Hello, this can’t just be me that does this… or is it… lol.
Before I leave for a sit, I wash all our Bedding, Towels & get all our washing and dried, I clean the Kitchen, Deep clean the Fridge/Freezer x 2, Dishwasher, Washing Machine, Dryer, Clean the Bathrooms, empty all the Bins, Air the place, Freeze anything perishable that I can, that I am not taking with us, Hoover, Mop etc, basically spring clean.
My Teens think I am crazy, I say to them, we are kinda going on Holiday, we are going to have a staycation in someone else’s home with their Pets and no one is at ours, when we get home and have to unpack, wash etc, I want clean sheets, towels, clean bathrooms, kitchen, I don’t want to open the fridge and have to deal with a rotten lettuce that got left behind by accident!
Or is this just me…
I usually put the car through the Car wash the day before and one of the Teens cleans out the inside too… I don’t like turning up to a new HS in a dirty car (If it has rained I don’t, because it’s only going to get more dirty) lol.
When I get to the New HS be it a repeat or not, I give the Bathrooms/Kitchen a quick clean and check the dishwasher filter and washing machine detergent compartment oh and the kettle for limescale build up. I usually clean these with white vinegar before using them.
This is not a serious post, I’m just having some fun with it and mostly because my Teens are convinced I am the only person who does this.
Have a great day sitting…
Hi @Manda - your post made me laugh out loud.
I do similar things but not to the degree that you do 
Before leaving for a sit I do all the laundry and have a good clean up. I ensure no perishables are left and the bins are emptied. I like to return home to a clean house with fresh bedding and towels.
Hubby washes the car and valets inside (but he takes pride in the car just as a matter of course).
Hopefully I don’t find it necessary to clean on arrival at a housesit. Sometimes it has been necessary 
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My hubby jokes that we spend more time cleaning other people’s homes than we do our own! He is a bathroom cleaning expert but he had a good teacher.
I had a friend who did this . They went to their caravan most weekends in the summer . Every time before leaving she did a “deep clean “ of the entire house ( which was always immaculate anyway ) She also insisted that her husband clean all the windows and that the garden was immaculate. She said that if anyone broke in whilst they were away she would be embarrassed if they found her home messy!!
I like coming home to my own home being clean, but to be honest, we do not do that! If the THS home is dirty, I will do a bit of cleaning to feel comfortable, but I don’t do anything with vinegar. Your methods are a bit “over the top” in my opinion, but everyone is different! That’s what makes our world so interesting…
@Silversitters that is so funny as my mom always said if something happened to us on a trip then someone would have to come into our home and if not clean, they would see our mess.
I always tell my husband (who is so used to it now) that our home must be clean (and that includes zero dirty clothes in the hamper and clean sheets on the bed) because if someone broke in the police would need to come and would see our dirty house. He would always laugh at me but he helps now because he knows it’s just the way I am and always will be
Lol, I love this, I always think “what if something happened to us and had to come in, if there washing to be done etc” x
lol, I am glad I am not the only one who thinks like this. x
lol, oh I had a full year of intensive therapy for my OCD, down to pegs and clothes hangers, and my NEED for them to all be the same colours, types and hung in colour orders… needless to say, I know and the family know when “Mum is really anxious” I will use the pegs in colour and hangers, they know then to all pull a bit of extra weight to help ease my anxiety. lol xxxx
Lol, sounds like our’s except my Hubby likes his Car clean, but doesn’t like doing it! thankfully we have Teens who like earning pocket money, so they are always happy to detail the insides of the Cars, lol. xxxx
When can I sit for you?
My mum always cleaned the house top to bottom before we went on holiday because, and I quote “If we get burgled I don’t want the burglar to think we are dirty buggers”
I clean our house before holidays (to a high standard) - not for the burglars, but because I love coming home to a clean place. I drew the line at filling up the car before we left on holidays, because I don’t want to gift burglars a free fill
My husband has travel/flying anxiety and he has a routine, which helps him deal with his anxiety. I used to be the kind of guy who would fill a bag and grab my passport an hour before I depart and plan to get to the Airport ‘Just In Time’. That never happens now.
Our house is operating theatre clean before we leave and even though this is usually for the benefit of our Sitters, we do this even if we’re taking the dog too. The bags are packed days before we travel too.
I benefit from this, as he cleans the house! I want him to be calm before travelling so this is how it has to be.
If this makes you happy before travelling, go for it!
My family will be your future sitters! A couple homes we petsat for waso dirty by our standards. It sucks to clean up on arrival when we should be spending that time bonding with the animals. Luckily I have teens too so they are on cleaning duty
But she’s talking about cleaning her home before leaving for a sit, no one sitting in her home
lol, we don’t have a home to sit as such, we live in a Ex London Bus.
Lol, My Mum said this and also, what if something happened to us, what would people think if they had to come into our home a bit like the having clean underwear on in case you end up in Hospital!
I do it for all these reasons and also, I like to come home to clean bedding and home, just unpack from our sitting, plus like atm we are home overnight then back on another sit.
If we ever move back into a Home, I’d do THS. Being honest, a few of our regulars we clean as soon as we get there, some will make a cake and leave heaps of fruit and veg for us, some don’t, mind nothings changed, it’s been this way for years and then some it’s spotless, we can just unpack and we leave it spotless. The Regulars who’s homes we clean when we get there, thankfully we have years of bonding, they know we have a big “hello, missed you, great to see you” when it’s a new sit or a one time sit, that’s sad, mind, I usually send the Teen’s out to play or walk Dogs or play with Cat’s while I do Bathrooms and Kitchen, then we all unpack. However people live how they live and it’s their choice at the end of the day, I just thought it would be a good topic, and so I can tell me Teen’s “I am NOT the only one who cleans their own place and does all the Bedding and Washing before they leave” lol.
x
I hear you, I think this is why my Family let me “just get on with it” and keep out of the way and be on hand when I call for them to do something, usually it’s reach something as I am quite short! lol.x
lol, I love the not filling the car up with fuel, let the tyres down too, that will stop them. (as long as you have a portable tyre pump at home, otherwise that’s not good,lol) I love clean sheets, when we had cleaners I had the clean sheet’s 2 x a week, or maybe it’s more the OCD, idk, It makes me feel much happier, calmer when it’s all clean. x