I never know what to do regarding the bedding at the end of a sit. Do most sitters strip the bed? Do you put it in the washing machine? Or do you leave it to the owners? There is seldom time to wash and dry the linen before leaving and the owner probably wants to put clean bedding back on anyway, so I am often in a quandry.
I generally strip the bed if I have time. A few times I have washed the sheets and remade the bed but never really sure about that.
And if you do remake the bed, do you iron the sheets first? I’ve never ironed sheets once at home but later I wondered if I should have.
Generally I ask the home owner if they want me to wash/remake.
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I’ve always tried to leave the house as I found it which includes remaking the bed with clean sheets if I’ve been using the master bedroom. If I have a very early departure and I’m in a guest bedroom I will just strip the bed. This probably dates back to the first few home sits in Australia where people returning home from overseas will have had a very long flight and the last thing they need to think about is making their bed before the fall into it.
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I ask the owners what they prefer. I tell them I’m happy to do it and leave to them to decide. At the very least I offer to strip the bed and put on clean sheets if extras are available. My goal is to leave someone’s home, as clean or cleaner than when I arrived. My experience has been that sitters do that for me, as well.
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We always strip the bed. If we have time, we usually wash the bedding + remake the bed too, but we wouldn’t wash it if the owner would be back before it finished - just in case they need wash their laundry urgently.
As @Wendy said we try to leave it how we find it, but sometimes it is hard if owners are getting back early.
We’ve found homeowners are quite often pleasantly surprised that we have washed the sheets - but it’s really no bother to us.
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If in a warm climate, we usually wash it & put it out to dry.
If not possible we strip it.
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I’m always guided by the owner’s preferences but carry a kingsize flat bed sheet and pillowcase (white of course, but that’s me) I fold as a top and bottom sheet on my last night (have also used for an entire stay) allowing me to launder bedding, remake the bed, always leaving a freshly made bed and launder my sheet at the next sit …
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We never ask the HO about his preference. We do it like @ChrisAndSuzeGoWalkies . HO will always say that is not necessary. We think the HO should have as little work as possible due to our presence. At best, he should not even notice that we were there, apart from happy pets.
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We always ask the HO what we should do. The usual response is to strip the bed and duvet cover and either take it to the utility room or leave by the washing machine. If we have time to launder it then we will.
It we are sleeping in the master bedroom then we would put clean bedding on. The HO has usually told us where the spare bedding is.
If we did put the original laundered bedding back then we would not iron it.
It really depends on what time they are arriving back.
There are also the towels to think about and the dog towels, at the same time as carrying out a last clean of the house/bathrooms etc. Taking dogs out for a last walk. There is so much to do on the final days.
We had one sitting where the HO showed me around and asked if we had brought our own bedding. She advised her regular sitter always brought her own bedding and her own vacuum cleaner! I have not asked to go back.
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As a HO myself i always say not to strip bed. For myself it is not the bed i sleep in anyway, its a spare room bedroom so i do not need it changed for myself and would be happy to do it myself when i returned. All I ask is that sitters leave all the towels they used in a pile. We are just happy to have someone in our home and look after our dogs. If a HO did want them changed i’m sure they’d ask or if your unsure I’d ask on your arrival so your both clear Though after reading this blog i can see that a lot of sitters would feel happier to wash bedding.
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We always strip and wash the bedding and remake the bed. We’ve never really had to leave a sit very early in the morning - that would be different if we didn’t have time to wash and remake.
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I normally strip and put them on a wash. If I have time I hang them to dry as well
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As a home owner only one sitter has never left clean sheets on the bed. It feels more welcoming. The one sitter left the bed made up and I had to ask her if she changed the sheets. I prefer clean sheets or a stripped bed. At least you know.
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We always strip the bed and wash the sheets. If time allows, we will remake it, otherwise I will leave the clean sheets folded on the bed so the HO knows they were washed.
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We always strip the bed. If time allows we will wash and dry it too. We haven’t always known where the clean bedding is, and didn’t want to remake beds with the same bedding in case the HO thought we had just left it. So we’d normally leave it folded neatly.
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I always strip the bed, wash the sheets and towels and re-make the bed if time allows. I also make sure HO know that the linen is all clean. Like others, my aim is to leave the home as I found it or cleaner and tidier.
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I wash sheet/towels/tea towels & any cleaning cloths,hang them on the washing line in the morning & hope they’re dry before we leave.
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I always ask, as one of my first sits the homeowner very specifically instructed me to only strip the bed and leave towels and bedding in the laundry room unwashed as she had very specific routines for washing them.
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We had one sitting where the HO showed me around and asked if we had brought our own bedding. She advised her regular sitter always brought her own bedding and her own vacuum cleaner!
Oh, that’s hilarious!
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I have always stripped the bed, laundered it, and remade the bed. If there isn’t time I will at least put it in the washer and start the machine for them. I wash the towels as well.
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