Please leave your sitters with a full and brand new hand soap by each of your sinks.
Yes, it’s cheap, but 4/5 my last sits and I have a pathetic puddle of hand soap that won’t even be dispensed. I’m quite sick at this point of buying you new hand soap that I won’t be taking home with me in my luggage. I am not here to restore your toiletries. I am here to look after your pets and home. I am beginning to think owners think they can get a cheeky freebie this way. Sometimes it’s this way with laundry soap as well, because you know your sitter will purchase it and you think deep down, “Ah, I’ll let them replace it.”
I’ll have you know I’m taking my newly purchased hand soap and washing powder with me now–luggage weight be damend-- for the unforeseen future, until I see better goodwill efforts being made.
It’s just strange- Great sits otherwise, but this is becoming a massive pet peeve, for lack of better wording. Don’t you all wash your hands? Don’t you wash clothes? How are we supposed to?
@sittingaround I hear you! Our current sit left 1cm handsoap at each sink, 1cm washing up liquid, 1 toilet roll for each toilet, last 2 pieces of kitchen towel, and 2cm laundry liquid…
For a 3 week sit!!
No generosity with the absolute basics (even at Christmas!)
We too feel they consciously let all their supplies run down so that we can replenish everything for them. Perhaps that’s what previous sitters have done…
We’ll be leaving the same amount we found and taking our purchased supplies to our next destination (an airbnb) rather than having to buy it all over again!
This current experience is actually pretty unusual for us. We find most hosts do supply plenty of all the basics and I think that’s appropriate.
You are not alone!! Yes, current sit it is just the hand soap, but prior sit it was hand soap, washing liquid, laundry powder. Mercifully, there were the paper products.
Yes, I think it’s likely what you said (previous sitters replenished) or it could be a negative (previous sitters fleeced their supply), but either way, no. You trust me with your house, give me soap, this is ridiculous.
I am taking the same course of action as you (hand soap is coming with me), and I agree. The homeowners need to leave you with a sailing, not sinking ship. Current sit it is just the soap problem, but the previous sits this year except one are just as you described (well, paper products, mercifully, were not skimped). I think I’m seeing a pattern here to hear you confirm (even if it is fortunately the exception to your experiences).
Thank you and hope your Christmas is cosy and hygienic Off to town to get my toiletries!
Yes- the apartment is clean & spacious with gorgeous pool in a great location, and the kitties are gorgeous! That’s housesitting for you- sometimes you just don’t get the whole package in one sit!
That really wouldn’t bother me and I often do replace items with more than was left. I do travel round with laundry leaves and dishwasher tablets. I’ll often replace toilet rolls too.
What does bother me more is when I do sits, particularly at Christmas, and a token bottle of wine or chocolates hasn’t been left for me!
Once I bought more cats treats because the bag that was left ran out. When I told the HO, she said “Oh, thank you! I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but there are more in the cabinet in the dining nook.”
So now I always ask first. That gives the HO a nudge as well. I’ll say something like “Where might I find more ____? I can’t seem to find it.”
I always leave MORE than enough of anything for sitters, show them during the handover (and mention in the WG) where replacements and supplies are, and I’ve still had sitters not know that they didn’t actually run out.
On that note, please, HOs, do not introduce various levels of difficulty, consciously (as a test) or not, for me to find stuff. Update your guide and print it out, specifying where (e.g.,) the pet food and supplies are NOW, not when you first had sitters 5 years ago. Write down instructions for securing the home if we’re not doing a handover. (For example, HOs who didn’t explain how to exit while leaving keys inside.)
Absolutely this. They’ve let notes on where to find all the cat’s stuff and the bin bags. And they showed me where the replacement dishwasher tablets are. I’ve checked. Unless it is in a really weird and not obvious place in the last 4 spots, I’m pretty sure the owner just neglected to stock it, especially when in the last one, I knew the delivery schedule for the dog treats, so they were meticulous about some things…
I concur wholeheartedly. Unless it’s long term where i don’t expect it, yet considering the concept of a balanced exchange that would not be balanced, it’s taking people for granted. It’s also hospitality! I did have a 2 month sit where the host ran out of dish soap and hand soap so i bought some and took it with me as it was also local.
Well after the few months I have had whilst sitting and travelling, I’m just grateful to be alive and getting to spend my life doing what I love more than anything in this world - travelling and sitting. I may not get showered with gifts, I sometimes get left with little to nothing insofar as basic necessities, but I wouldn’t change a single moment that I have had on this journey called life. When things sometimes happen to us, it makes us grateful for the small things that do make our journey worthwhile. My new mantra is “don’t sweat the small stuff”
Peace and joy to everyone, may the road less traveled always take you to where you need to be. Merry Christmas
Owners can leave instructions in their welcome guide, the sitters can load on cell phones. Better to know who has an another set of keys or who to call when you are stuck outside…
A printed welcome guide inside is not very helpful in these circumstances…
Yes, the basics! I think of wine and chocolates as “extras” and I certainly don’t expect them when I sit. I just expect to be able to live in the home and look after it, as well as the lovely animals.
I disagree with a lot of the minimising happening here. I don’t think hygiene is too much to expect any more than a bed, clean towels, etc. It’s house sitting – not charity.
I’ve been a volunteer my whole life, and it’s always interesting to see there are mostly two camps of thought towards volunteers - one is that we are pathetic and need all the handouts we can get (these hosts or supervisors tend to be the stingiest and worst about helping – doing it only on their best of terms and at their own convenience), the others realise that volunteers give their time for a variety of reasons. Finally, THS isn’t charity or non-profit. We’ve paid for the platform and good reviews come with experience and hard work. So no-- I’m not necessarily down on luck or money. I might just prefer to travel while spending time with pets and helping out the owners.
I do it because I love animals and I’m fortunate enough to have a mobile career, so I have to restate that not providing the basics of hygiene for someone to live in your house and look after it doesn’t sit right with. It’s one thing if it just slipped an owner’s mind on their way for holiday. It’s one thing if they let a good supply and I used it up (I would of course replace it), but it’s a worrying trend in my opinion. This host is not so much an issue, but the last one it was like they cleared the whole kitchen out, with just two capfuls of washing liquid and no hand soaps to be seen. I can afford a hotel and I’m not desperate for handouts, so I think it’s quite reasonable to expect an ample about of toiletries and am wary of any owner who would have the mindset of “take what you can get” and also of sitters who perpetuate the thought the thought that basic hygiene is asking too much.
Off to town to get my toiletries!
