Just a question out of curiosity. I have a new housesitter agreed for September and she has been reading up on the forum. She apparently saw someone complaining that their house sitter had not washed the sheets before they left. I have reassured her that I don’t expect that and she honestly does not need to bring her own bedding.
I treat it as though I’m providing an AirBnB but I just happen to be leaving my stuff and my lovely cat in place. So I expect to find the house pretty much as I left it but I don’t expect it to be cleaned particularly or bedding washed. My house has always been tidy when I’ve come home and the cat is always happy.
What are the expectations of other people providing sits? Am I missing something?
Also a home-owner - yep, those are my expectations. I’d like the sitter to tidy up after themselves, ideally vacuum on the last day (my pets are furry shredders ) but otherwise no special house-cleaning required* - just care of the pets!
This is such an informative topic for sitters, thank you for starting it. I never know what to do and not do. It will be great to read pet owners expectations
In my experience as a sitter, What the HO prefers varies so I tell them that I will strip, and remake the bed if they have no objections.
In some households they are very particular about how they tend to their bed linen. Some owners especially in the UK and Europe will use a laundry service or have a housekeeper.
Once again, we have to be comfortable having these discussions. It’s really not a big deal until you ruin someone’s nice bedding so be ok talking about it.
We’re the same. We always ask the HO what they’d prefer and mostly it’s to strip the bed and remake it with clean sheets in case they have guests or a new sitter coming. If there’s time then we’d happily wash the old ones too.
I always strip the bed, but I would not go near a washing machine I had not used before or been left strict instructions on how to use, unless advised/asked by the HO to do so.
Clarification: you request the sitters to bring their own bedding? That would be a first for us. We always use the home owners’ bedding and wash it and remake the bed before we leave.
Me? No, absolutely not. I read on a thread that some people always take their own bedding because the HO bedding doesn’t necessarily meet their expectations. My sitter for Sept clearly read something similar because she specifically asked if she needed to bring her own bedding - to which my response was no, don’t do that! As a result of some of the comments from sitters I’ve seen, I’ve updated my listing to specify the bed will be made for them, with cotton sheets, a feather duvet and a mix of feather and fibre pillows. And I really don’t want them to wash sheets or make up the bed when they have finished…
No, of course not! I wouldn’t do anything against the owners wishes. But to be honest, it’s not a topic of conversation that has ever come up. It’s good manners on my part and a reasonable expectation for the owner - and generally, I observe that they are delighted to find the laundry done when they come home.
This is helpful. I am new to house sitting and am wondering how many of these kinds of details are covered between the owner(s) and sitter prior to the sit? I am gathering that folks don’t necessarily leave a manual or something to clearly articulate expectations?
I used to do it automatically but sometimes the family is arriving home in the morning and there is no opportunity to get it done so now I ask what they would like done. Most say to strip the bed, some ask to start the load of laundry.
Regardless, I always ask now because I want to know what settings they use for their bedding, should it be hung to dry or put in the dryer, and do they normally iron it.
Most folks definitely leave a manual - some use the online Welcome Guide and others provide written info when we arrive. I always like to see if ahead of time so I can note things I want to ask about when we do the handover.
You may want to read an earlier post where this topic has been discussed at great length (211 posts). If you search key words using the magnifying glass you’ll often find posts on topics of interest to you.
Thanks Therese. I did not see that. @Snowbird explained how to use the magnifying glass to search which is useful. There will always be people like me who are new to the community who will have the same basic questions and I appreciate this will be an irritant to those who have been in the community for a long time. I must admit, finding discovering the expectations of sitters has been a bit of an eye opener. Equally, the experiences they have had at some sits has been a bit surprising. We all have something to learn
If a thread is closed down it is still available to read.
I do agree that no matter how long anyone has been experiencing house sitting, there is always something new to learn
Our personal philosphy is to leave the home as near as possible as to how we found it if not better. We always spend our last day cleaning throughly and very happily so unless we are specifically told not to (maybe the have a regular cleaner coming in for example ) We dont see why someone else should have to wash sheets that we have slept on. We wash my own sheets at home so why not when we am fortunate to be invited into someone else´s home even if the main reason is to care for their pet which is also a pleasure for us.
Each case if different but we feel good showing our appreciation to the owner in this way and its also part of our own personal pride too
) but otherwise no special house-cleaning required* - just care of the pets!
