How does this help the pet?
Not leaving a review is not helpful to the next sitter - they cannot make an informed choice.
While you may suffer through a disgusting house, not every sitter will. Thus, being nice leaves a pet without a sitter.
Please leave a review. Be kind, but truthful. I appreciate it
A question for the homeowners:
How would you feel about a checklist from your housesitter regarding the preparations for your flat?
I am thinking about writing one and explaining it with that I had some not so good experiences in the past and would appreciate it a lot, if they would take the time to check the list.
I would put things on it like:
and so on…
How would you feel about a list like that? 
Frankly: pets smell. If someone is bothered by a laundry basket, I find it hard to imagine how they can stand being pet sitters.
I would not appreciate if a sitter would start washing my clothes. If I were a home owner I would mention something like “clean freak” in the review, to warn others. And I might actually deduct a star for cleanliness.
Well, I am normally not bothered by a laundry basket. But if the whole room smells from it, then I am. Especially, if it is located in the bed room. And about the “pet smell”. I don’t mind a dog smell, quite the opposite, I like to have them close by me and cuddle a lot. But smell of old sweat in the whole flat? No thanks 
@pietkuip - I am guessing that you have been lucky so far. Arriving at a filthy home, thankfully, is not common but when it happens, it is not a pleasant experience.
It has happened to us once in 46 sits. If we arrived to find such an appalling situation again we would refuse to stay.
@Nana I’d be fine with a list. It helps with fit and expectations.
Sorry for the bad time, know you aren’t alone…
Was there no other closed room or closet to put it?
I cannot imagine as a guest taking liberties like sorting my host’s dirty laundry. There would also be a risk that one would see or feel something disgusting. And like I said, as a host I would have been displeased.
PP here. I think it depends on the delivery.
If the sitter mentioned in the chat prior to confirmation (or, before the sit, if a sit between sparked the need for it) that they’d had some unexpected challenges and wanted to make sure everyone was on the same page, sure. It also depends on what would be on it.
I already receive a checklist from THS before my sits - and based on the threads here, I may be in the minority in that I read it and take it seriously. Is a PP who ignores a checklist through the site itself likely to adhere to a checklist from the sitter?
yeah, I’d have put that somewhere I didn’t have to smell or even see it. If no room was available I’d wrap the whole thing in a trash bag until it was time to go. 
No, the laundry basket was unfortunately tied to the wardrobe close to the bed 
Really? I would have felt kind of bad, knowing that they could put their clothes in the trash afterwards. Because there were even wet towels in it. A paradise for mold 
But nevertheless, I can understand your point of view, too. I would not like somebody else to wash my clothes, too. That beeing said, I would also never burden someone with my smelly clothes for weeks. And if it would happen, I would certaintly not be angry with them for finding a solution to the problem. 
Would you mind to share the checklist? I am really curious about the topics in it.
Not my (or your) problem!
Ok, ok, realistically, I’d probably at the very least hang the towels to dry so they would not mold. THEN I’d put the whole lot somewhere I didn’t have to think about it.
@Nana Well done you. I understand your thinking about their cloths. I would have felt bad too. But I don’t think I would have washed their stuff. Maybe the towels, when you do your next batch. But not their clothes. I would have put it in a closed room, but as you say, it was tied. I might have untied and relocated the lot. But of course, we’re not there. Is it a really small place?
However, when you finished the sit, PLEASE tell the HO this is not the way to prepare for a sitter and they will need to address that in future. Even if they just move the laundry basket to their cupboard, it’s already a consideration.
It comes in an email right before the sit, and I have cleaned out my inbox. But it includes all the things sitters say they want - ensure that all rooms and surfaces are clean (in far more detail than I just said it), clear space for sitter’s clothes and food.
One item I can remember - because I honestly hadn’t thought of it - was to make sure all pet beds and blankets have been washed prior to the sit.
This is the cleaning reminder I received last month (July 2023). See next post for continued list. image|349x500
This is a good list!
Thank you so much for posting these! I’m going to add them to my website and make sure that the homeowner sees them.
I bet there is so much communication from TH that it’s easy to overlook yet another email. Another online connection service that I’d belonged to sent so much, so often, it was impossible to keep up!
If people did HALF of what is on that list, it would be such a huge improvement
