I do an intense level of cleaning prior to a sit, and I don’t need or want sitters to do the same on return. If there is something a sitter needs to clean even more to make it functional for them - go for it! But searching out a dusty corner that I somehow missed? That’s not really doing me a favor.
There’s a degree of “where’d they put that?” that amuses me whenever I return home, but I would not welcome someone deciding to organize anything in the kitchen. It probably doesn’t make sense to anyone else, but to me my kitchen IS organized. And I take care to go the extra mile with the kitchen for sitters - including moving some common items to lower areas, as I am tall and all my most-used items are up high.
I don’t search out dusty corners. I just sometimes happen to find them when I’m doing a regular cleaning as part of what I usually do but I sometimes miss myself at home and only notice later. When that happens at home, I just take a duster and finish what, unintentionally, was left out. If someone cleaned that when I am away, I would never notice, I would just assume that they had left the house just as it was.
There’s a different scenario, which is the one that led me to open this thread:
Let’s say that the owners didn’t have time to clean as thoroughly as they would have liked but they are aware of what was not so thoroughly cleaned. In that case, I would probably feel a bit embarrassed if I came home to an improved level of cleaning. But, to my surprise, you are the first host to say that.
Same! Also, I deep clean the areas Sitters are most likely to use. But if they head to an area that they decide to use that didn’t get deep cleaned (for example, one of the office spaces, which we assume won’t be used unless we discuss beforehand that they are remote worker, etc) and they do some extra dusting in there to use it for themselves, that’s completely fine. I would hope they wouldn’t knock off stars because there was a dust bunny or two on the desk in that case, but I wouldn’t care at all if they cleaned it (and reorganized it for them - as long as they put everything back).
I mean, I do a deeeeep clean for sitters. If I knew something didn’t get scrubbed to my usual level, I’d let the sitter know and apologize - in that case, I don’t think I’d be embarrassed about coming home to a cleaner space, but I’d be embarrassed to have missed something, but also, I think it would have worked out fine with any of the sitters I’ve had to date.
But like, if someone scrubbed my cleaned-but-obviously-used stove burner drip pans so that they looked brand new again? I’d think that’s a them thing.
Yeah, I would not be embarrassed. That is a little much. I am very proud of my home, I have lots of friends that enjoy it as well. We clean because we’ll, one, people who actually use there homes finds some corners that get dusty. Having a sitter over is good timing for a “spring cleaning” as we call it here, but it would happen eventually anyway.
But really a sitter that is likely a transient presence in my life - I am not embarrassed about my home regardless of what they think. Actually, I am only concerned with the ratings. I have no time in life to care if a sitter thought their “clean” was superior to mine and therefore “overly” cleaned, or folded messy towels. I would be mildly annoyed but would not care and would certainly not be embarrassed.
I only want to hit the mark of matched expectations, otherwise a sitters’ clean can be whatever level higher than mine and I could not care less. I also don’t care for those that state houses are dirty if they have to be deep cleaned, or my home is not ‘upscale’ or kept at a level of a 5 star hotel. As was already stated, that would be a them problem. That is not me, my home, or my life and not do I want it to be.
Hope that makes sense, but I am certainly not embarrassed of you “over” clean.
I am an overthinker and I know that is a me thing. Nothing to proud of but something difficult to fight.
Regarding the “them/me” relationship in house sitting, I always aim for 0 footprint in the time I am alone in charge of the home and pets and 0 judgement.
I’ll develop a bit:
0 judgement comes natural to me because, although I am highly participative and critical in collective decision making, I am nearly allergic to telling others what they should do or being told what I should do regarding private matters and there’s nowhere as private as our personal space and home. Welcoming other people into that space is such an act of generosity and trust that judging it feels like an act of betrayal.
I mostly don’t use the star rating system but I do write factual information in the friendliest possible way. Cleanliness and tidiness, together with hospitality are the most difficult issues to deal with for me because, in general I am quite accommodating and don’t really mind unless it’s something that feels disrespectful and there’s no universal standard to assess that. But I also feel that it’s fair to give some clues to other sitters to help them (and HO) to make good matches.
The 0 footprint seems quité straightforward but there may be also some small, unintended prints. For example, I never considered I should create a guest profile on streaming services or disconnecting the subtitles until someone in the forum mentioned as “a little irritation” to come back home and being unable to continue watching their programs at the point they had left them. As I am not a regular consumer of streaming, I just didn’t think of it.
Of course, these are just minor concerns but part of potential improvements.
And not just this mid programme thing but all the programmes sitters watch change the algorithm and so the HOs start getting suggestions after they return home to watch whatever your niche favourite entertainment is be that Zombie films or Jane Austen!
We have guest profiles on all our streaming services already…but we had had one sitter whose native language wasn’t English. They had turned on Spanish subtitles and it took me a good 10 minutes to find the setting to turn it off! Again they were excellent sitters and my dog loves them so no biggie, but yes it would have been nice if they remembered to turn it off before they left.
I’ve been carrying a Roku stick & remote with me on my travels for the past 2 years, both in the US & internationally. Solves SO many Streaming issues & frustrations!
I have a slightly spider friendly home. By that I mean I might leave a small web happening as that spider will do me a favour eating mosquitos. Win win. But when the web starts to get out of hand, well no. I never kill a spider by choice and encourage them back into the garden. But you know I am an Aussie and pretty relaxed with spiders
Well, I said that just half tongue in cheek. I still think it belongs in this thread.
To be honest, I don’t have that kind of respect for spiders, insects and such. At home, I just get ready of them if they appear but they don’t really bother me at someone else’s home. I guess there’s a threshold that could be reached but, in this case, I just consider if I should get ready of them because I do respect other people’s choices. They did tell me not to use one shower, gave several reasons I don’t remember but I remember they pointed at a snail resident. They didn’t mention the spiders in the lounge, so it could be a choice or just forgetfulness. The house is not unclean in general terms. The closer I get to leaving, the less sense does it make to get ready of them. So I think I will just leave them alone.
I may mention them in a humorous way just to make other sitters aware in case they’re not interested.
Same. Most keep their cleaner in employment during their holiday, which I really love! 3/26 homes have been filthy on arrival - some people live this way and don’t know any different. Since these experiences I now share Ts & Cs with every host, and ask if their house is clean on the discovery call before accepting. If filthy on arrival, I take photos & sent them to THS (asking them not to take action until the sit is over), then I clean it so I can enjoy a clean space. Each made comments on how clean they found it; they each received 1 star for cleanliness & a descriptive review. The more honest we are in our reviews, the more HOs are likely to up their game for the next sitters, which really helps them in the long run. But it’s not just cleaning that HOs notice, it’s things like the vase of flowers, welcome-home-card, and clean sheets on their bed ready for them to sleep that also make a difference. It’s these things that bring the most joy when arriving home.
haha - in my late 40s and - thanks to THS - learned I have a severe dust allergy One cottage I stayed in hadn’t been cleaned since the 14th Century, which apparently affects my ability to breathe
One cottage I stayed in hadn’t been cleaned since the 14th Century, which apparently affects my ability to breathe