Hi,
We are going away for 2 months what do we have to provide for whole sit? Things are expensive nowadays in NZ
Dear HostâŚ..a long Sit wonât cost you a massive expense above a shorter appointment . If youâve listed certain amenities youâll supply, for example toilet tissue, soaps, cooking oil, condiments, that cost is almost irrelevant to the value youâll get from Trusted Sitters; itâs possibly no extra expense anyway. Sitters, by majority, are also aware of power costs with heating/ cooling, etc. and respect that and Iâm sure, as we do, replace or purchase their own âextraâ/preferred consumables. Stop worrying âŚ. if your pets are safe and happy, your home secure and cared for, just relax and enjoy your holiday! The alternative is obviousâŚâŚ.
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@Rsamson, welcome to THS Forum. There are many experienced pet parents and housesitters on the forum. The housesitter community is remarkably diverse - in terms of personal situation, housesit preferences and THS usage.
We have completed 50+ housesits in 14+ countries. Several housesits exceed one month duration (max was three months). Experiential objective. Confession - until recently we had a Saved Search for NZ housesits of minimum one month duration. We may perceive âexpensiveâ differently than a NZ homeowner - in that we include flight cost, avoided shelter costs in addition to everyday living costs in decision making. So a 2-month housesit may well be âworthâ the international flight cost. Alas we decided to ski for a few months in Western Canada 
so NZ is alas not a current option for us.
There is no ârightâ answer to this. But there is no reasonable expectation that you provide consumables, for example, for the duration of a 2-month housesit. For international housesits that exceed one month duration then here are ideas that we find valuable:
- Date flexibility. Arriving a day (or two) before sit and/or leaving a day (or two) after end sit can make a big difference to international flight costs. Also provides comfort that housesitter turns up, pet parent timely return and enables friendly overlap period
- Travel collection. If property is significant distance from airport or transit then reasonable collection/return is appreciated. We often return the favour for Pet Parent.
- Use of car. For a longer duration, housesitters reasonably may wish to explore local area. Cost of car rental varies materially and may be a dealbreaker for some housesitters.
- Pet breaks. We love it when a Pet Parent, on a longer housesit, states that itâs ok if pet goes to a neighbour or daycare facility on an infrequent basis. Say housesitter seeks to explore for a longer-than-average duration.
- Initial provisions. We appreciate it when long-housesit Pet Parents provide some basic food for an initial meal (or two). Bonus points if shared experience. We often return the gesture and provide meal and basic provisions for their return.
- Reasonable pet responsibilities. For longer housesits, we seek to live our lives. While we enjoy pets and their care then we will decline sits that expect near-constant pet attention.
- Reasonable amenities
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If we were sitting for you we would expect very little in terms of consumables as I think might be your question. Not two months worth of loo paper for example, but more than just two rollsđ. I would also think if someone was coming to your sit from overseas they would likely tack some travelling on to either or both ends. We live in Australia but have family in NZ so are keeping an eye on options for next year as we think we will combine visiting family with further travel. I assume there will be others in similar situations. You are not expected to provide food, start up coffee etc is nice.
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We do long term sits (not in NZ⌠but for the odd NZâers). We expect nothing extra other than enough pet food and cleaning materials (because itâs your pets dirt/fur), just the same as you would normally leave for a sitter who was staying for 2 weeks, nothing more, nothing less.
We buy our own coffee/tea/loo rolls/kitchen roll etc as they run out on longer term sits.
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As a sitter, I would expect enough pet food, TP and paper towels. Not that I wouldnât supply my own TP at some point, but I think you should oversupply. Someone is taking care of your pets and home for 2 months. You want them to feel appreciated. I think TP and paper towels is a good gesture. And cleaning products.
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The cost of living in most countries is expensive these days as would be boarding your animals for two months which is how to think of it. This is a mutual exchange & NZ will attract international sitters whoâve bought big flights so are definitely committed to your pets! You donât have to provide anything other than a comfy home, utilities, cleaning products, pet food & treats. Welcoming sits also offer sitters the basics to get started, plenty of loo paper, hand wash, kitchen roll and condiments in the home. None of it costs a lot but makes sitters feel valued. Think about your sitters as guests & thatâs a great place to start. #enjoyths
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Iâm going to guess that your concern here is the cost of electricity and gas. Utility costs are concerns raised in the forum by hosts fairly often.
THS allows for hosts and sitters to mutually agree that sitters cover the cost of utilities. If the sit is long term with no pet care responsibilities, I can see such an arrangement being reasonable. Most sitters on this forum will not. But if you state your expectation at the top of your profile, youâre being forthright and honest. You can not do much better than that.
That said, most sitters will skip your listing if they see that you expect them to pay utilities and your pool of available sitters becomes much smaller. Potentially too small to successfully find a good match.
If your concern isnât about utilities, never mind.
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Iâd be pleased to have a 2 month sit in NZ -2 months would definitely make the airfare worth it. Youâve gotten excellent advice above.
Iâd likely want to have use of a car (unless you are in Auckland, Christchurch, or Wellington -having visited all 3 I know there is reasonably good public transportation, but even then, depends on how convenient you are to amenities) - definitely needed should there be need to transport the pet to a vet.
As a US citizen, Iâd be eligible for the NZeTA good for a 3 month stay and costing me about NZ$117 (17 for the ETA and 100 for the conservation tax). (If on a UK passport an NZeTA is good for 6 months.) A longer stay would probably mean Iâd have to apply for a NZ visa and the cost would total about NZ$400+.
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Agree with all the others listed above. We typically only do sits 3+ weeks and are currently on a 3 month sit in the US. We expect enough food/treats/cleaning supplies for our time period. That being said, enough laundry detergent and toilet paper for about a month of it is fine with us - we buy our own after that and make sure the house has some when we leave too. There have been times that on our longer sits (2 months) the HO made sure we had way extra toilet paper and paper towelsâŚdefinitely a nice touch.
Donât over think it - but donât âshortâ the sitter either. Just plan for enough pet items for the whole trip, and enough household essentials for maybe a month or two.
Best of luck.
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Also make sure you have a credit card set up at the vet.
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Not just a credit card, but a signed authorization naming the sitter to make decisions (or another local person of your choice). And if you have a $ limit, state that too.
A few examples that Iâve found on the web -
https://advancedvethospital.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/1052/2015/08/petcareemgauthform.pdf
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Common sense is needed here. Your distance from a store, whether or not a car is included, number of pets, quality of homeâall of these play a role in my mind.
In general, I believe the following should be included for the sitterâs use. Overall the cost is trivial (maybe $50 USD).
Toilet Paper
Soap and shampoo in shower/bath
Hand soap at each sink
Liquid soap for dishes at kitchen sink
Dishwasher soap
Paper towels
Clean sponges
Laundry soap
All necessary cleaning supplies
And of course:
Pet food and supplies (poop bags, treats, etc)âcost varies but this definitely should never fall on the sitter.
Your generosity will be reciprocated! Kindness and thoughtfulness go a long wayâŚ
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Thanks, as its our first sit we are not sure. We will be leaving around couple of weeks of TP, dishwasher tabs, laundry powder etc. and let them use whatever is opened in pantry. And ofcourse whole 2 months pet food.
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My thoughts, meant with all kindness:
I would just suggest that you bear in mind that you are saving the cost of a paid live-in sitter or a kennel, with an expectation that your sitters will keep your pets fed & comfortable and your home clean and maintained while you are away.
When Iâm on a sit, I absolutely donât quibble if I run out of paper towels, dish tabs, toilet cleaner or dog food / chews at some point & need to purchase some â but if I show up and the owner has left me 2 loo rolls, 3 tabs, and dog food for 2 weeks when theyâve booked a 2-month sit, and only enough cat litter for a week, I would feel rather taken advantage of (Iâm not suggesting this is your intent, but I have had a sit that was almost like this.) The things is, that itâs not as if there arenât costs involved to travel to your property â and Iâm not expecting to spend my days touring the LOTR film setâŚitâs your home & pet(s) Iâm there to care for, with a bit of enjoying the area as part of the exchange.
As for my own food or personal items, Iâm absolutely good with keeping that separate (although a few basic starter items for the first night/morning is always appreciated, so I donât have to immediately leave your pets & figure out where to do a last-minute emergency shop after a flight or train ride.)
I think the thing that would disturb me a bit is that someone might have the thought that Iâm both free labor AND meant to pay for the privilege of caring for their home & pets. (And that includes heat â Iâm fine to pay for overages as necessary, and often offer to do so as I know utilities are higher in some countries and I tend to run cold) â but again, compared to the cost of paying for boarding etc., basic utilities seem like the HOâs responsibility.
When I sit for someone, I take care of their home as if I am a friend and a guest, and am happy to go the extra mile to make sure things are lovely & comfortable for them upon their return. Iâd like to think they consider me a trusted guest as well, & would treat me similarly. 
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What you leave is reflecting the attitude towards having a sitter. If you only leave 2 weeks of TP, then you are really looking at them at staff, rather than an equal exchange. Do you want that kind of sitter? If the sitter feels that you respect them and are generous in their comfort in basic supplies, then they will also show you the respect and take extra care in your pets and home.
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I donât think what you leave (or donât leave) would influence our care of your pets or home, but I do agree with @Huronbase, that weâd think you stingy if you left only the bare minimum, since it demonstrates your sitterâs comfort is of little importance.
Sitterâs rate on hospitality, so maybe think about how youâd greet and show appreciation if a friend or relative agreed to do a 2 month sit for you, providing pet and home care. Treat sitters with the same consideration and respect, for a fair exchange.
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Hey @Rsamson
Welcome to the Trusted Housesitters Forum!!
Thereâs so much great advice in this discussion already, I just wanted to point out that the fact youâre asking the right questions is a really positive start. 
As @GotYourBack mentioned, there isnât a definitive list, but the tips in this discussion should point you in the right direction - your chosen sitter can fill in any blanks.
You may have other questions, or want to sense check an assumption or two. As youâve seen, our fantastic community of members are able to share their knowledge and experience to help you get started, weâre here to help. 
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Youâre leaving your home for two months. Isnât having to pay for pet boarding /or a live in sitter more expensive than leaving some basic care or food items for your sitter . That way they feel valued and appreciated? Yikes
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i am really curious @Rsamson why a question like this rises. If you were to have friends over, who would look after your house and pets for two months, what would you provide them with? The Answer is simple: Everything your friends need to do a 
job!
Good sitters and good pet parents take both responsibility and are both dedicated to taking care of each othersâ needs. And since having pets is a responsibility that costs money, choosing the right sitter would in the end be the most cost effective and the most enjoyable solution.
We have done 40+ sits, some for as long as 4 months and many repeat sits. For a long sit we look for an comfortable home that has all the basics needs covered, also a comfortable bed, with a good mattress and pillows in good condition, use of a car is in dispensable in case of emergencies, as we would not rent one for such a long time when going intercontinental, a good back-up care team in case something goes wrong, in addition to many other suggestions that have been mentioned here in the thread already.
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