Oh gosh. We have more than enough towels. Always clean bedding. And loads of cleaning supplies.
Do you think a dirty house is common? Generally people complain and don’t praise in a forum like this. I didn’t know if it’s perfection they are seeking or just general cleanliness.
I always carry clothes 
I think you mean cloths 
@Loreemezz , no it’s not common. Most of the time homes are clean enough. Clean homes don’t warrant a forum topic, though.
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OT, but whenever I clean baseboards (which I hate doing), I think about how no one ever notices clean baseboards. Only the grody ones. 
It wasn’t a very long sit. The family complained a bit so everyone took a moment to clean the place and replace their towels. Luckily it was still a good location and we had fun with the animals
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Me too…I can’t help but project my own wishes onto the HO. I do not want to be gone and come back to my house and have to clean it right away. But we just finished a sit where I would say cleaning standards were definitely less than my own, or what we’ve been used to on the sit. I cleaned the kitchen since that was a room we were working in and eating in, otherwise did my usually “very clean” before they got back.
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THIS is what THS and hosts count on us for. Good for you and we all do our best to stay, clean, make it livable and most importantly fly care for their furry animals. 
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I actually expect most HOs’ cleaning standards to be lower than mine, but I don’t want to live with grime and such.
So far, I’ve had one disgusting sit. There were obvious dirty streaks of ick running down their major appliances, collecting over long term. Their fridge had black gunk in all the shelving crevices. They had tabletops and placemats that were sticky to the touch, and the buildup would’ve required scrubbing that might’ve damaged the items. I ended up giving up on cleaning those and instead laid out paper towels or towels on top, so I wouldn’t have to touch such surfaces nor place my belongings on them. The odd thing was, the bathrooms were clean, thankfully.
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We all have different standards. I’m just saying what works for me. I’m also not looking for a germ-free, sterile environment since I believe that is not good for you. Again, I’m just saying what I do. I’m certainly not telling anyone else they need to follow.
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Thank you @Loreemezz for bringing another perspective and observation …
When it comes to clean and tidy I am OCD, I say so in my profile, if a home has been professional cleaned I will see what’s been missed not what is bright, shiny and clean. Finger prints on stainless steel drive me mad and when the sun shines on windows they had better be spotless or I’m running for the cleaning supplies.
Just as restaurant food quality and standards can be subjective the same is true of cleanliness, although in my opinion there is a line where that can be drawn by anyone’s standards.
To answer your question with my sitter’s hat on and from personal experience In 14 years and over 200 sits I can count on one hand the number of borderline standards and only one with real issues and every single sit was “hosted” by great PP/Owners, that never changed.
Communication between members is key. Having that pre sit, pre confirmation conversation to make certain you are the right fit for one another. THS, plays a role too by helping members know how to prepare for their sitter, sitters to prepare for their sit and how to leave a sit, by providing tips and advice such as:
“You will be welcoming a “guest” into your home and they will appreciate the care you give in making them feel at home so that all they need do is unpack, make themselves comfortable and enjoy your beloved pets and home”
Perhaps they do @mars to say thank you to the vast majority of members, on both sides, who make sits a win win win for everyone involved.
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We have been very lucky in that the vast majority of homes where we’ve done a sit have been lovely. In fact, most home owners go out of their way to make us feel welcome and appreciated: in general I LOVE the win-win attitude of THS members.
Not all home owner(s) are tidy. Tidy isn’t important to me.
Actually dirty is inconsiderate.
Worst mess we found: bed linens unwashed, towels unwashed, dirty dishes in the sink, the frig was disgusting with old food, dust on everything everywhere.
We spent the first day & a half cleaning the house to make it liveable.
But that wasn’t the worst of it!
They gave strict instructions NOT to enter about half the house : master bedroom, master en suite, office, workout room). Not a problem for us! We’d rather not enter rooms we don’t have to use.
When they returned? Wanted us gone before they got home.
We left every room we’d used clean, as well as welcome home food, and a nice note.
They wrote us a note complaining that, while their pet was clearly well taken care of and the garden looked very nice (I like gardening so did more than asked) and most of the house looked good - we had obviously not bothered to sweep, dust, wipe down (yes, you guessed it) in the master bedroom, master en suite, office, workout room.
We had to remind them they had told us NOT to enter those rooms so we had respected their wishes.
That sit was one of our first and was a bit of a turn-off: so glad we kept going with sitting because of all the lovely experiences it has provided.
People in the THS community are considerate and both HO & Sitter do the right thing as a rule. But a check list would be a good idea for the HO: when people are preparing to go on a trip they can forget to do something or simply not think of it!
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Yikes! I’m glad that didn’t completely scare you away.
Well, we were very new to this and didn’t know what to expect. I think it was our 3rd ever sit. One good thing: we’d been considering that town as a possible place to buy a home - a week? Fantastic. By 2nd week? Felt like hamsters in a cage.
Our first ever home sitters (before we flipped over to become sitters!) really taught us what not to do! Ignored our notes to them while we were travelling, used our Master Suite instead of the Guest Suite we asked them to use, Our bed & bathroom weren’t ready for us, they used our car (with our permission) but left the tank empty, the kitchen was messy. BUT our fur babies were clearly happy, and there were no major issues. WE were happy for the peace of mind. And learned from them what not to do!
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It sounds like you didn’t have a handover and that they arrived after you’d left.
Nope, they arrived the day before we left and left the day after we got back.
Don’t worry, most sitters are resilient and flexible, and not germaphobes.
You’re clearly very conscientious, so none of this applies to you!
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Same. I ended up cleaning the house best as possible and made it more comfortable for me. But to find that there are only empty bottles of shampoo and body wash with no soap around was a surprise. There was also a lack of many other common items in the kitchen that I ended up buying, which I don’t mind but the cleaning supplies. Nowadays, I always bring my own toiletries. It was because I travel light with only a hand carry that I thought I’d buy toiletries when I go groceries shopping the next day (we arrived late in the evening).
What? The audacity esp abt leaving the tank empty. If I ever get a sit that allows me to use a car, I would definitely fill up full tank regardless of full or empty the host left it for me. And how can one use the bed/room that wasn’t given permission? That’s dishonest.
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Very disrespectful sitters.
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