Hi
I’m new to Trusted Housesitters…What is the etiquette on laundry, do you bring your own detergent. Same question for coffee?
Thank you
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Welcome to the Forum, @frenchi200 
I’m sure our sitters will have lots of different suggestions on this one, as I think it depends on the person and the sit, but I thought these threads might be interesting to read while you’re waiting for some replies!
What do you take with you for every sit
House Rules: When a homeowner says ‘help yourself’ to their kitchen, what do they mean?
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Welcome @frenchi200!
We travel with our own coffee, but that is because we are very picky. 95% of the sits we do, the HO offer coffee machine with extra coffee grounds or beans.
As for laundry detergent, it is pretty standard that they would offer that as well. The only time (in over 45+ sits) that we have had to use our own is if it contained chemicals that we are allergic to or if we prefer using fragrance free (although, in the US, it is becoming more common to have this).
Best of luck to you!
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Most homes I have been to supply laundry detergent although I take my own because I like to use perfume free detergent.
Also, there is usually tea and coffee provided, often the capsules for the special machines but I get embarrassed by how much I use so I usually add to the supply.
It’s always good to ask specifically if you will have the use of such items and if you can use food basics like oil, salt, pepper, spices etc
Often you will be told to help yourself to anything but I think it’s best to be moderate in your consumption so as not to appear to be taking advantage. If you finish a packet of anything it’s best to replace it unless you have been given it specifically in a food hamper.
It does vary a great deal, I have had some very generous owners who have taken me to a supermarket and paid for all my food and wine for up to a month. Others have left virtually nothing in the home.
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@frenchi200, welcome to TrustedHouseSitters and to the THS Forum.
If you have specific preferences for detergent, coffee or otherwise then take your own.
If it’s a long duration housesit then you should expect to purchase replacement items.
Pet Parents treatment of housesitters varies a lot. Most are generous and appreciative. For whatever reason, a subset do not and may also have an “employer” mindset.
For context, we take our own coffee and Aeropress device when housesitting as we prefer that to the various capsule based coffee machines.
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My sits have been in the US and not more than two weeks long. It’s standard here to offer guests coffee so all my sits did have coffee with different types of coffee makers. Some very fancy and some standard. The washer, dryer and laundry detergent also available. I like my organic laundry sheets you put in the washing machine instead of liquid or powder so I bring a couple of sheets with me. Hope you have some great sits!
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Thank you all very helpful! I think I’ll bring my detergent and coffee. Appreciate the quick responses.
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Laundry detergent, dish soap, dishwasher stuff - I expect these to be provided and in 100+ sits they have.
Bar soap or liquid and shampoo are usually provided by I do travel with a bar of soap and a bar of solid shampoo (amazon). Most folks do provide, but just in case.
I do bring along my own collapsible coffee cone and filters but only because I did a sit for a Mormon family and there was nothing for preparing coffee, no tea kettle either to boil water. If offered I’ll use HO’s coffee but if a long sit, replace or if it is something exotic, I’ll buy a pound (well 12 oz now) of my own.
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Hi, I tend to bring my own coffee and so far haven’t done any laundry whilst away! Most of my sits have been local and the one that wasn’t was only for a week but if I needed to do laundry I would use theirs. As you can tell, I’m relatively new to it too, only 5 sits so far.
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@frenchi200 We are sitters and HOs.
As HOs, we leave laundry supplies for our sitters. We also inquire in advance what kind of coffee (and creamer) and breakfast items the sitters like, so we can have them on hand for their first morning of the sit.
As sitters, all HOs have left us laundry detergent. But nobody has left us coffee or food.
Go figure. LOL! 
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The listing should say if washer/dryers are offered as an amenity. I don’t think it says anything about detergent. I wouldn’t make assumptions either way as you are dealing with individual hosts. I sit and host. As a host, I live in a city apartment with a communal laundry room. We use prepaid refillable cards. I always leave some extra $ on the card and let my sitters know where the detergent is so they are welcome to do a load on me. (Sitters have thanked me in the reviews. No one has abused this. ) In homes with washer dryers, I rarely do a load as I go for short sits, but it’s always been an option – including detergent.
As for coffee, this depends on the host as well. I’ve been on sits where coffee was offered and others where it wasn’t present or was in the kitchen but not mentioned as something the homeowners were willing to share. My spouse and I drink a lot of coffee and we are picky, so we usually bring our own coffee. I am also a little afraid of expensive overly complicated coffee makers, so we bring our own pour-over (filter) coffee device as well. (As a host, I usually enquire coffee or tea, and try to have both on hand, but I don’t normally keep dairy milk in my home, or granulated sugar, or artificiaf sweeteners, and I let sitters know that in advanced so they can buy their favorite add ons.)
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Nobody? You’re picking the wrong sits!
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I know, right?! LOL
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We always travel with our own favourite coffee and our stove-top expresso pot. Most hosts have fancy coffee machines which we never use.
With laundry- if the host has abundant supplies of detergents/softeners we will use them, same with dishwasher tablets. But if their stocks are very low we will buy our own stuff to use and leave theirs untouched.
When we are travelling by car we have supplies on board of all essentials we might need- washing (& dishwashing) liquid, dishwasher tablets, glass spray & disinfectant spray, toilet paper, kitchen towel etc
However we do use anything that’s freely offered by the host and consider it part of the exchange. Each sit set-up is different & we play it by ear.
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All of the sits I’ve done have included detergent, fabric softener, etc. Those whose buildings had communal laundries also left loads of coins. If they expect the sitter to wash the linens, they really should leave you stocked.
Also, one never knows when a plumbing emergency may occur. On my current sit, the ice maker went crazy and I had to dry the floor in front of the refrigerator.