OMG, I did not realize that I set off a hornet’s nest with this post. Sorry to have offended so many people!!! It was not my intention. I grew up in an era when you used or took something from someone that you replaced it. It is common courtesy, but obviously that is not the case now. The only reason I even asked is because after traveling for 20 hours + and feeling super jet-lagged and bleary eyed it is nice to be able to have breakfast without having to go to the store first. And by the way I never leave moldy or bad food and expect HS to consume it. My apologies, I wish to drop this matter altogether.
I usually leave at least milk and bread for owners to return to. Often more. Depends on how the exchange went. Sometimes I leave a dinner for them in the fridge.
Thank you to everyone who has commented on this thread. Just a quick reminder that it’s okay to have different opinions and disagree but please keep it kind as per our guidelines.
That’s all I popped in to say as there were a couple of flagged comments. Thank you! Please feel free to continue the discussion as it seems a helpful one
I like to leave HO a few things like milk, eggs, butter when they return but in all honesty it depends on how convenient the grocery store is since I rarely have a car. If they left perishables I would not necessarily replenish them as I might have just thrown them out. I always replace anything I use a lot of, like olive oil, but they don’t necessarily need to be purchased with a separate trip to the store at the end of the sit.
For food, I literally mean ‘help yourself’ when i have a sitter, to anything edible/quaffable I just ask that there’s coffee/milk/cereal for my return and to let me know of anything that’s finished, as I’ll arrange for a food delivery the day after my return.
@lismac You’ve gotten a full range of responses. I hope you can use them to decide how you’d like to move forward.
Our two cents? We are both sitters and homeowners on THS.
As HOs, we do leave items on a small shelf in the fridge just for our return and ask the sitters to not use any of it. However, EVERYTHING else in the fridge they are welcome to use freely and we tell them they do not have to replace anything. Some sitters, before we return, do ask if they can pick up something fresh for us prior to our return, but most do not.
As sitters, we never use anything unless the HOs explicitly tell us that we may. And as sitters, we do text the HOs prior to their return and ask them if we can stock any items for them prior to their arrival home. No HO has ever taken us up on that offer.
So it really depends. Sorry we can’t tell you one way to do it. It depends on the individuals!
We also consider as a courtesy to leave milk, bread and egg (if we know the owner are not vegan !) for our pet-owner on their return.
If we had fruits bought for us on our arrive, we buy few fruits before we leave.
We always ask them (by phone / mail / message) if they need us to buy something for them on their return.
And we replace what we had (rice, oil, etc.). Commun sens and courtesy… We try to act as we have been received : usually with lot of attention. So we do.
I’ve never replaced perishables that would go off before a HO returned. They are either left to rot or disposed of. I’m a great believer in not having food waste.
Non perishables are different and I would always replace such unless advised otherwise by the HO.
Maybe make it clear in your welcome guide to leave perishables in your fridge.
Communication is the key. If a HO has left us stuff, (Not just stuff that will go off -that’s different) I let them know I will replace it UNLESS they dont want me to. And, I usually message a few days before we go and ask if there’s anything the HO would like me to buy for them…eg. milk, eggs, bread. Of course, this depends on the length of the sit.
I always buy my own food, toiletries, paper towels, laundry detergent, bath soap etc even when the pet parents say “help yourself”. This eliminates the need for myself and the PP to tally up / track what was there before they left for holiday vs when they arrive home from holiday.
I don’t care if the owners say don’t worry about replacing anything, as long as it isn’t perishable food e.g. fruit and vegetables. I ALWAYS buy and leave for my homeowners fresh bread, milk, some fruit and a cooked meal. Goodness, what harm does that do and wouldn’t you think it would be lovely to return home to. Doesn’t cost much at all nor a lot of time. So I guess I was just raised that if you take or use something of someone else’s, no matter what it is or the situation, you replace it. That to me is courtesy, good manners, logic and goes a long way to receiving an exceptional review as well. Don’t even know why it is such an issue to do this.
We’re like @ziggy in that we always leave milk, bread, eggs and a meal for the HOs return. We ask what we should/shouldn’t use so there’s no miscommunication but we don’t replace perishables. Sometimes on a long sit we ping the HO and say “anything we can get you before you land?”. In all this it’s about a matching of expectations, clear comms and respect and thoughtfulness on both sides of the exchange. #bekindpeoplebekind
Luckily you now live in an era where delivery services for groceries are widespread so you can book whatever essentials you want to return home to. If we’ve been asked to finish off perishables in the fridge it’s usually as a favour to the owners so they don’t return home to gone off milk and mouldy bread. Not everyone eats the same things, loads of people have dietary requirements, I find it truly bizarre you expect someone to know you’d like yoghurt for breakfast. But yes, clear communication in the listing would allow sitters to know your expectations.
I’ve had lots of different scenarios. In most cases home owners have told me to use up any vegetables, fruit etc that would have gone off by the time they return home. Why would I replace those with fresh vegetables/fruit? Some owners have said they’ll thrown out their unused food and I’ve told them not to as I can use it, so why would I replace those items?
I always buy milk and bread at least for the owners and will replace any non perishable goods I’ve used, often they end up with more than they left. Also, depending on when owners return and how far they’ve travelled, I’ve made a meal for their return.
The worst case scenario, despite the owners and sit being lovely, was arriving at the sit (which was a repeat) to a completely empty fridge! I thought that was quite rude and disrespectful.
If you expect the sitter to replace the food in the fridge, I recommend mentioning it in your listing or before accepting the sit. Personally, I wouldn’t accept a sit with such expectations, or I would clarify that I won’t be restocking the food. I don’t understand the concern, as the food would be thrown away if not eaten. If the food is inedible upon your return, expecting the sitter to restock seems unreasonable to me. This requirement suggests you think the sitter is taking advantage of you, which overlooks the value of their free pet sitting service. I would happily leave any unused food I bought for the host and inform them of any items that need restocking. However, please include this requirement in your listing, so people like me can steer clear.
Yes this “expectation” does need to be made clear and up-front in the listing itself (not just the Welcome Guide) - and I too would give this listing a swerve.
As a courtesy, I always ask hosts if they would like me to purchase any items for their return. None have taken me up on the offer.
My fridge is always empty when I return home from caring for pets - all of which is fine, as it is easy enough to grab a few items to tide me over from an airport/local shop on my way home. (Also, of course, there is the home delivery option.)
I don’t expect this of guests. Also when they are couchsurfers etc that I did not know.
I appreciate it when they reciprocate (some did get groceries), but I would think it quite weird if they were anxiously replacing item for item, bean for bean.
My sits aren’t really long enough to encounter spoiled perishables but I did once throw out some grapes that were well on their way to being raisins. I didn’t consider replacing and nobody complained.
@pietkuip I didn’t mean bean for bean, that’s silly. But if I were to OPEN a can of beans, or use a bag of frozen beans, I would replace them. I am talking about items that are non perishable items like canned food, frozen food, things like that. I don’t go replacing every grain of salt. I think it’s a thing we are taught by our parents growing up and also a country by country way of thinking/living.
I make no excuses for what I do and leave a housesit knowing I did my best and what I believe to be the courteous thing to do. I don’t really get why people can’t just accept this as a courtesy and a choice that some sitters make and I certainly don’t get anxious over it
The point of the thread was whether HOs could expect item for item replacement of bread, fruit and vegetables. Of course, I have no problems when other sitters take pains to do that. It is just something that I would not do if there were no specific instructions for that.
(I may leave other stuff. Other food or snacks or beer that I did not finish. I once left a power strip that I had bought for the stay, that fitted that country’s sockets.)
I just ask that there’s coffee/milk/cereal for my return and to let me know of anything that’s finished, as I’ll arrange for a food delivery the day after my return.