Silly naive question but… I am looking for someone to come to my apartment when I’m away for the holidays and basically
water my 3 plants once on a Sunday, and then put them back in the sun
pick up my mail a few times during the week from the mailbox and bring it to my kitchen.
Is that something someone would do? I sadly have no pets, and I see a few folks around my neighborhood. Can I just contact them to find out their interest? They would NOT have to stay in my place - just mail and plants.
The whole concept of THS -as a fair exchange- is that the sitter will stay (at least one night) at your home. Why otherwise would a sitter (basically a stranger to you) want to collect your mail and water your plants -for free?? What would be the benefit for them? If you are comfirtable having a sitter stay in your home there are definitely those who might enjoy a simple sit with out pet care duties. We once had a 12 day sit with no pets -( just home security was needed) and it was a nice change from our 99% other sits with pets! So if you are happy to offer your home in exchange then go for it! But if you don’t want a live in sitter then you will need to look for a paid service.
We house sat for a family this summer in Washington. They took their dogs with them and our family stayed in their house for two weeks watering their indoor and outdoor garden and collecting mail
@raa In answer to your question whether someone would come to your house during the day only to water plants and bring in mail:
Not for free. And NOT through Trusted Housesitters (THS).
THS is an exchange of equal services: you provide free lodging in exchange for pet (or plant) care.
So unless you offer a clean home with no indoor cameras for someone to stay in while you’re away, you’ll have to hire someone to do the tasks you’ve listed here.
Welcome @raa you don’t have to own a pet to find a great house-sitter to look after your home on TrustedHouseSitters.
A sitter will be happy to look after your home , water your plants and pick up your mail for no charge. In exchange they will stay in your home for the entire time you are away , keeping it secure and alerting you to any problems at the property (if any arise during the stay ) also without any charges to them.
You could try but they would probably not be interested. Typically, the sitters would want to stay in a different country or at least in a different city. So this site works by advertising your listing to the world. Sits with light duties are usually quite popular. (But now for the holidays, there is more demand than there are sitters wanting to travel.)
Alternatively, you could ask a neighbour or a local acquaintance.
What would be the benefit for the person who comes to water your plants and take in yout mail? If they don’t get to stay the night, why would they do it?
The general idea is it to be a win-win for both parties. It’s a win for you, but no benefit at all to the sitter. They would be going out of their way and spending fuel money and time for a complete stranger until you get to know people. It needs to be a fair exchange.
There are loads and loads of sitters on here that would love a place to stay that didn’t have any pets, simply for a relaxing break. So why not just offer your place as accommodation instead. You’d have plenty of takers that way.
The whole point of Trusted Housesitters is the exchange. No money is exchanged but people stay in your home during the sit – whether there are pets or not. If you are okay with a sitter staying in your home and getting your mail and watering plants, you can look for someone to do that. However, you’ll need to make sure your home is guest ready – clean. Sitters will clean up after themselves, but they aren’t cleaners. You’ll need to make sure there is a bed for them to sleep on – not a pullout sofa, plus clean linens and towels. You don’t need to stock your fridge, but there should be some cooking staples and basic toiletries.
Given that people can usually get a friend or neighbor to look after plants and mail for free, many people won’t use a sitter unless there are pets or extensive gardening duties, or other things that need to be done or if they live in a remote place and they are afraid an empty home will attract breakins.
Hello @raa I am joining others in wishing you a warm welcome to the community forum.
Thank you for starting this topic, it’s really helpful as it is quite common for people to not know how THS works compared to other housesitting services and the forum is often the first stop in finding out more information, it’s great that you came here for some help and guidance
I can see that several community members have jumped in to help and explain how THS works and share their pet-free housesitting experiences, which is what the forum is all about. I will also share our ‘how it works’ page and help desk as there is lots of information to help get started there as well.
Feel free to DM me if you need any more help navigating the forum or getting started. It’s lovely to have you here!
Just to play devil’s advocate, if person lives nearby and WFH, and has a partner who does as well (or has a crowded or chaotic house in some way), having a quiet spot to work or study during the day may be attractive.
Though of course, that is not the purpose of THS sits.
Yes! That is something a sitter would do, trash collection, watering plants, bringing in the mail. Trusted House sitters is a shared exchange organization. The home owner offers free accommodations in exchange for free pet & house sitting. The good thing is you do not have to own a pet to use the service. This is great for people ( sitters) that is not really in favor of pets, but still will do the house sitting just for travel & free accommodations purposes, so you have the same probability to score a house sitter just like those homes with pets. Now you’ve stated that sitters didn’t have to actually stay, but you just need your home checked, plants watered, trash taken out & mail bought into the home while your Away. When I read this statement I took away that you were giving the sitter a choice to stay if they preferred or even needed to or not, thinking a sitter may not want to stay because you don’t own any pets. I get that. Well I’ll encourage you with this. You have Trusted House Sitters that travel from all over the globe, so yes those sitters would preferably stay of course they would need the accommodations. Also there are sitters that use this platform that are local & while that special sitter is actively sitting for you they may not really need to stay depending on how far or close to your location they may live. How would I know this? I’m one of those local sitters I do house & pet sitting right here in my own city. What am I getting in return? REVIEWS!, meeting like minded people that can appreciate this home sharing service, because we share the same interest travel & the love of our pets. Believe it or not a lot of Hos are also sitters. I have a recurring home I sit and take care of this home owner’s two adorable King Cavalier Spaniel dogs while she is house sitting somewhere else. ( I love this) Reviews are the lifeline of your travel success. The more reviews that I receive the greater my probabilities become scoring sits everywhere else in the I would like to be. That makes it all worth it. Hey I would not have met these beautiful people if It weren’t for trusted House sitters. I am building a strong foundation with each sit I successfully complete, & I love it! I hope this helps good luck!
@raa Welcome to the forum.
There are owners who don’t have pets that get a sitter to look after the house. Watering plants, collecting mail, light gardening on a longer sit. Some even go for several months as the owner may be wanting to sell the property so doesn’t want a paying tenant but wants it occupied and kept tidy.
However as THS is an exchange, as others have said, you would really need to be offering an actual house-sit where they stay in the property. You should have no shortage of applicants though.
If what you mean is they can use your place as a home base so long as they check in on it from time to time, but are allowed to do mini trips away if they want so long as mail is collected and plants are cared for, that sounds like an amazing opportunity for someone.
We sit the house and in the case of this platform the houses and homes typically come with animals, but the app is called Trusted HOUSEsitters.
The home should be just as important as the animals but obviously we all (hopefully) are prioritising the welfare of living beings over inanimate objects, save in your situation where the inanimate is the main priority of the HO
TLDR, absolutely post a listing for that so long as it’s a question of the HS having a choice and not you saying they can’t stay there, which I think some may have interpreted but I don’t think that’s what you meant? (Could be wrong)
to asking a house sitter to water plants and pick up mail as long as they can stay at yours whilst doing so 
I do house & pet sitting right here in my own city. What am I getting in return? REVIEWS!, meeting like minded people that can appreciate this home sharing service, because we share the same interest travel & the love of our pets. Believe it or not a lot of Hos are also sitters. I have a recurring home I sit and take care of this home owner’s two adorable King Cavalier Spaniel dogs while she is house sitting somewhere else. ( I love this) Reviews are the lifeline of your travel success. The more reviews that I receive the greater my probabilities become scoring sits everywhere else in the 
I would like to be. That makes it all worth it. Hey I would not have met these beautiful people if It weren’t for trusted House sitters. I am building a strong foundation with each sit I successfully complete, & I love it! I hope this helps good luck!