After 80 sits, we always leave a thank you card along with flowers/plant/chocolate/wine and a meal, or preperations for a meal for breakfast/lunch/dinner, depending on the HO arrival times and our length length of stay. The situation dictates what we leave. It’s not expected but has always been appreciated. What they do with it when we walk out the door, I have no idea but to me, it’s the thought and kind gesture that counts.
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Thank you @Vanessa_A, a very valid point for every discussion …
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Hi Katie - I’ve learned (the hard way also) that most garage door sensors are at the bottom of the garage door, mounted on the railing or wall. You can jump over the invisible beam and the door will continue going down. Hope that helps for the future 
Agreed - we don’t drink. Hosts sometimes leave wine. We appreciate the gift very much even though we don’t drink. We do cook a meal for most people and take into account any food issues they may have. Eg. We recently made gluten-free lasagne for a person with celiac disease. They don’t have to eat it - it is, as Vanessa says, the thought that counts.
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I usually leave a card as a thank you with a dog or cat on or both, as appropriate. When I had rare sheep I found a card with sheep on, chickens etc.
However, I’ve just started using Moonpig and incorporated my pics of the animals into the card. My first (herewith) is about to arrive at my last housesit and I’m sure it will go down well with the owner and be a nice keepsake too.
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Just as an example, while I have been on my house sit, my daughter decided to cut a daylily and bring it into my house while she was looking after our pets. Long story short, the cat quickly ate the flower when she had her back turned and she rushed the cat to the vet as it is extremely poisonous. Our cat, Princess, is so far fine, but she was kept for many days at the vet with a cost of just under $5000CAD. Just be very wary of bringing in plants unless they are pet safe.
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@Cin I’m so sorry to hear about your awful experience with your cat and Lillies, not everyone is aware of the dangers of these plants I’m so very glad you cat was able to survive the ordeal and I hope Princess continues to improve.
One very important point is when ordering flowers for cat owners always stipulate no `Lillies’ How to Spot Which Lilies Are Dangerous to Cats & Plan Treatment | ASPCApro
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I always take before and after pictures to match the house exactly how I left it.
I replace anything I have finished or used a lot of. I put a paper on the fridge at the beginning of my sit and just write stuff down.
My little signature thing is I leave a lasagna in the fridge for them to have plus Prosecco, bread and Caesar salad stuff. If we are going to be together for dinner, I make dinner or we go out and I pay and put the lasagna in the freezer (and don’t include the bread or salad.) I think about the ton of $ I have saved using their house, so I sometimes get them a gift or at least get the pet some nice toys.
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For my latest sit, I brought maple syrup to the sit for them as it was overseas, made them dinner when they arrived home and gave the woman a fun face mask. All just small thank you tokens.