We’d probably be a bit wary as well if you would ask us to pay for a few toilet rolls or cleaning supplies. It has only once happened to us that somebody asked us if we could pay for the heating during winter (1000 EUR per month). In that case we withdrew our application. We don’t expect anything more than the most basic supplies being available and try to leave an equivalent amount when we leave.
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Hi CAnCan, I think you should expect to supply your sitter with loo paper, paper towels etc. Most home owners also say help yourself to pasta, rice, flour and condiments and many will also get extra food in . Consider how much it would cost you, if having to pay for a sitter each day and that you are getting this more or less for free. It is rather mean to expect them to pay for the very basics.
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I’m not very tech savvy , so don’t know how to highlight your last sentence but the other side of this is how much would it cost for an Airbnb and buying food for the sitter to enjoy a break. Two sides to every story.
As I have already said, I usually expect to use basic food stuffs. Anything I finish, I replace but if I’m there for a month I’ll go out and buy loo roll, replacement cleaning stuff, washing powder and anything else I’ve used while staying/cleaning the house.
That’s assuming a sitter is doing it to have a break. I’ve posted in another thread about how sitting actually frequently costs me MORE to do than not sitting. So if I evaluated things based on how much it would cost me to pay to stay there, I would never go.
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Same.
If I’m staying in hotels, Airbnbs, and other accommodation, that is my time. I can come and go as I please, be available at a moment’s notice to leave in case of an emergency, etc.
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We tend to do longer sits aiming for around a month at a time. We like to embrace the ‘trust’ element of trusted housesitters. We will use perishables and any open odds and ends then buy our shopping as we go. We don’t aim to replace every specific item we have used but do leave anything of ours that we don’t use. It seems a fair, albeit random exchange to us and hope our home hosts agree.
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Personally, I feel it is up to the HO to provide the basics (although I am courteous and will replenish things if I feel I have used more than would be classed as normal). I go above and beyond for their pets, without exception, so would hope that something like providing basic household items is something they would want to do.
I apply the same idea to cleaning…if the house is not so clean when I arrive, then I won’t go out of my way to clean before I leave…and I just maintain a liveable environment for my stay.
I wouldn’t want to find myself in a potential situation whereby I’ve given my all to the pets (in effect to give an inch but find that a mile is taken…)
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THS is an equal exchange; a place to stay for care of home and pets. As such we expect the homeowner to provide everything needed to care for their home and pets and we provide everything we need for ourselves. We have been told to enjoy everything found and sometimes use some of it. We have had to throw away food found upon our arrival. A gift basket of non-perishables has been a welcome surprise. A gift certificate for a dinner out has been a nice surprise. It is nice to have sufficient paper products for a week, after that we bring or can get our own and we are sure to leave some for their return. We leave the place at least as clean as we found it.
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Welcome cancan
You would expect owners to leave enough supplies but sometimes you may run out and should not be asking too much of a sitter to pay for a few small items. We are not cheapskates or paupers and should realise the owner has to pay for heating,property taxes, security alarms which cost a lot more than a bottle of cleaning spray or toilet paper. If owners are generous with supplies, I would go out of my way to super clean the place and leave supplies of any item that they might be running low in.
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I would never ask a sitter to pay for toilet paper. I also will allow use of spices etc. I think the goal for me is to treat the sitter as I would like to be treated.
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Jeez…is it too much to ask that HO’s leave at least a basic supply of toilet rolls? I am absolutely flabbergasted at the majority of HO’s tightness in this area! I’m someone who takes very little and replenishes everything (and more so). It would be really nice for someone to surprise me…
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We’re sorry you’ve had this issue. We leave at least 4-6 rolls (whatever the full pack has) to get the sitter started. For some, that’ll last their entire sit! 
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Might be poor planning rather than tight-fistedness.
Have you mentioned it in this or other sits?
I’ve never experienced this issue and am currently on my 32nd sit. Are you in the US?
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The majority of my HO have been very generous in regards to loo paper and I’ve completed many sits both in Australia and the UK. I never leave them short of loo paper either for their return.
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As I get nervous myself when there are “only” 4-5 rolls of toilet paper left, I wouldn’t dream of leaving just one or two for the sitter.
However if I left it to my husband to shop he probably would find it necessary to get new ones when using the last piece of paper 
and that’s exactly why I do it.
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@anon39388349 , I’m like you. I was so traumatized by the toilet paper shortage of 2020, not only did we install a couple bidets, I am also currently stocked with about 30 extra rolls of TP. 
my husband was very resourceful in 2020, although we still had enough rolls to last us a week at home. He called for “help” in his WhatsApp Group and 10 minutes later we had two packages of 10 hanging on our front door. Then we knew who the hoarders were
Never had this problem. In fact I’m mostly flabbergasted at the amount of stuff people have stored. There has been a few times I’ve open the bathroom cupboard and met with an avalanche of toilet rolls. Why?
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@ElsieDownie , I am not at all a hoarder! I hate clutter, but I like to have extra provisions on hand. I guess I inherited some of my mother’s and grandmother’s Depression mentality!
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