04.500 it's not a panic

00:24:05.720 kind of scenario

00:24:06.760 of not being ready for it

00:24:08.960 or you know

00:24:09.860 you're going to

00:24:10.900 the hardware store

00:24:11.720 to go and get sand

00:24:12.800 or salt or whatever

00:24:13.440 and it's all sold out

00:24:14.220 because everyone's

00:24:15.020 you know

00:24:15.240 thinking at the last minute

00:24:16.600 and then when you're down south

00:24:18.320 you know

00:24:18.800 simple things like

00:24:19.560 you know

00:24:20.060 how do you get your house

00:24:20.700 ready for hurricane season

00:24:21.740 if you're in Florida

00:24:22.400 for example

00:24:22.960 or what do you need

00:24:24.300 to think about

00:24:24.800 if you're in Arizona

00:24:25.620 you know

00:24:26.100 from a temperature perspective

00:24:27.220 you know

00:24:27.960 from the outside

00:24:28.680 of the physical house

00:24:29.900 what are you going to do

00:24:30.720 for the air conditioning unit

00:24:31.940 does it need an overhaul

00:24:33.000 once a year

00:24:33.580 and if so

00:24:34.040 what time of the year

00:24:34.980 are you going to do that

00:24:35.760 so I think you start

00:24:37.540 with the location

00:24:38.840 of where your house is

00:24:39.620 and then the kind of home

00:24:40.780 you have

00:24:41.280 you know

00:24:41.680 whether it's an apartment

00:24:42.380 or whether it's a physical house

00:24:44.100 or a townhouse

00:24:44.780 or whatever

00:24:45.140 everything needs

00:24:46.400 some kind of maintenance

00:24:47.480 and so

00:24:47.900 the other thing

00:24:49.120 the reason I like

00:24:49.780 the binder concept

00:24:51.640 is that

00:24:52.200 you know

00:24:52.820 as you put your calendar

00:24:53.900 in the butler's book

00:24:54.880 you might not think

00:24:55.880 of everything right away

00:24:56.800 and so you can start

00:24:57.980 to fill it in

00:24:58.740 over the year

00:24:59.700 as you go through

00:25:00.300 the life in your household

00:25:01.500 and so when it's

00:25:02.780 the first day

00:25:03.300 of that first snowfall

00:25:04.220 and you're not ready

00:25:04.880 you think

00:25:05.120 okay

00:25:05.880 now I know

00:25:06.460 I need to get ready

00:25:07.200 and so now

00:25:07.680 you make a note

00:25:08.580 in your book

00:25:09.100 of what you need

00:25:10.400 and to get ready

00:25:11.400 for that particular item

00:25:12.540 you know

00:25:13.040 or when are you

00:25:13.460 when are you going

00:25:13.900 to open the pool

00:25:14.520 if your pool closes

00:25:15.580 in the winter

00:25:16.080 because you're in the north

00:25:17.260 and when do you

00:25:18.000 open it again

00:25:18.680 kind of thing

00:25:19.680 or when do you want

00:25:20.820 to be able

00:25:21.160 to fertilize

00:25:22.160 or do what you need

00:25:23.000 to do to your roses

00:25:23.820 that are in your garden

00:25:24.680 so I think

00:25:25.820 there's always something

00:25:26.900 and I think

00:25:27.720 it comes to you

00:25:28.460 really easily

00:25:29.060 as you go

00:25:29.660 throughout the year

00:25:30.400 in the life

00:25:31.440 of living

00:25:32.360 within your household

00:25:33.180 okay so your household

00:25:34.580 maintenance routine

00:25:35.320 it's very seasonal

00:25:36.180 and as you say

00:25:37.060 it's going to vary

00:25:37.960 by where you live

00:25:39.260 but you have

00:25:40.200 a good annual list

00:25:41.380 in the book

00:25:41.860 that can apply

00:25:42.880 to most everyone

00:25:43.640 so for example

00:25:44.800 in winter

00:25:45.220 you have things like

00:25:46.200 vacuum your fridge coils

00:25:47.540 flip the mattresses

00:25:48.900 spring

00:25:49.640 change batteries

00:25:50.480 on smoke detectors

00:25:51.360 and carbon monoxide detectors

00:25:52.780 wash the outside

00:25:53.980 of the windows

00:25:54.740 have AC inspected

00:25:56.320 get your outdoor grill ready

00:25:58.080 summer

00:25:58.880 you've got

00:25:59.440 clean out

00:25:59.920 and organize your garage

00:26:00.960 wash out garbage

00:26:02.080 and recycle bins

00:26:02.980 and then fall

00:26:04.060 you've got

00:26:04.840 have chimney cleaned

00:26:05.920 and expected

00:26:06.480 and then clean

00:26:07.700 the dryer vent

00:26:08.600 we're going to take

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00:27:13.180 that's Shopify.com

00:27:14.760 slash manliness

00:27:15.640 and now back

00:27:18.820 to the show

00:27:19.460 something else

00:27:20.460 I'm curious about

00:27:21.140 one of the things

00:27:22.440 I've had problems

00:27:23.560 with with managing

00:27:24.820 my own home

00:27:25.500 is finding good contractors

00:27:27.360 and maintenance workers

00:27:28.560 do you have any

00:27:29.560 advice on that?

00:27:31.000 So you know

00:27:31.720 finding a good person

00:27:32.800 you know

00:27:33.380 they're worth their weight

00:27:34.160 in gold

00:27:34.640 if you can find them

00:27:35.760 but once you do

00:27:36.560 you need to be able

00:27:37.980 to stay in touch

00:27:38.820 and so that's

00:27:39.500 first of all

00:27:40.120 you know

00:27:40.360 when you are looking

00:27:41.640 for a tradesperson

00:27:42.800 go to your neighbors

00:27:43.720 go to people you trust

00:27:44.840 read reviews

00:27:45.980 online

00:27:46.660 but you need to be able

00:27:48.100 to be clear about

00:27:48.920 what are you looking for

00:27:49.880 so that

00:27:50.280 when you actually

00:27:51.240 speak to the trade person

00:27:52.340 you can actually ask

00:27:53.620 them intelligent questions

00:27:54.880 and because you've thought

00:27:55.940 about what do you need

00:27:57.240 or why you know

00:27:58.520 something needs to be fixed

00:27:59.620 or repaired

00:28:00.100 or why you want to build

00:28:01.040 something

00:28:01.440 doesn't matter

00:28:02.060 what the situation

00:28:02.820 but you need to have

00:28:03.700 a clear plan of

00:28:04.420 what do I need

00:28:04.880 this person to do

00:28:05.620 so that you can be

00:28:06.180 clear to them

00:28:06.980 so that they understand

00:28:08.340 what your needs are

00:28:09.220 so you can compare

00:28:10.280 and I think that

00:28:11.400 you know

00:28:11.600 when you interview

00:28:12.120 two or three people

00:28:13.000 you kind of get

00:28:14.380 a gut feeling

00:28:14.980 right away

00:28:15.360 who's the good one

00:28:16.140 and who's not

00:28:16.820 and listen to your gut instinct

00:28:18.940 and then make a note

00:28:20.440 of things in your butler's book

00:28:22.360 of you know

00:28:23.400 okay so we tried

00:28:24.280 John the electrician

00:28:25.040 he was really good

00:28:25.760 but he wasn't really clean

00:28:26.960 so the next time he comes

00:28:27.940 I need to make sure

00:28:28.520 he knows to take his boots off

00:28:29.500 before he comes in my house

00:28:30.420 and so on and so forth

00:28:31.780 because the work is good

00:28:33.020 but he just was a bit messy

00:28:34.280 and so just to remind yourself

00:28:35.740 that the next time

00:28:36.300 John comes over

00:28:37.020 you say okay

00:28:37.420 John remember

00:28:37.980 I need to take your boots off

00:28:39.040 oh yeah yeah

00:28:40.040 okay no problem

00:28:40.740 so I think that being clear

00:28:44.320 about what you're looking for

00:28:45.520 is really important

00:28:47.120 because I think that's where

00:28:48.160 the relationship breaks down

00:28:50.080 is that both parties

00:28:51.700 aren't communicating well

00:28:52.820 with each other

00:28:53.320 okay

00:28:54.040 and yes if you find a good one

00:28:55.320 make sure you put that

00:28:55.960 in your butler book

00:28:57.280 put it in your butler book

00:28:58.080 but also for example

00:28:59.080 you know

00:28:59.600 pay them on time

00:29:00.620 because then they'll want

00:29:01.500 to come back

00:29:02.060 you know kind of scenario

00:29:03.200 so you got to think

00:29:04.140 of things like that too

00:29:05.100 and being nice to them

00:29:06.520 and offering them

00:29:06.960 a glass of water

00:29:07.640 on a hot day

00:29:08.300 or a cup of coffee

00:29:09.480 I remember as the butler

00:29:10.700 what we used to do

00:29:11.280 is we used to make muffins

00:29:12.260 and coffee

00:29:12.840 for every trade

00:29:13.740 that would come to the house

00:29:14.400 every day

00:29:14.820 and so we became

00:29:16.300 the popular house

00:29:17.020 because they all wanted

00:29:18.160 to come to us

00:29:18.640 first thing in the morning

00:29:19.360 to get their coffee

00:29:20.060 and their muffin for free

00:29:20.980 that's how I kept

00:29:21.860 the trades happy

00:29:22.600 and so being nice to trades

00:29:24.860 you get it back tenfold

00:29:26.500 first of all

00:29:26.980 you should just be a nice person

00:29:28.180 and they're doing

00:29:29.180 a job that you need

00:29:30.100 but second of all

00:29:30.760 you know

00:29:31.220 if you keep them happy

00:29:32.120 they're going to be more

00:29:32.680 willing to come back

00:29:33.320 the next time you need them

00:29:34.200 let's talk about

00:29:35.700 managing the inventory

00:29:37.280 in our home

00:29:37.900 so we mentioned dishes

00:29:39.340 or things for parties

00:29:40.580 but I was actually

00:29:41.900 having this conversation

00:29:42.620 with a friend

00:29:43.580 the other day

00:29:44.180 and he wanted it

00:29:44.860 I was like

00:29:45.200 how much toilet paper

00:29:46.780 do I really need to keep

00:29:47.900 and how do I know

00:29:49.240 when I need to restock

00:29:50.200 because I'm tired

00:29:50.680 of having to

00:29:51.420 when I need it the most

00:29:52.600 it's all gone

00:29:53.360 so any advice there

00:29:54.700 on managing

00:29:55.280 just household inventories

00:29:56.600 could be dishes

00:29:57.260 cleaning supplies

00:29:58.600 paper towels

00:29:59.500 toilet paper etc

00:30:00.340 so you're talking

00:30:01.420 so you're talking about

00:30:01.680 two different inventories

00:30:02.680 and so you know

00:30:03.580 if we're going to talk

00:30:04.160 about furniture

00:30:04.840 fixtures and equipment

00:30:05.560 you know

00:30:05.860 which we call FF&E

00:30:06.860 that's stuff like dishes

00:30:08.480 and furniture

00:30:09.440 and art

00:30:10.160 and all those kinds of things

00:30:11.820 so that's one kind

00:30:13.400 of inventory

00:30:14.260 that you're keeping

00:30:14.980 so you know

00:30:15.780 usually we do a picture

00:30:16.580 of it

00:30:16.860 and then we record

00:30:17.820 how many of that item

00:30:18.800 there are in inventory

00:30:19.820 and where it is

00:30:20.420 in the household

00:30:20.940 but the inventory

00:30:22.380 that your friend

00:30:22.920 is talking about

00:30:23.600 is what we call

00:30:24.780 a consumables inventory

00:30:26.000 and so what we're

00:30:26.900 actually consuming

00:30:27.560 so everything

00:30:28.340 within the kitchen

00:30:28.960 whether it's a spice

00:30:29.740 or a meat

00:30:30.320 or anything

00:30:30.660 that's in the freezer

00:30:31.260 but then that's

00:30:32.240 also cleaning supplies

00:30:33.160 and you know

00:30:34.140 there'll also be

00:30:34.660 toiletries

00:30:35.240 it'll also be makeup

00:30:36.400 and shaving cream

00:30:37.540 and all that kind of stuff

00:30:38.360 so those are all

00:30:38.920 consumables

00:30:39.580 and so the easiest

00:30:40.880 thing to do

00:30:41.560 first of all

00:30:42.600 so let's take

00:30:43.840 the toilet paper

00:30:44.380 let's answer the question

00:30:45.600 to your friend

00:30:46.100 how much toilet paper

00:30:46.820 do I need

00:30:47.400 so first of all

00:30:48.540 you need to figure out

00:30:49.200 you know

00:30:49.440 how many bathrooms

00:30:50.420 do you have

00:30:50.940 so you have two bathrooms

00:30:51.740 or three bathrooms

00:30:52.420 so right away

00:30:53.540 that's going to be

00:30:54.020 one roll

00:30:54.720 in each of those bathrooms

00:30:55.720 and then you want to have

00:30:56.640 you know

00:30:57.280 potentially a couple

00:30:58.220 of rolls

00:30:58.640 that are there

00:30:59.160 for a change

00:31:00.400 underneath the counter

00:31:01.320 so if we have

00:31:01.740 three bathrooms

00:31:02.320 we had three rolls

00:31:03.440 plus we have two extra

00:31:04.280 so that's nine rolls

00:31:05.420 already

00:31:05.800 just to keep

00:31:06.620 the bathrooms full

00:31:07.600 and then on average

00:31:09.740 you're going through

00:31:10.880 for the sake of the argument

00:31:11.920 you know

00:31:12.360 you're going through

00:31:13.000 a roll a week

00:31:13.780 and so you'll know

00:31:15.280 at the end of the month

00:31:15.900 kind of how much

00:31:16.820 you're consuming

00:31:17.380 and how much you need

00:31:18.520 or you know

00:31:19.200 you're using two

00:31:19.820 three or four

00:31:20.380 a week or a month

00:31:21.320 and so what we do

00:31:22.840 is we do

00:31:23.160 what's called

00:31:23.520 a minimum

00:31:23.960 maximum inventory number

00:31:25.620 so what's the minimum number

00:31:26.580 we know we never want

00:31:27.380 to have less than nine

00:31:28.600 rolls of toilet paper

00:31:29.420 but we never really need

00:31:30.520 more than 24

00:31:31.280 and so once a month

00:31:33.160 or every you know

00:31:34.100 two months

00:31:34.560 you count the toilet paper

00:31:36.040 and when you get down

00:31:37.440 to nine

00:31:38.020 then you know

00:31:38.740 you need to order

00:31:39.440 the balance

00:31:40.080 to get you back up

00:31:40.800 to 24

00:31:41.320 so you need to order

00:31:42.880 16 kind of thing

00:31:43.960 so it's actually

00:31:45.200 simpler than you think

00:31:46.620 once you come up

00:31:47.340 with the minimum

00:31:48.200 maximum

00:31:48.620 then you just set

00:31:49.620 an inventory date

00:31:50.500 and maybe it's once

00:31:51.320 every three months

00:31:52.040 kind of scenario

00:31:52.760 yeah

00:31:53.100 and I thought

00:31:54.000 that was really

00:31:54.740 interesting

00:31:55.020 you mentioned

00:31:55.600 the FFE

00:31:56.400 the furniture

00:31:57.520 fixtures

00:31:58.340 and equipment

00:31:59.540 inventory

00:32:00.380 yeah

00:32:00.940 this would be

00:32:01.580 good for any

00:32:02.680 household to do

00:32:03.780 because this is important

00:32:04.500 for insurance purposes

00:32:05.760 right

00:32:06.120 you want to know

00:32:06.900 if you have

00:32:07.960 art or furniture

00:32:09.440 you want to

00:32:10.080 have a picture of it

00:32:11.240 and like you know

00:32:11.980 value of it

00:32:12.700 because if your house

00:32:13.580 you know

00:32:14.100 god forbid

00:32:14.580 burns down

00:32:15.140 you'll be able

00:32:15.800 to have a reference

00:32:16.540 to your property

00:32:17.620 you say

00:32:18.260 here's what I had

00:32:19.040 and you start

00:32:19.820 making claims

00:32:20.560 so what's interesting

00:32:22.040 is that most people

00:32:23.160 are underinsured

00:32:24.100 and the insurance

00:32:24.920 companies will tell you

00:32:25.880 and so nobody

00:32:27.300 really wants to

00:32:28.400 spend their weekend

00:32:29.160 doing you know

00:32:30.300 a household inventory

00:32:31.120 but let me tell you

00:32:32.480 god forbid

00:32:33.140 you should ever need it

00:32:34.100 you'll be the happiest

00:32:35.020 person in the world

00:32:35.840 to have that

00:32:37.100 because if god forbid

00:32:38.860 you know

00:32:39.280 something happens

00:32:39.860 to your house

00:32:40.360 and you need to

00:32:41.000 make an insurance claim

00:32:42.100 they're going to want

00:32:43.140 to see all that

00:32:43.760 kind of stuff

00:32:44.340 and you know

00:32:44.960 what's interesting

00:32:45.440 is the insurance

00:32:45.960 company

00:32:46.220 you know

00:32:46.500 if you're insured

00:32:47.040 for the sake

00:32:47.440 of the argument

00:32:47.780 for $100,000

00:32:49.100 the insurance company

00:32:50.240 doesn't just write

00:32:50.980 you a check

00:32:51.320 for $100,000

00:32:52.020 you have to actually

00:32:52.720 go and buy the stuff

00:32:53.720 and the insurance

00:32:54.160 company reimburses you

00:32:55.540 so that's I think

00:32:56.800 important to know

00:32:57.740 right there

00:32:58.140 and second of all

00:32:58.780 you know

00:32:59.420 maybe you're insured

00:33:00.160 for $100,000

00:33:00.840 but maybe you have

00:33:01.580 $150,000 worth of stuff

00:33:03.160 that you didn't think about

00:33:04.440 and so now all of a sudden

00:33:05.500 you have less

00:33:06.600 than when you started

00:33:07.480 so you know

00:33:08.440 do you have a stamp collection

00:33:09.560 or do you have china

00:33:10.780 or silverware

00:33:11.960 or jewelry

00:33:12.480 do you have books

00:33:13.740 kind of stuff

00:33:14.620 what kind of art

00:33:15.640 do you have

00:33:16.180 what kind of household

00:33:17.200 tools do you have

00:33:18.360 all that kind of stuff

00:33:19.400 is important

00:33:20.220 and so doing an inventory

00:33:22.200 really helps you

00:33:23.840 understand what kind

00:33:25.100 of insurance coverage

00:33:25.860 you need

00:33:26.340 and then what you have

00:33:28.100 in case of an emergency

00:33:29.120 okay we talked about

00:33:30.500 home maintenance

00:33:30.980 we talked about managing

00:33:31.740 toilet paper inventory

00:33:32.920 talked about managing

00:33:34.020 your big inventory

00:33:35.540 in your house

00:33:36.080 let's talk about

00:33:37.380 keeping our homes clean

00:33:38.720 first question is

00:33:39.860 what do you think

00:33:40.580 are the pros and cons

00:33:41.980 of cleaning your own house

00:33:43.360 versus hiring someone

00:33:45.180 to clean it for you

00:33:46.080 I think the main thing

00:33:48.100 is if you're going

00:33:48.700 to do it yourself

00:33:49.180 is do you have the time

00:33:50.120 to do it properly

00:33:50.820 and if you do

00:33:52.200 and if you want

00:33:52.920 to do it on your own

00:33:53.620 then I think that's great

00:33:54.380 then go for it

00:33:55.160 but if you don't

00:33:56.540 have the time

00:33:57.400 and you want

00:33:58.460 to hire someone

00:33:59.180 that's okay too

00:34:00.240 but the biggest mistake

00:34:01.520 is that people

00:34:02.120 aren't clear

00:34:03.100 about what they want

00:34:04.100 and so a cleaning person

00:34:06.260 will come in

00:34:06.780 and do what they think

00:34:07.780 needs to be done

00:34:08.720 and then you're upset

00:34:09.400 and well I can't believe

00:34:10.300 they didn't clean

00:34:10.760 the chandelier

00:34:11.320 it's like well

00:34:12.420 you know

00:34:13.260 they only had three hours

00:34:14.600 to be in your house

00:34:15.160 they can't do everything

00:34:16.040 or you know

00:34:16.840 they didn't iron the sheets

00:34:17.840 well are they supposed to

00:34:18.840 did you talk about that

00:34:19.780 before you hired them

00:34:20.900 and so most people

00:34:22.040 don't have a proper

00:34:23.100 job description in place

00:34:24.600 and that's I think

00:34:25.820 where things fall apart

00:34:27.000 the most

00:34:27.540 is that the expectations

00:34:29.640 are one thing

00:34:30.840 and the deliverables

00:34:31.520 are another

00:34:31.900 and no one's speaking

00:34:32.740 to each other

00:34:33.220 about what they're going

00:34:34.320 to do

00:34:34.680 and so people

00:34:35.360 are disappointed

00:34:36.000 so I think being clear

00:34:38.400 about what your needs are

00:34:39.660 if you're going

00:34:40.020 to hire someone

00:34:40.740 but I think that

00:34:42.780 whether you hire someone

00:34:43.880 or you do it yourself

00:34:44.900 I don't think

00:34:45.860 there's a right or wrong way

00:34:47.080 I think it just comes down

00:34:47.920 to time

00:34:48.380 and you know

00:34:49.100 if you can afford that

00:34:50.080 yeah

00:34:50.660 in the book

00:34:51.660 you make a distinction

00:34:52.400 between house cleaning

00:34:53.700 housekeeping

00:34:54.360 and deep cleaning

00:34:55.680 what are the differences

00:34:56.740 between the three

00:34:57.520 yeah

00:34:57.960 so deep cleaning

00:34:58.740 is really when you're

00:34:59.640 pulling something apart

00:35:00.380 so you're cleaning

00:35:01.300 the chandeliers

00:35:01.940 you're wiping the baseboards

00:35:03.000 you're lifting the carpets

00:35:04.460 you're taking the pillows

00:35:05.800 and off the couch

00:35:06.980 and you're vacuuming

00:35:07.720 inside the couch

00:35:08.320 and underneath the couch

00:35:09.200 and so you're really

00:35:10.360 pulling the room apart

00:35:11.820 is a deep cleaning

00:35:14.040 house cleaning

00:35:15.280 is really just taking care

00:35:16.840 of the house

00:35:17.980 on a weekly basis

00:35:19.240 usually

00:35:19.580 or twice weekly

00:35:21.040 where you're vacuuming

00:35:22.820 you're dusting

00:35:23.320 but you're just keeping

00:35:24.200 things going

00:35:24.900 you're not doing

00:35:25.620 the deep cleaning

00:35:26.460 and then housekeeping

00:35:27.780 is really making

00:35:29.260 a house a home

00:35:30.260 and making it feel inviting

00:35:32.060 that things are

00:35:33.280 where they should be

00:35:34.380 and that you need

00:35:35.260 so you know

00:35:36.060 the housekeeping

00:35:36.560 is everything overall

00:35:37.960 how do you feel

00:35:39.160 within that space

00:35:40.040 house cleaning

00:35:41.140 is what we do

00:35:42.320 on a weekly

00:35:42.920 or bi-weekly basis

00:35:44.140 or twice weekly

00:35:45.720 and then deep cleaning

00:35:46.920 is those special projects

00:35:48.520 you know

00:35:48.980 when we flip the mattresses

00:35:50.260 when we turn carpets around

00:35:52.600 so that they wear evenly

00:35:53.800 in every direction

00:35:54.580 so those are always

00:35:55.940 the big jobs

00:35:56.700 let's talk about

00:35:57.700 just house cleaning

00:35:58.440 you have these golden rules

00:36:00.060 of house cleaning

00:36:00.600 what are some of those

00:36:01.200 golden rules of house cleaning

00:36:02.440 well the golden rules

00:36:04.120 of housekeeping

00:36:04.620 or cleaning

00:36:05.420 are really about

00:36:06.380 making sure

00:36:07.560 that you're organized

00:36:08.920 and that you have

00:36:09.860 the right tools

00:36:10.680 that you have

00:36:11.360 the right chemicals

00:36:12.220 and that you're working

00:36:13.500 methodically throughout

00:36:14.440 the household

00:36:15.080 and you're starting

00:36:15.960 in one place

00:36:16.660 and you're working

00:36:17.280 towards another

00:36:18.260 so that you know

00:36:18.940 where you are

00:36:19.500 at any one point

00:36:20.320 and so the golden rules

00:36:21.920 are making sure

00:36:22.500 that you know

00:36:22.840 we don't cross contaminate

00:36:24.500 and so making sure

00:36:25.160 that you know

00:36:25.520 we understand

00:36:26.060 that we have

00:36:26.400 different cloths

00:36:27.460 for different locations

00:36:28.280 and so we're not using

00:36:29.180 the bathroom cloth

00:36:30.620 in the kitchen

00:36:31.100 or in the bedroom

00:36:31.720 and so on and so forth

00:36:32.660 and one of the golden rules

00:36:33.540 that we remember also

00:36:34.520 is remember that you know

00:36:35.520 when you're cleaning

00:36:36.520 from a room

00:36:37.540 you always start

00:36:38.520 from the top

00:36:39.200 and you work your way down

00:36:40.300 because dust of course falls

00:36:41.580 so that's why

00:36:42.060 you don't want to work

00:36:42.720 from the bottom up

00:36:43.420 and so the golden rules

00:36:45.460 are just about being logical

00:36:47.440 about what we need to do

00:36:49.240 so one of the ways

00:36:50.200 you recommend being logical

00:36:51.660 and efficient

00:36:52.400 about cleaning your house

00:36:53.480 is to have a cleaning list

00:36:55.160 so just as your butler's book

00:36:57.020 should have a maintenance list

00:36:58.260 for your home

00:36:58.940 you have different cleaning lists

00:37:00.900 broken down by daily

00:37:02.460 weekly

00:37:03.300 and monthly

00:37:04.120 so here in the book

00:37:05.040 you got daily cleaning

00:37:06.000 on the list

00:37:06.780 tidy clutter

00:37:07.520 wipe down counters

00:37:08.620 and stovetops

00:37:09.400 weekly

00:37:10.180 you want to give each room

00:37:11.640 in the house

00:37:12.140 a good cleaning

00:37:12.880 dust all the surfaces

00:37:14.020 vacuum all the floors

00:37:15.540 clean the bathroom

00:37:16.820 that includes

00:37:17.560 cleaning the shower

00:37:18.440 toilet and counters

00:37:19.600 replace the sheets

00:37:20.680 on your bed

00:37:21.280 and a point you make

00:37:22.540 on the weekly cleaning

00:37:23.560 is that you don't have

00:37:24.680 to do all this

00:37:25.340 in one day

00:37:26.140 you can break it up

00:37:27.360 throughout the week

00:37:28.260 so you know

00:37:29.220 one day you do the bathrooms

00:37:30.560 another day you do the bedrooms

00:37:32.340 and you know

00:37:33.060 the next day you do the kitchen

00:37:34.080 and then for the monthly list

00:37:35.560 you have things like

00:37:36.220 you know

00:37:36.480 scrub shower grout

00:37:37.560 descale shower heads

00:37:38.980 clean doorknobs and handles

00:37:40.600 and dust vents

00:37:41.960 so to your point

00:37:43.960 it's you know

00:37:44.300 weekly monthly yearly

00:37:45.320 kind of scenario

00:37:46.080 whatever

00:37:46.340 but it's about

00:37:47.000 you know

00:37:47.520 what do I need to do

00:37:48.200 every week in my bathroom

00:37:49.220 so you know

00:37:49.640 I know every week

00:37:50.280 I'm going to need to be able

00:37:50.880 to clean the shower

00:37:51.540 and the sink

00:37:52.060 and the counter

00:37:53.040 and I'm going to need to

00:37:53.720 clean the toilet

00:37:54.340 and the floor

00:37:54.840 but I don't need to

00:37:56.180 every week

00:37:56.920 pull the medicine cabinet apart

00:37:58.700 or I don't need to take

00:37:59.820 the shower curtain off

00:38:01.760 if it's cloth

00:38:02.460 and wash it

00:38:03.340 you know

00:38:04.020 kind of scenario

00:38:04.740 I don't need to wash

00:38:05.760 the walls down

00:38:06.580 every week

00:38:07.300 because you know

00:38:07.940 the humidity

00:38:08.460 actually captures dirt

00:38:10.380 or the light fixture

00:38:11.640 above the sink

00:38:12.200 doesn't need to be cleaned

00:38:12.940 necessarily every week

00:38:13.780 you know

00:38:13.980 you might give it a dust

00:38:14.760 with a duster

00:38:15.580 but you're not pulling it apart

00:38:17.260 and really cleaning it

00:38:18.320 that thoroughly

00:38:19.000 every week

00:38:19.920 and so that's

00:38:20.600 what you're really

00:38:21.380 kind of keeping track of

00:38:22.720 is every week

00:38:23.260 what do we need to do

00:38:24.020 every month

00:38:24.980 what do we need to do

00:38:25.760 and then

00:38:26.280 what are the special projects

00:38:27.420 that we want to do

00:38:27.980 and sometimes

00:38:28.540 there's no special project

00:38:29.540 for that particular room

00:38:30.520 gotcha

00:38:31.420 and one job I saw

00:38:32.880 on these checklists

00:38:34.100 that people

00:38:34.800 probably don't

00:38:36.340 think about a lot

00:38:37.360 is clean the dishwasher

00:38:38.780 so what's interesting

00:38:40.300 is that you know

00:38:40.680 you think to yourself

00:38:41.320 what do you mean

00:38:41.760 I need to clean my dishwasher

00:38:42.720 but that to me

00:38:43.680 would be something

00:38:44.120 that you know

00:38:44.540 I would put on my

00:38:45.300 quarterly list

00:38:45.960 I would say

00:38:46.420 okay it's March

00:38:47.620 I do it every three months

00:38:48.560 it's time to

00:38:49.360 clean the dishwasher

00:38:50.160 and so you know

00:38:51.440 the side of the door

00:38:52.940 so when you open the door

00:38:54.520 and the door is open

00:38:55.320 there's the edge

00:38:56.620 that runs on the three sides

00:38:57.940 the top and the two sides

00:38:59.260 that gets really dirty

00:39:01.160 because as you're putting

00:39:02.200 dirty dishes

00:39:02.780 into the dishwasher

00:39:03.920 food product

00:39:05.260 falls in that area

00:39:06.640 and it doesn't get washed

00:39:07.940 when the dishwasher

00:39:08.620 door is closed

00:39:09.440 so you actually

00:39:11.420 need to clean that

00:39:12.180 you need to

00:39:12.640 you know

00:39:12.920 if you have filters

00:39:13.780 in the dishwasher

00:39:14.500 in the bottom

00:39:14.840 of the dishwasher

00:39:15.300 sometimes they need

00:39:16.580 to be emptied

00:39:17.140 and cleaned out

00:39:17.880 sometimes you know

00:39:19.020 if you have a very

00:39:20.260 fancy dishwasher

00:39:21.060 it'll do it by itself

00:39:22.140 but you need to keep

00:39:23.380 an eye on all that

00:39:24.280 kind of stuff

00:39:24.860 I'm not a really

00:39:26.000 big believer

00:39:26.580 that you need

00:39:26.920 to run a chemical

00:39:27.700 through your dishwasher

00:39:28.440 although there are

00:39:29.380 those that are available

00:39:30.320 but you need to

00:39:31.480 actually clean

00:39:32.400 the filter

00:39:33.140 if it is necessary

00:39:34.160 and you need to

00:39:34.660 actually clean the door

00:39:35.600 the sides of the door

00:39:36.640 okay

00:39:37.440 so for your weekly

00:39:38.800 cleaning

00:39:39.300 so this is when

00:39:39.820 you're kind of

00:39:40.680 it's not a deep clean

00:39:41.420 but just sort of

00:39:41.880 the maintenance

00:39:42.700 cleaning you're doing

00:39:43.820 to make sure

00:39:44.200 everything looks nice

00:39:44.860 you recommend

00:39:45.760 to be efficient

00:39:46.480 with this

00:39:46.840 to have a butler's caddy

00:39:48.080 what's a butler's caddy

00:39:49.460 and what do you keep in it

00:39:50.380 so a butler's caddy

00:39:51.500 is the caddy

00:39:52.140 that you're going

00:39:52.500 to carry around

00:39:53.380 so what are you going

00:39:54.380 to have

00:39:55.000 when you're cleaning

00:39:55.640 throughout the house

00:39:56.440 and so the caddy

00:39:57.760 is going to have

00:39:58.300 your cleaning claws

00:39:59.200 in it

00:39:59.580 it's going to have

00:40:00.840 you know

00:40:01.440 whatever chemicals

00:40:02.320 that you happen

00:40:02.880 to be using

00:40:03.560 your tools

00:40:04.540 so you know

00:40:05.540 for example

00:40:06.020 do you need soaps

00:40:07.340 or do you need

00:40:08.020 any sprays

00:40:09.120 to disinfect something

00:40:10.180 or do you need

00:40:10.920 a squeegee

00:40:11.960 do you need paper towel

00:40:12.900 do you need baking soda

00:40:14.120 do you need

00:40:14.960 like a cream cleaner

00:40:15.840 for certain you know

00:40:16.840 ceramic sinks

00:40:17.440 that you're cleaning

00:40:17.920 so it's about

00:40:19.220 thinking about

00:40:19.840 where are you going

00:40:20.940 to be cleaning

00:40:21.420 and what are the things

00:40:22.600 that you need

00:40:22.980 because the worst thing

00:40:23.740 is is that you know

00:40:24.320 as you're cleaning

00:40:25.020 you're kind of carrying

00:40:26.200 everything in your hand

00:40:27.100 and then you realize

00:40:28.140 you've forgotten something

00:40:29.020 and you don't really

00:40:29.520 want to go back

00:40:30.120 you know

00:40:30.520 to the closet

00:40:31.020 wherever you keep

00:40:31.600 all your cleaning supplies

00:40:32.480 or under the sink

00:40:33.740 or wherever it happens

00:40:34.500 to be

00:40:34.840 and so you don't

00:40:35.960 really do it

00:40:36.680 you know

00:40:36.940 you just kind of

00:40:37.420 I'll do it next time

00:40:38.260 and you just kind of

00:40:39.260 forget about it again

00:40:40.040 so the caddy

00:40:41.940 just makes it easy

00:40:42.780 if everything's in there

00:40:43.960 then no matter

00:40:44.680 where you are in the house

00:40:45.500 you have what you need

00:40:46.440 you know

00:40:47.020 even for example

00:40:47.680 like the different color claws

00:40:48.840 so I always have said

00:40:50.640 blue for poo

00:40:51.600 and pink for the sink

00:40:52.520 in the kitchen

00:40:53.020 so that we don't have

00:40:54.220 cross-contamination

00:40:55.060 so that you know

00:40:55.760 we're using blue claws

00:40:56.640 in the bathroom

00:40:57.160 and pink claws

00:40:57.800 in the kitchen

00:40:58.220 and then a different color cloth

00:40:59.860 everywhere else in the house

00:41:00.800 all that's just in the caddy

00:41:02.420 and so it makes it really easy

00:41:03.980 as you're moving around the house

00:41:05.380 that you have the right tools

00:41:06.440 so you mentioned

00:41:07.800 about cleaning a room

00:41:09.560 effectively and efficiently

00:41:10.980 one thing you mentioned

00:41:12.200 is you clean

00:41:13.020 from top to bottom

00:41:13.840 any other tips

00:41:14.960 on cleaning a room

00:41:15.980 effectively and efficiently

00:41:17.360 so the most important thing

00:41:19.000 is as you've said

00:41:19.720 is to start from the top

00:41:20.640 and to work your way down

00:41:21.520 but then you always want to work

00:41:22.960 in a circular direction

00:41:23.840 now it doesn't matter

00:41:24.620 if you go clockwise

00:41:25.420 or counterclockwise

00:41:26.380 but you need to be

00:41:27.620 in a circular direction

00:41:28.680 because at some point

00:41:30.520 you may need to stop

00:41:31.840 so you know exactly

00:41:32.680 where you were

00:41:33.420 in that process

00:41:34.360 so where you know

00:41:35.160 where to go

00:41:35.600 but if you're doing

00:41:36.780 what I call the zigzag method

00:41:38.200 where you're just kind of

00:41:38.960 moving all over the room

00:41:40.220 you tend to forget something

00:41:41.780 because it's not logical

00:41:43.520 but when you're going

00:41:44.240 in a circle

00:41:44.900 you know exactly

00:41:46.200 where you are

00:41:46.900 and what you're doing

00:41:47.880 and I find that very helpful

00:41:49.400 do you dust first

00:41:51.220 then vacuum

00:41:51.860 so it depends on

00:41:54.320 what kind of vacuum you have

00:41:56.100 because some vacuums

00:41:57.100 actually put dust out

00:41:58.340 so you have to think about it

00:41:59.520 so sometimes

00:42:00.460 you're going to want to

00:42:01.140 vacuum first

00:42:02.100 and then dust

00:42:03.080 sometimes you're dusting

00:42:04.340 and vacuuming

00:42:05.040 in my house for example

00:42:06.240 I have a central vacuum

00:42:07.100 so for me

00:42:07.980 I would dust a room

00:42:08.980 and then I would vacuum the room

00:42:10.060 as I kind of work my way

00:42:11.220 out of the room

00:42:11.660 so that's how I do it

00:42:13.200 but you know

00:42:13.960 you need to have a good vacuum

00:42:15.080 to make sure

00:42:15.520 it's not putting dust

00:42:17.060 in the air

00:42:17.540 what you want

00:42:18.280 is a good filter

00:42:18.960 on your vacuum

00:42:20.000 any tips on dusting

00:42:21.840 so dusting

00:42:23.540 the biggest mistake

00:42:24.520 that people make

00:42:25.120 is that they use

00:42:25.660 too much water

00:42:26.680 you don't need a chemical

00:42:27.980 you know

00:42:28.580 you just need to have

00:42:29.360 a really good cotton cloth

00:42:30.680 cotton t-shirts

00:42:31.480 you know

00:42:31.860 as they wear out

00:42:32.580 in your house

00:42:33.160 are great to be able

00:42:34.360 to cut up

00:42:34.760 for dusting claws

00:42:35.660 and so what you do

00:42:36.900 is you wet your hands

00:42:37.820 under the running sink

00:42:38.700 you give them one shake

00:42:40.020 and then you dry them off

00:42:41.120 in that cloth

00:42:42.020 and then that cloth

00:42:43.400 at that point

00:42:44.040 is the perfect humidity level

00:42:45.680 to be able to dust

00:42:46.760 because you just want it

00:42:47.400 to be able to grab the dust

00:42:48.820 but I think that

00:42:50.340 we tend to use

00:42:51.240 too much water

00:42:51.940 which actually does

00:42:52.740 more damage than good

00:42:53.980 sorry about bed making

00:42:55.740 how often should you

00:42:56.680 change the sheets

00:42:57.260 on your bed

00:42:57.780 I know this is a contentious

00:42:58.840 oh my god

00:42:59.820 it's such a contentious issue

00:43:01.440 and so you know

00:43:02.520 there's surveys

00:43:03.100 for example in the UK

00:43:04.020 where the average man

00:43:05.560 changes his sheets

00:43:06.460 every three to four months

00:43:07.820 you know

00:43:08.360 holy cow

00:43:08.700 exactly

00:43:10.000 and that kind of

00:43:11.300 shocked the nation

00:43:11.860 when those

00:43:12.280 when those surveys

00:43:13.020 came out last year

00:43:13.840 but you need to do it

00:43:15.380 at least once a week

00:43:16.460 and the reason you need

00:43:17.360 to do it at least

00:43:18.020 once a week

00:43:18.420 even if you

00:43:19.440 are the only person

00:43:20.500 sleeping in that bed

00:43:21.340 is the average person

00:43:23.480 sweats give or take

00:43:24.940 a liter of fluid

00:43:26.460 throughout the night

00:43:27.420 and so you've got

00:43:28.760 this liquid

00:43:29.300 that's going into the bed

00:43:30.340 first of all

00:43:31.380 and you just have

00:43:32.760 you know skin

00:43:33.380 that is falling off

00:43:34.460 we all have natural skin

00:43:35.860 dead skin

00:43:36.380 that's falling off

00:43:37.100 it's not because

00:43:38.280 you're not healthy

00:43:39.280 you're sick

00:43:39.680 it's just as normal

00:43:40.500 so we have

00:43:41.640 that dead skin

00:43:42.440 that's falling in the bed

00:43:43.340 we have the humidity

00:43:44.000 that's in the bed

00:43:44.680 and we all drool at night

00:43:46.640 we don't like to think

00:43:47.340 that we do

00:43:47.740 but we do

00:43:48.340 so all this kind of stuff

00:43:50.040 is important

00:43:50.520 and so minimum

00:43:51.700 once a week

00:43:52.400 is when you should

00:43:53.460 be doing your bed

00:43:54.180 any advice on making

00:43:55.920 a bed

00:43:56.720 well you know

00:43:58.400 I wouldn't make my bed

00:43:59.720 as a kid

00:44:00.140 my mother and I

00:44:01.160 thought about that

00:44:02.080 bitterly

00:44:02.880 until finally

00:44:03.800 my mother

00:44:04.280 said to me

00:44:05.720 one year

00:44:06.180 she said

00:44:06.440 oh I'm going to

00:44:07.180 give you a present

00:44:07.880 I said you are

00:44:08.640 she said yes

00:44:09.100 I'm going to buy you

00:44:09.800 a new duvet

00:44:10.380 for your bed

00:44:10.960 so let's go shopping

00:44:11.800 so I was all excited

00:44:13.060 and I went

00:44:13.440 and I picked out

00:44:13.880 some new sheets

00:44:14.340 with my mother

00:44:14.900 and my mother

00:44:16.320 changed the bed

00:44:17.000 recipe for me

00:44:17.680 and so what she did

00:44:18.340 is she put a

00:44:18.900 fitted sheet

00:44:19.900 on the bed

00:44:20.520 and she gave me

00:44:21.680 a duvet

00:44:22.060 that had a duvet

00:44:22.800 cover on it

00:44:23.400 and that was it

00:44:24.040 and I was told

00:44:25.320 every morning

00:44:25.860 if I wanted to

00:44:26.580 come down for breakfast

00:44:27.220 I had to just

00:44:27.760 give the duvet

00:44:28.440 a flick

00:44:29.080 so that my bed

00:44:30.180 was made

00:44:30.660 and it was so simple

00:44:31.680 I actually did it

00:44:33.060 so I think

00:44:34.340 it's about

00:44:34.720 being smart

00:44:35.540 about the bed

00:44:36.200 recipe

00:44:36.620 versus maybe

00:44:37.800 parents want to

00:44:38.520 have a more

00:44:39.140 complicated bed

00:44:39.960 so maybe you have

00:44:41.100 a fitted sheet

00:44:42.000 and a flat sheet

00:44:42.740 and a blanket

00:44:43.280 and a duvet

00:44:43.880 all that's really great

00:44:45.280 it's just a lot

00:44:45.940 more work

00:44:46.480 and there's not

00:44:47.500 one right or wrong

00:44:48.420 way to do it

00:44:49.040 they're just different

00:44:49.960 so I think it's about

00:44:51.380 thinking about the

00:44:51.940 application of

00:44:52.620 who sleeps in the bed

00:44:53.920 who has to make

00:44:54.880 the bed

00:44:55.300 and who has the time

00:44:56.520 and ultimately

00:44:57.500 what do you want

00:44:58.220 do you recommend

00:44:59.060 letting the bed

00:44:59.920 air out a little bit

00:45:00.720 before you make it

00:45:01.460 oh absolutely

00:45:02.080 for that exact reason

00:45:03.440 that because of the

00:45:04.200 humidity that's in the bed

00:45:05.100 the bed needs to be able

00:45:06.680 to air out

00:45:07.260 and bed bugs

00:45:08.480 and bugs

00:45:09.240 they love that moisture

00:45:10.440 and they love that humidity

00:45:11.420 and they love that warmth

00:45:12.320 so if you make the bed

00:45:13.320 right away

00:45:13.840 that humidity stays trapped

00:45:15.560 in the bed

00:45:16.060 which is something

00:45:16.720 you don't want

00:45:17.480 okay I'm going to ask

00:45:18.500 this is a greedy question

00:45:20.120 this is from me

00:45:20.780 I clean the showers

00:45:22.260 in our home

00:45:22.760 so I'm always looking

00:45:23.680 for advice

00:45:24.460 on how to do this job better

00:45:25.980 any advice

00:45:27.260 on the best way

00:45:28.240 to clean a shower

00:45:29.280 so I think

00:45:30.580 the best way

00:45:31.380 is first of all

00:45:32.440 is to have a squeegee

00:45:33.580 in the shower

00:45:34.420 and not the one

00:45:35.480 that you buy for showers

00:45:36.860 because they're not good

00:45:37.940 generally

00:45:38.420 what I have in my shower

00:45:40.300 is I actually have

00:45:41.400 a squeegee

00:45:42.180 that you buy

00:45:42.780 at the hardware store

00:45:43.600 for windows

00:45:44.380 so it's got a proper

00:45:45.900 black rubber tip

00:45:47.320 on the end

00:45:47.800 so that it squeegees

00:45:49.140 perfectly

00:45:49.800 so first of all

00:45:50.460 I think you need

00:45:50.780 a professional squeegee

00:45:51.760 but second of all

00:45:53.240 if you have

00:45:54.320 the ability

00:45:55.140 to somewhere

00:45:56.240 either you know

00:45:57.320 under the kitchen

00:45:57.880 the bathroom sink

00:45:58.740 or somewhere

00:45:59.580 to be able to keep

00:46:00.760 some soap

00:46:01.520 and a brush

00:46:02.160 so that you can actually

00:46:03.200 brush down the shower

00:46:04.180 on a regular basis

00:46:05.320 and then rinse it

00:46:06.280 and then squeegee it

00:46:07.700 it becomes really easy

00:46:09.280 because the more often

00:46:10.860 you do it

00:46:11.560 the easier it is to do

00:46:12.840 and the faster it becomes

00:46:14.080 the mistake that people

00:46:15.420 do is that they wait

00:46:16.620 too long

00:46:17.080 then the build-up starts

00:46:18.260 and then it becomes

00:46:19.200 really difficult to clean

00:46:20.600 and then you resent it

00:46:21.500 and then you don't

00:46:21.980 want to clean it

00:46:22.880 so having the ability

00:46:25.120 to rinse down

00:46:26.040 the shower

00:46:26.680 having the squeegee

00:46:27.800 right there

00:46:28.360 that the good one

00:46:29.220 for windows

00:46:29.860 allows you to squeegee

00:46:31.320 whether you're doing tiles

00:46:32.720 or you're doing

00:46:33.060 a glass shower door

00:46:34.660 or glass shower wall

00:46:35.780 which is what I do

00:46:37.040 it makes it really easy

00:46:38.380 so that A

00:46:39.080 the bathroom

00:46:39.520 always looks good

00:46:40.260 but B

00:46:41.300 I never get enough build-up

00:46:42.500 that I never really resent

00:46:44.180 that once a week

00:46:45.340 when I use the soap

00:46:46.240 or twice a week

00:46:47.260 when I use the soap

00:46:48.040 because it's really not hard

00:46:49.400 it's just a quick rub down

00:46:51.060 okay so you recommend

00:46:52.100 squeegeeing after every use

00:46:53.880 absolutely

00:46:54.760 because the problem is

00:46:55.900 the water marks

00:46:57.060 go onto the glass

00:46:58.380 and they don't necessarily

00:46:59.480 come off

00:47:00.140 when it gets wet again

00:47:01.460 and so that just makes it

00:47:02.560 harder to clean

00:47:03.160 and the problem is

00:47:03.620 of course nobody ever

00:47:04.440 wants to squeegee

00:47:05.080 after you shower

00:47:05.720 everyone likes the ability

00:47:06.960 to be able to just have a shower

00:47:08.260 and thank you goodbye

00:47:09.020 and so that's what you need

00:47:10.160 to think about

00:47:10.620 you know

00:47:10.920 are you prepared to squeegee

00:47:12.080 your shower

00:47:12.560 or if not

00:47:13.460 maybe a shower curtain

00:47:14.540 is the way to go

00:47:15.120 best product for cleaning a shower

00:47:17.180 well

00:47:19.220 I think the issue is

00:47:20.740 that you know

00:47:21.120 you need a soap

00:47:21.780 and so I'm a really firm believer

00:47:23.220 in dish soap

00:47:23.860 because it's got a low pH balance

00:47:26.400 so it doesn't really affect anything

00:47:27.720 it works fine

00:47:28.440 on metal surfaces

00:47:29.380 it works really well

00:47:30.420 on tiles and tubs

00:47:32.540 and all that kind of stuff

00:47:33.380 so a dish soap

00:47:34.840 actually is a great cleaner

00:47:36.640 but if you need

00:47:37.960 a bit of a chemical

00:47:38.920 pine sol

00:47:39.980 is very good

00:47:40.780 at getting rid of water stains

00:47:42.100 that is a great way to go

00:47:43.580 I'm not really a believer

00:47:45.480 that you need to bleach

00:47:46.420 the shower

00:47:47.200 because there's no bacteria

00:47:48.700 per se in the shower

00:47:49.680 unless you've got buildup

00:47:51.880 that's been there

00:47:52.380 for years and years

00:47:53.500 and then you've got mold

00:47:54.420 and bacteria

00:47:54.960 but if you're doing it regularly

00:47:56.640 there really generally

00:47:57.800 isn't a need

00:47:58.680 to be able to use

00:47:59.640 a harsh chemical

00:48:00.720 and so the most important thing

00:48:02.420 is making sure

00:48:03.220 that the bathroom

00:48:03.940 airs out

00:48:05.140 that the door is open

00:48:06.040 and if you have a window

00:48:06.980 that the windows open

00:48:07.980 every once in a while

00:48:08.700 to let the air

00:48:09.320 and the humidity escape

00:48:10.780 One tip that I picked up recently

00:48:12.800 that's been a game changer

00:48:13.920 for cleaning the glass

00:48:15.040 at least in the shower

00:48:15.840 vinegar

00:48:16.620 seems to be

00:48:17.680 really awesome

00:48:18.640 with like a vinegar mixture

00:48:19.860 Vinegar and water

00:48:21.480 is a great mixture

00:48:22.240 for certain things

00:48:22.980 absolutely

00:48:23.520 and you know

00:48:24.560 there's pros and cons

00:48:25.600 to what they call

00:48:26.260 green cleaning products

00:48:27.280 which you know

00:48:27.740 is the

00:48:28.080 in this particular case

00:48:29.680 would be the water

00:48:30.640 and the vinegar

00:48:31.100 so I think that

00:48:32.920 again

00:48:33.640 then it would be having

00:48:34.880 you know

00:48:35.300 a squeegee bottle

00:48:36.180 with the vinegar

00:48:36.900 and the water

00:48:37.740 already mixed in it

00:48:38.820 that's somewhere handy

00:48:40.120 so you can grab it quickly

00:48:41.500 give it a little bit

00:48:42.600 of a quick spray

00:48:44.660 and then you can rinse it

00:48:46.200 and you know

00:48:46.760 use your squeegee

00:48:47.480 so again

00:48:47.800 it's about

00:48:48.160 the easier you make it

00:48:50.100 for yourself

00:48:50.620 then the more likely

00:48:51.840 you are to do it

00:48:52.680 and the more often

00:48:53.480 you do it

00:48:53.940 the easier the job becomes

00:48:55.620 so final question

00:48:57.000 in the Butler Speaks

00:48:58.060 you wrote that

00:48:58.900 being a butler

00:48:59.580 is about giving people

00:49:00.560 the little luxuries

00:49:01.580 in life

00:49:02.440 so after you've taken care

00:49:03.620 of the big stuff

00:49:04.160 of keeping a house

00:49:04.940 right

00:49:05.220 you're doing the maintenance

00:49:06.260 the cleaning

00:49:06.740 managing inventory

00:49:07.680 what are some of the

00:49:08.920 little luxuries

00:49:09.680 people can give themselves

00:49:11.100 to make their home

00:49:12.140 a joy to live in

00:49:13.140 I think it's about

00:49:15.060 thinking of anticipating

00:49:16.860 so for example

00:49:17.620 if you like to have

00:49:19.380 a cup of tea

00:49:20.240 in the afternoon

00:49:20.900 then you know

00:49:21.720 that cup of tea

00:49:22.540 can be a real pleasure

00:49:24.000 if you have a nice

00:49:25.620 tea cup

00:49:26.040 and you have a nice

00:49:26.480 little teapot

00:49:27.100 you have some

00:49:27.780 of your favorite teas

00:49:28.420 that becomes a pleasure

00:49:29.380 so whether you're

00:49:30.320 making it for someone else

00:49:31.300 or you're making it

00:49:31.800 for yourself

00:49:32.260 that becomes something

00:49:33.720 really enjoyable

00:49:34.520 or for example

00:49:35.520 you know

00:49:35.860 my mother

00:49:36.660 she likes to have

00:49:37.380 a glass of wine

00:49:38.060 you know

00:49:38.360 in the evening

00:49:38.840 she uses a nice glass

00:49:40.540 she uses one of her

00:49:41.200 crystal glasses

00:49:41.860 from the dining room

00:49:42.660 not because she's trying

00:49:43.940 to be particularly fancy

00:49:44.860 but she just really

00:49:45.940 enjoys that glass

00:49:47.100 and she says

00:49:47.540 well I have to wash

00:49:48.700 the glass by hand

00:49:49.460 no matter what glass

00:49:50.260 it is

00:49:50.520 so whether it's

00:49:51.480 just an everyday glass

00:49:52.780 or a crystal glass

00:49:53.780 it's the same thing

00:49:54.540 and so she gets

00:49:55.200 more pleasure

00:49:55.760 out of using

00:49:56.560 the crystal glass

00:49:57.420 or a simple pleasure

00:49:58.840 can just be

00:49:59.340 for example

00:49:59.760 just having your bed made

00:50:01.460 so when you come home

00:50:02.300 and you crawl into bed

00:50:03.460 there's nothing I think

00:50:04.080 nicer than crawling

00:50:04.880 into a freshly made bed

00:50:06.800 so to me

00:50:07.560 those are the little

00:50:08.260 things that are enjoyable

00:50:09.740 you know

00:50:10.440 to try to think about

00:50:11.260 so this has been

00:50:12.560 a great conversation

00:50:13.220 Charles

00:50:13.500 where can people

00:50:14.000 go to learn more

00:50:14.540 about the books

00:50:15.160 and your work

00:50:15.780 so the books

00:50:17.500 you can go to Amazon

00:50:18.420 which is anywhere

00:50:19.560 in the world

00:50:20.000 and so the books

00:50:20.600 are available there

00:50:21.220 and you can go

00:50:22.420 onto our website

00:50:23.020 at charlesmcpherson.com

00:50:24.700 and you know

00:50:25.960 that's where you can

00:50:26.600 find out about

00:50:27.460 a lot of things

00:50:27.960 there too

00:50:28.440 fantastic

00:50:29.120 well Charles McPherson

00:50:29.820 thanks for your time

00:50:30.320 it's been a pleasure

00:50:30.860 the pleasure

00:50:31.620 has been all mine

00:50:32.160 thank you

00:50:32.780 my guest here

00:50:34.560 is Charles McPherson

00:50:35.180 he's the author

00:50:35.800 of several books

00:50:36.480 including the book

00:50:37.120 The Butler Speaks

00:50:38.000 it's available

00:50:38.600 on amazon.com

00:50:39.600 you can find

00:50:40.380 more information

00:50:40.800 about his work

00:50:41.220 at his website

00:50:41.820 charlesmcpherson.com

00:50:43.200 also check out

00:50:44.120 our show notes

00:50:44.500 at aom.is

00:50:45.360 slash butler

00:50:46.040 where you can find

00:50:46.640 links to resources

00:50:47.440 where you can delve

00:50:47.820 deeper into this topic

00:50:48.760 well that wraps up

00:50:57.200 another edition

00:50:57.820 of the AOM podcast

00:50:58.700 make sure to check out

00:50:59.500 our website

00:50:59.840 at artofmanly.com

00:51:00.880 where you can find

00:51:01.220 our podcast archives

00:51:02.200 as well as thousands

00:51:03.280 of articles

00:51:03.640 that we've written

00:51:04.060 over the years

00:51:04.380 about pretty much

00:51:05.000 anything you think of

00:51:05.860 and if you haven't

00:51:06.840 done so already

00:51:07.240 I'd appreciate it

00:51:07.860 if you take one minute

00:51:08.460 to give us

00:51:08.740 reading up a podcast

00:51:09.400 or Spotify

00:51:09.860 it helps out a lot

00:51:10.640 and if you've done

00:51:11.180 that already

00:51:11.520 thank you

00:51:12.100 please consider

00:51:13.020 sharing the show

00:51:13.500 with a friend

00:51:13.800 or family member

00:51:14.400 who you think

00:51:14.840 is something out

00:51:15.380 of it

00:51:15.600 as always

00:51:16.580 thank you for the

00:51:17.080 continued support

00:51:17.620 until next time

00:51:18.120 I'm Brett McKay

00:51:18.740 remind you to

00:51:19.560 not listen to

00:51:19.940 the AOM podcast

00:51:20.560 but put what you've

00:51:21.540 heard into action

00:51:22.460 hey before we go

00:51:42.560 got one more episode

00:51:43.380 for you to check out

00:51:44.200 on the art of manliness

00:51:45.040 I talked to Alex Petkus

00:51:46.380 about Plutarch's lives

00:51:47.920 and why this ancient

00:51:49.020 collection of biographies

00:51:50.020 has shaped leaders

00:51:50.900 for centuries

00:51:51.500 and how Plutarch

00:51:52.500 can still sharpen

00:51:53.200 your sense of virtue

00:51:54.060 judgment

00:51:54.840 and character today

00:51:55.980 it's timeless stuff

00:51:57.340 and a great entry point

00:51:58.600 into the works

00:51:59.440 of Plutarch

00:52:00.180 check it out

00:52:01.100 at aom.is

00:52:02.200 slash Plutarch

00:52:03.040 that's aom.is

00:52:04.460 slash Plutarch

The Art of Manliness - November 25, 2025

A Butler’s Guide to Managing Your Household

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