Most of the work of White House staff members is invisible to the public, part of a vast machinery designed to make the president look good. But their sudden absence in such large numbers is certain to have a noticeable impact if the shutdown continues for a long time.

“Nothing is starting on time because we are all scheduling ourselves,” said Jennifer Palmieri, the White House communications director, who has gathered the remaining members of her usually far-flung staff into one room outside her office (although the White House already had a reputation long before the shutdown for late-starting events).

The West Wing “mess,” or cafeteria, remains open, but with a limited menu. No more soup of the day, according to those still working in the kitchen. To simplify, it will be turkey chili as long as the shutdown lasts.

The trash is still being picked up in the Oval Office and the other rooms in the West Wing, but just once a day instead of twice. In the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, where a majority of White House staff members work, the cavernous hallways are largely empty.

Unpaid White House interns have also been sent home, unlike the last shutdowns in 1995 and early 1996, when they were permitted to keep working. (It was during the shutdown in 1995 that Monica Lewinsky found some time to be alone with President Bill Clinton down the hall from the Oval Office.)

In the residence, where Mr. Obama and his family sleep and eat, life goes on, but with less help. The White House declined to provide any details about how daily life has changed for the first family, which normally has a staff of chefs, butlers, maids, gardeners, elevator operators, carpenters and electricians. One thing that probably has not changed is Michelle Obama’s insistence that Malia and Sasha make their own beds.