As a sitter I noticed sometimes that owners don’t leave much refrigerator space. It’s usually enough though but sometimes it’s a tight fit. On the other hand there is almost always no freezer space. This has caused some headaches as we sometimes bring frozen items or the supermarket is very far from the home and we need to freeze items so we dont need to waste so much time going to the market frequently. Anyway as an owner now I ALWAYS make sure the freezer is empty enough for someone to store at least 1 week of food. Honestly I make sure to leave it at least 50% empty. I know other sitters experience this problem because one even asked me ahead of time about how much freezer space we had and others are just RELIEVED when they see my freezer has so much space and then immediately share the same story about how owners NEVER have freezer space. I’m not kidding when I say Ive stayed in MULTIPLE houses with THREE freezers and not a single one had more than a liter of space.
So as a PSA to all owners, please leave some freezer space for sitters. In fact it should be noted to the house owner by TH about this issue too in my opinion.
I had always left alot of room in the refrigerator & hadn’t thought about the freezer until I read a blog by a sitter that mentioned freezer space. So, for our next sitter they will have plenty of freezer space!
Whenever I’ve had house sitters or house guests, I’ve considered their needs for clothes storage, fridge and freezer space, room for toiletries and nightstand items. Why: Those involve basic needs for living.
And if someone is going to be telecommuting from my place, I consider whether they’ll have enough room to do that. My husband and I like our home offices to be left alone, so we make sure there’s an alternative.
If we lived in tighter quarters, we’d also clear and/or pack up things that might be considered clutter to the guest(s).
Why all the above: When you extend hospitality and you want guests to be comfortable, you look through the eyes of a guest. If not, then maybe you don’t actually care much for their comfort. And as a sitter, I consider that with potential hosts as well.
Communication is key, but it would be great if instead of just sending HOs an email reminding them to tidy up, they sent a checklist. They could even tie it to the "amnenities " listed so for example: “check and wipe down fridge and freezer/make room for sitter’s supples.” (Updated to say, I just discovered they do that.)
Yes @CatsAndDog is right @Marion - HOs do get that checklist already (or should do). Have had several HOs moan that it’s way too detailed & dictatorial when it’s their own home, but hey, can’t have it all!
I feel your pain. We sit as a family of five and in the interview I ask for refrigerator and freezer space but upon arrival, so many homeowners do not leave us enough space. We eat power smoothies every morning that includes frozen berries and it makes it so hard without enough freezer space
Son of a gun! It is there. First of all it comes to some part of my email I don’t go to. Also you have to click something on the message to get to the check list. It is pretty comprehensive. My guess is most HOs like me, never see it.
I actually asked my sitter what she liked to eat as I wasn’t in walking distance to the nearest shop and I filled the fridge of foods she liked! She was quite happy
Hello @Sharon2 and a very warm welcome to the Community Forum and thank you for being a very thoughtful homeowner
For reference, as a member, you can also add your TrustedHousesitters profile on to your Forum profile by following the attached link, should you wish. This will then enable others to offer you helpful advice and feedback and will also give your listing extra exposure!
If you are unsure how to do this, or if you have any questions at all, do not hesitate to ask, we are all more than happy to help.
Also, remember you can use the spyglass symbol at the top of the page next to the TrustedHousesitters logo and search for any questions that you may have as they have most likely already been answered on here and of course if not then please just ask!
You are so smart to ask! I didn’t even think of this. Freezers have not been my issue to date; usually it is food that will go off in the fridge or in the counter and then I have to either decide to throw it out, ask what they prefer or leave it for them to deal with when they got home.
Thanks for making a great point. As a sitter I’ve experienced some seriously full refrigerators and freezers. I also sat for a woman who said she didn’t cook much. Her refrigerator had a dozen eggs, a half bottle of salad dressing and a half drunk bottle of soda. The freezer had half a rotisserie chicken and a bag of frozen vegetables. She also didn’t have any cooking utensils, none.
It was still a fun sit. I loved the cat.
I too am a HO and a petsitter. On my first sit in Anchorage, Alaska, the refrigerator was completely packed with dining out leftovers—much of it was meat, that I don’t eat. I had to do a lot of cleaning in that home but the only part that grossed me out was the fridge. I thoroughly cleaned out all of the perishables (2.5 week sit) and I texted the owners to let me know that’s what I’d be doing. They hadn’t even thought about it.
It stuck with me. When I prepare for sitters to come to my house, cleaning out the fridge is always on the list. It’s the right thing to do.
In all, it was just a blip. The wonderful pets and the beauty of Alaska more than made up for it but I’m more specific now when asking for some refrigerator space.
I have been both HO and Sitter. As an H0 we always leave an empty fridge apart from the food we have left the sitters. Milk, jam, eggs and cheese. But you are right about freezer space often it’s limited I will ask in future. Current sit has freezer space and I have re arranged fridge to give us some space.
Ps would anyone ever throw stuff away that was left in fridge? Like condiments that are 2 years out of code……
I suggest you ask the HO, along the lines of, I’m trying to make room and wonder whether there’s anything in the freezer that you wouldn’t mind giving up. That way, they’re not surprised unpleasantly and they might better recognize for future sits that they should leave room in the freezer.
I always ask for Fridge/Freezer and Cupboard space, not bothered about Wardrobe/Draw space we are used to living out of bags, however yes Fridge/Freezer space would be great.
I think that possibly HO’s quite often just don’t think about it, or think that the Sitter/s will be eating out mostly so it’s not required.
Thanks for raising it and if all HO left room in the Fridge/Freezer that would be awesome.
Have a great day.
