I have been a house sitter with THS for several years, although did not do any sits during the pandemic.
Since re-starting I have noticed a big drop in standards in regard to the cleanliness of home and general preparation for my arrival.
I know that THS have guidelines for homeowners but I have found myself wondering do new homeowners even read them.
I believe one thing that is supposed to be done prior to a sit is that hard floors are supposed to be mopped. Well half an hour walking around barefoot at my current sit certainly showed that hasnāt been done. Nor have I encountered any fridges that had been cleaned. Waste paper baskets have not been emptied, no space in wardrobes, nothing for a first meal, not even milk to make a cup of coffee.
At a couple of my sits it felt like the owners had just popped out to the shops and hadnāt come back. At one sit there were even medications still.sitting on the bedside table and half drunk bottles of water.
Have any other long term sitters noticed a drop in standards, and if so why do you think this is?
On the contrary, I have noticed the opposite. Pet parents have been going overboard to make us feel comfortable. All we ask is a clean, tidy home to stay in while we look after their pets. Nothing more, nothing less.
Some of the things we have encountered recently
New towels and bed linen bought specifically for us
Freezer and fridge stocked up for our stay
Voucher for local cafe
Whole closets emptied
House immaculate
Cars on offer, we have our own
Money left for sundries that they may have forgotten
One of the things we do appreciate is detailed notes about the pets, home and garden. There has been a vast improvement in communication and we really do appreciate this. The more information shared, the better the sit goes.
Some are putting in so much effort and stressing themselves out about everything. We do appreciate it but there is no need for everything to be perfect. We are there to look after your pets which is a thing we love. Buying food and putting up with less than perfect bed linen and towels is not a chore and it is embarrassing to be offered money and vouchers, which we always decline gracefully. We love what we are doing and as long as the pets are happy and the home is in a reasonable lived in condition we are content.
Hi @Pet , I think you may have been unlucky recently rather than there is a general drop in standards.
The truth is that we are working with the general public and standards vary immensely. Some go overboard with welcoming preparation, an unfortunate few drop well below the standard that is acceptable but luckily the vast majority fall in between the two, leaving their homes in a clean and welcoming state for their house sitters.
Except for being on high alert when doing video calls, there is not a lot more that we can do. Donāt let your lower-than-expected cleanliness experiences get you down, by the law of averages you are probably due a run of spotlessly clean homes to sit 
I agree ElsieDownie, so many owners are making huge efforts to make the sitters comfortable. I would feel terrible if a homeowner went through a ton of trouble to get ready for us to sit. Iād like there to be a balance. If the house is clean enough for your best friend to come over, thatās great. No need to take it to the 'mother-in-law is visiting" panic induced level. Iām sure everyone has different things that matter to them. A single shelf in the fridge is plenty for us. I can handle washing towels and linens, if thatās needed. And we are so used to living out of a suitcase for a week or two at a time that it wouldnāt really bother me. A clean bathroom is a big deal, but I can handle the rest. But then, we just inherited a hoarder house and have been emptying it for months. There isnāt much that can shock us now 
@Colin I donāt look for spotlessly clean homes, itās not an Airbnb Iām going to and in fact one of the homes was very clean, itās obviously kept that way all the time but just no specific preparations made for my arrival.
I could certainly do with a run of better prepared homes, itās getting very depressing.
@ElsieDownie thatās what I would have experienced in the past, so itās been a shock to have encountered the very casual attitude shown by my recent homeowners.
We are currently in a housesit where the HO- first timers- did nothing special for our arrival. Just made up a bed in the spare room. But no cleaning. We had to spend 2 hours on arrival deep cleaning- bathroom, toilets, kitchen surfaces, vacuuming everywhereā¦On arrival into a very cold house (in the woods) we asked about heating and were met with a very reluctant āwe were only planning to turn it on in Novemberāā¦and these were hosts who, in the video call, told us they wanted to make sure we are as comfortable as possibleā¦
As they jet off for a beach holiday on the medā¦ very disappointing.
I canāt compare what happened before as a sitter that joined THS in May. What I can say is the generally my sits have been in clean and tidy homes. My first sit in a rural location the HOās provided food for my stay and I had a clean and tidy Granny annex for my accommodation. My next sit was a spotlessly clean home. My third stay was spotless and the HOās took me for a pizza upon arrival.
In fact thereās only been 2 iffy sits but I think itās more about me learning to ask the right questions in the video chat.
@Lokstar Yes unfortunately you do get the odd rogue HO. Been there.
I recently rejected a sit as the HO mentioned inour video chat I wasnāt to touch the heating as their place in the UK was warm enough with no heating in December!
@richten1 good for you! That would have been a huge red flag for us too! Fortunately the next door neighbour here has the same heating system so they helped us turn it on. (With the HO permission to ask them)The HO did not even know how to operate it! Its a new house and they only moved here in Aprilā¦
@Pet Iām sorry you didnāt have a nice experience. I know itās frustrating when something doesnāt meet your standards. Iāve been with THS for many years and overall all my sits have been great. The cleanliness (pre and post pandemic) are about the same. The level or definition of ācleanā really does vary from host to hostā¦ just like it would from person to person. Iāve arrived in homes that are extremely spotless that I could eat off the floorā¦ while others looked like they hadnāt been dusted for a long time. Everyone has their own priorities on where they spend their time in regards to cleaning. The most important areas for me are 1)clean bathroom and 2)clean sheets and bed prepared. I usually expect to do extra cleaning upon arrival since my comfort level of clean is usually higher than the average. If I dont have toā¦ than thatās an extra bonus.
Regarding hosts leaving food for me, personally I prefer they donāt ā¦unless they ask me for a shop list. I always feel guilty when the host buys me lot of produce and then I donāt use it. I feel it is wasteful. I do like that they offer that I can use any perishables that they already hadā¦ and of course, spices etcā¦
I think in the pre-talk calls you can get a feel on what your experience will be. It is so important that the sitter and the hosts expectations match up that way both leave with a great experience.
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We had one like that. Luckily just one. Ugh, so many things were wrong with that. I feel your pain. It will pass!
@Harris2 Iāve never been particularly bothered if a place hadnāt been in pristine condition, and generally, in the past, owners have made great efforts with their preparations. The only similarity between the sits I have done recently is that they have all been short sits of a week or less. Maybe because they are short the owners donāt feel the need to make the same effort.
@Lokstar I think the heating issue is going to be a big problem, the costs in many places have sky rocketed. Itās probably something we need to discuss in more details now than we have before. Itās not nice being cold though. 
@richten1 that has always been my experience in the past.
Ohā¦that makes more sense. If itās just a few days, they may not think much of just leaving the house as is. Hope your luck improves with the next few sits!
Definitely. Iāve already had one conversation where the subject of heating in December was brought up very early by the HO and a clarifying conversation had to follow. This is going to feed into the āpaying for utilitiesā subject more & more in the current economic crisis.
We had one sit that was really bad this year as well- I think they were dealing with depression and the house was filthy. It was only a few days so we dealt with it, but it definitely changed what/how we ask about in our interviews to get a better sense. Itās also a good idea to go through reviews- if they have several but not one mentions the actual word ācleanā, thatās potentially the flag.
Like many say- weāve had over-the-top amazing sits- most of them in fact- but the more sits you do, the more likely you are to come across one that doesnāt align with expectations. And thatās best to just adjust to for the temporary situation it is.
In my experience, the overwhelming majority of homes Iāve found to be more than good enough in terms of how clean they are. Iāve only ever had one that required a lot of cleaning upon arrival just to make it liveable. It looked as if it hadnāt had a proper clean for a few years. Thankfully, that was a rarity. I love it when home owners have prepared some space in the fridge for us and cleared out all their perishables. I always really appreciate that as a sitter.