Hello THS community, We have been house pet sitting for over four years but it was for friends or friends of friends. Now we have our first house/pet sit with THS in December. Have any of you put together a kit that you travel with? For example, we found that at our last housesit the shower was really slippery but they didn’t have a bath mat. We put that in our kit along with a small flashlight, magnifying glass, small scissors, wine opener, wine topper, pen and paper, wash cloths (so that I don’t ruin their washcloths removing my makeup), 9 volt batteries in case the fire alarms go dead and set off. Do any of you have kits that you travel with? If so, what have you found to be beneficial?
I once read a HOs review in which they complained that they found some of the sitter’s hair in the tub drain. I thought it was a bit over the top but I still take one of those rubber hair catchers with me. Also, an extension cord is something I have needed more than once.
We utilize THS a lot but even Airbnbs and hotels we’ve found slippery tubs so got a tub mat and cut it to the exact size of the suit case so it doesn’t take up much room for our world travels.
Dan and Nan
I assume this is sit you’ll be driving to with the kit? The only things I really bring on local sits are 1. frying pan (I often find they don’t have one or they have mega expensive ones that I’m not messing with)
2. Small kettle (because sometimes all they have is the fancy coffee machine)
3. Sleeping bag (so I can do all bedding the night prior to early departures)
4. All purpose cleaner + some microfiber cloths
5. Laundry pods (I have ultra sensitive skin and can’t always use what’s provided)
Otherwise I just wing it and hope they have the basics! I really haven’t had a sit that was missing many essentials, often it’s just a matter of lacking cleaning supplies or the vacuum doesn’t work very well (I’ve had to buy a broom lol)
We always bring a “kaasschaaf” (Dutch word: cheeseslicer) with us, since most HO don’t have this…
And well…since we two are really “Nederlandse kaaskoppen” (It is a Dutch saying and translated it means: Dutch cheeseheads)…
So it is really a thing we can’t do without.
An odd one not mentioned is ant bait- maybe not needed in the winter as much but summer time where I am we’ve used ours twice and HOs twice so 4 times since doing this. Tons of ants gross me out so it’s been very helpful. We like the Terro liquid stations. Be sure to keep out of pets reach.
I also have some extra first aid items/over the counter medicines,
a 14 in deep sauce pan (you never know the condition of other’s cookware)
a few standard spices,
Our own pillows,
a hand towel and body towel
extra blankets (we have some hybrid down ones that compact quite small but are very warm
easy on/off shoes for taking pets out easily - very handy at night
night light can be helpful
phone charger
We have poor tasting water so we have a water purifier in case it’s horrible
I’ve had to face extra slippery showers too, and relying on public transport, taking lots of extra stuff is not an option, so I came up with a solution… throw a towel on the shower floor… I just wash it after.
I also went to one sit where there were fleas. Not everyone is allergic to flea bites like I am, and the HOs don’t always know if their pet has fleas. So I always take a tub of flea powder with me as part of my kit.
