I know that we have discussed cleaning here. But generally I do a week or more sit. But recently I did a 4 day, 3 night sit. There was only one bathroom, which wasn’t sparkling when I came. I sprayed down the tub, wiped counters, swept and that was about it. They were happy and I got 5 stars. How does your cleaning vary based on the length of sit? I just applied to a short sit and the thought of cleaning after a weekend sit, makes me opposed to taking it.
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Never sat for less than a week but vaccuum/sweep the floors and dust everywhere else. And obviously, get the bathroom and kitchen looking good.
Basically, we aim for at least the same as arrival but usually better
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I usually do sits from one to three weeks. I return the place as I found it.
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The sit length doesn’t matter to my cleaning regime. I clean and tidy as I go then the kitchen and bathroom gets a good scrub the day I leave.
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We leave it as we find it , which for a longer sit of several weeks may include mopping the floor weekly during the sit and on the last day - for a short weekend stay this hasn’t been necessary .
Larger properties have tended to have a boot room or area where muddy dogs can be dried off . More difficult in a smaller home where access maybe straight into the kitchen and moping the floor may be necessary after an autumnal walk with a couple of energetic dogs. If it’s needed this gets done straight away.
For the bathroom and kitchen these we keep clean as we go along as we do in our own home with a final clean and check on the last day .
Washing the bedding - although we are prepared to do this (unless we have a very early departure ) I now always ask about what the host would like us to do and I have discovered that many hosts don’t expect their sitter to do this .
Especially for a short stay, I aim to leave the place at least as clean as I find it. But one sit defeated me as the home was so filthy when I arrived (and they even had a cleaner!) - I just did very basic cleaning where I used. I guess then I left it slightly cleaner than when I arrived, but I don’t think anyone would have noticed.
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I, like others, leave it as I found it. Sometimes, I do a 2 night sitting and I take our own duvet and towels to cut down on stripping the bed/laundering.
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I never do that.
For less than a week, I don’t do much cleaning. I tend to avoid cooking etc. Most dirt comes from the pets (hair, mud).
I spend the last full day cleaning neurotically, regardless of the sit length. Which is why I don’t apply for any sits shorter than a week.
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We’ve only done one short sit (weekend) with one indoor cat and the house was very clean on our arrival. We didn’t cook really, only used the microwave, went out couple of times and the rest of the time spent in a basement cinema room (with a cat on the lap 
). HO asked if we could only strip the bedding at the end and just leave it with any towels in a laundry room. So not much cleaning really - bathroom, kitchen table & countertops, took out the rubbish to the garage where they had bigger bins and hoovered the space we used.
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Have done several short sits. I leave it as I found it. In practice I do about the same as @Sunny44 and others say. I wipe down the bathroom and kitchen, mop or hoover the rooms I’ve used (I often sit short in apartments or smaller homes, if in larger I limit the rooms I use (for instance use only one bathroom). I usually do not do laundry, just put towels and linen in laundry room or similar as I’ve agreed with host - either because host say don’t do laundry or because I suggest to strip beds as I leave early and there isn’t time. Ofc take out waste. Usually takes me 30 min.
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I would hope that short sit wouldn’t require so much cleaning, as there’s been barely any living in the space. But yes - returning it to how it was when you arrived seems best.
As a host, I don’t offer sits of less than a week because of the level of cleaning in preparation.
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Sits less than a week, we leave it as we found it. Sits longer than a week, we leave it cleaner than we get it. We always vacuum and mop (more out of necessity for our cleaning standards). Dusting, window cleaning, oven and fridge wipe out happens on sits longer than a week as well. We like to leave the place sparkling and most of our reviews mention the word “immaculate”. Yes, we know we are not house keepers, but we feel that it just leaves a much better taste in everyone’s mouth when you leave a place very clean.
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I find it interesting in all the responses. In past posts, in other topics people talk about cleaning. I always thought a major cleaning was getting on a step stool and wipe down all the cabinets, cleaning the fridge etc. Not one person mentioned this. I am glad I got feedback from everyone. I don’t feel so guilty doing the cleaning I have been doing. Everyone has a different standard what major cleaning is. Basically it seems, cleaning bathroom, wiping down counters etc.
Whether I stay for one night or many weeks, the routine is the same : I leave the residence cleaner than I found it.
I don’t clean windows, dust, clean baseboards and some other stuff that folks mentioned. I get raves for cleanliness and tidiness despite that.
For instance: “She left the house in better shape than we have seen it; meticulous cleanliness throughout. …” Or “Very low, nearly undetectable, footprint in our home. Cleaned up any room that she used so things looked as good as when we left the house.”
I just clean after myself and no more. I have no ambition to leave sit homes “better.”
I live clean, but I think more important, I vet hosts carefully and avoid ones who put out entitlement or employer vibes. They’re more likely to have unreasonable expectations.
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I definitely clean independent of length stay. Having the owners return to the house that looks at least as good, if not better than, when they left is an easy way to build a relationship with them that I can be trusted and that my attention to detail also extends to their animals.
I think of it in the Japanese way of 立つ鳥跡を濁さず
Tatsu tori ato wo nigosazu
“A departing bird leaves no trace of its passage.”
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@pietkuip
Thats no problem, we are all different.
It doesn’t take long to do.
That’s what I consider major cleaning. But I don’t expect (or want) sitters to do that. I think what you’re doing is totally fine for a sitter! but I also wouldn’t call it “major”.
I’m not an obsessive final-cleaner because any of my HOs expected it. It’s just how I am: A terrible people-pleaser. I can’t help myself. My HOs should just be grateful I can’t cook, or they’d all be coming home to 10-course banquets…
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