This is the perfect attitude IMO
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There was a post about sitter taking alcohol recently. I asked if it was clarified in any way (hello welcome guide and house rules!) and basically no and why would I suggest that, sitters should KNOW.
It’s stupid, write it down clearly. If you don’t want them to eat certain food or drink alcohol, say so.
Ridiculous, so much could just be avoided if people were just clear about expectations.
But it’s when when people expect others to either read their minds (or write nothing down) or wink wink read between the lines (eg help yourself - but I really meant this and not that).
Just write down what this and not that is, in plain English. If some find that offensive for some reason the so be it.
Really no system at all works on mind reading. Be clear and put it in writing.
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Just how long was this sit? 6 months?? 
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Even when my hosts have said to eat whatever I wanted to, I’ve never taken advantage of their hospitality, simply because it’s bad manners for any guests to do that.
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Hi @Love2travell
I too live by the rule that ‘help yourself’ means perishables and use of condiments, tea and coffee (would replace these if I used the last of these). However the HO i sat for near me last year in an amazing house got upset because the previous sitter had not eaten the food left and the repeat sit also got upset the first time I sat for them as even though they said help yourself I did not touch the frozen meats and steaks or lobster.
I explained to the first HO that ‘most’ sitters wouldn’t touch the wonderful cheese selection for a weeks sit without clear instructions to do so.
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We’re a Brit Turk pair that that has lived & worked in 15 countries between us. Our manners are pretty impeccable (sometimes too polite to our detriment) but if someone says “help yourself” then they should mean it or they should stipulate what the limits are. The sitters clearly took it literally (& yes, they ate an awful lot of the HOs stuff and we’re sure it was a shock) but that is what they were invited to do. Manners & interpretations vary depending on where you’re from. If you don’t mean it then don’t say it. If we all went Swedish style and called it as it is then we’d know where we are. If someone offered you all their food here in Turkey and they came back to it still being there then they’d be very offended you didn’t take their offer of true hospitality. Sorry you were cleaned out @Love2travell but def be clearer next time, it’s not the norm. #betterlucknexttime
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@Cuttlefish I don’t have any additional commentary to add to this topic. Enjoy your sit.
[quote=“Janet22, post:1, topic:53220”]
we’d left 3 tubs of butter, long expiry, 1kg block of cheese plus other cheeses, condiments
[/quote] Maybe the review should suggest they visit their cardiologist? 
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@Love2travell
Its not normal in my opinion, as sitters we only use condiments-nothing else.
As sitters, we arrange for a shopping delivery on the first day which pretty much leaves us sorted for at least a week.
Sounds like the sitters took your words literally.
On that point, i remember my driving instructor telling me years ago “treat all other road users as if they are idiots”. Maybe that advice can be used in situations like this.
Best of luck for your future sits, its a learning game for us all.
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Exactly. I am a UX professional and my daily job is to tell people that they are not their users. Building applications and software products is not so different from everyday life. If you want to make it work, make it easy and clear to understand 
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Well, I think such a post is ridiculous if you do not say how long the sit was. I can only assume that it was a longer sit and you left it out to make it sound like the sitter was being rude.
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The THS technical team should hire you for some training!
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In my ideal world, hosts do say to help yourself and sitters do this within reason. Respect is mutual.
For example, if hosts leave me milk and toast, I make sure to get them some too before their arrival. If I finish something they are likely to want on arrival, I replace it.
I don’t generally eat much of the host’s food, but some go shopping specifically for me and buy what I like, so in that case it would be silly not to eat or drink it 
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I’ve thought that more than once! Feel free to contact me! 
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Just a quick side note. I find it completely inappropriate when homeowners leave their half-eaten stuff in the fridge and expect the sitter to eat it before it goes bad. They should either throw it away themselves or at least ask beforehand if the sitter would even want to eat it. When I go on vacation, I either empty my fridge or give my food to my family or people I KNOW WELL
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Its not normal in my opinion, they took advantage.
I take all my own stuff to my sits here in the UK as I do not want to take advantage of the house owners at all.
I usually get left a few treats and told to just help myself to anything, but I will only eat the treats.
I once got told to “help yourself to salt and pepper”.
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We feel differently. We find it completely inappropriate to throw way food that is perfectly edible.
There is no better feeling than opening a fridge and finding half a chocolate cake! 
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How very generous!
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@Love2travell , I agree that these sitters probably went a bit overboard but I don’t think that you can complain about a sitter helping themselves to anything when that is literally what you told them to do.
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@Love2travell Your comment has obviously been taken literally. How long was this sit?
We don’t help ourselves to foodstuffs in the house, unless the PP has deliberately stocked the fridge for us - some especially generous hosts do this - and made it clear it’s been bought specifically for us.
It’s very unlikely to happen again with other sitters, but possibly be more specific in future, if you feel taken advantage of.