What is A Household Manager?

According to Gillian Burdett, The English Manner’s Barbara Allred identifies the household manager as the individual who is, “the senior of all domestic staff, who takes orders from the owner, gives directions to all other staff and is responsible for the smooth running of house and staff.”

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But you don’t have a staff! Why would you need a household manager? The answer lies near the end of the Ms. Allred’s definition in the words smooth running of house. Who doesn’t want their household to run smoothly?! The world may feel chaotic, but your home is your sanctuary away from the chaos. Despite having a “cleaning lady” and groceries delivered, somehow messes still creep up and take-out is on the menu more than one night of the week. No matter what stage of life we’re in, it seems as if there is always something to take our focus off of having a tidy home, home-cooked meals, and all of our “ducks in a row.” Enter the household manager.

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The household manager sees the big picture of your life. All that you personally have to attend to—work, relationships, self-care—and those things keep your household running smoothly, but don’t necessarily have to be done by you. A household manager takes care of those responsibilities delegated by you (back to that official definition, “takes orders from the owner”). You can enjoy the fruits of the household manager’s labor! No intrusion on all those other things you need to focus on. When times are really tough, such as when facing illness, divorce, or the death of a loved one—the household manager can step in and manage the mundane while you focus on what really matters.

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It's as if the household manager has both a telescope and a microscope. They can zoom out for the bird’s eye view of what needs to happen over a given period of time, and zoom in to handle the minutiae.  Tackling the details, while understanding your life. Personalized and professional. Caring and competent. ChoreVoyant.

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