I am one of those non-food-wasters. I can see that some are like me, and others just want to arrive to a tidy fridge. I am a sitter, but if I were a HO I would simply ask beforehand:
“For the fridge, would you like me to clear out all perishables beforehand? If not, you’re welcome to eat anything and dump the rest.”
Something like that.
@CreatureCuddler We are sitters and HOs and we absolutely agree with what you’ve written here.
We have learned, as sitters, to ask in advance that the HOs leave two or more shelves in the fridge for our food. We eat primarily dairy, produce and legumes, so there’s always a need for refrigerator space.
As HOs, we clean out our fridge before a sitter comes. That way, they can start with a clean slate.
@catmama We are HOs and sitters. We clean out the fridge before the sitter arrives, wipe shelves clean, etc. And we ask the sitters what food we can leave for their first morning at our home (cereal, eggs, bread, milk, coffee) but do not leave food beyond that. They may use all the condiments, spices, flour, sugar, oils, vinegars, etc. for their own cooking. We don’t know their tastes or dietary restrictions, so we don’t go there. I hate to waste food, but hate to waste money even more than that.
It’s kind of you to consider this for your sitters. Personally, I don’t expect to be provided with any food. I always very much appreciate when all perishables have been disposed of beforehand and there’s at least a bit of space in the fridge for me to put my own food in there. I have encountered too many mouldy perishables in the past which creates a whole extra job but I won’t open that door!
I wish house sitters should rummage through our fridges and throw out the perishables! It’s the one thing that I regularly forget to clear out, or mention, and as our HS have their own fridge we often come back to rotting veg in ours, ugh! Likewise I usually forget to ask them to empty the kitchen compost in which is also fun to come back to if they havent come across it. I recommend sending them a message and asking them what they would like you to do. Maybe write it down as one of the questions to ask when you arrive on a sit.
I would not touch it. Just leave it in the fridge. It’s their home. 
Oh wow! But they look old & rotten, they belong in the garbage. Lol. Not to be consumed.
This comes across as quite a rude comment. They look absolutely fine to me!
You think so, apologies.
Hey, that’s a whole quince and some banana muffins to make! I always appreciate notes like this. Food waste makes me absolutely sick, and if I could use something/transform it into a meal for myself or owners, I’d absolutely choose that over binning it.
I see no reason not to leave perishables behind unless you didn’t expect the sitter to use them. In that case, I would hope there was compost.
Good ideas.
We always leave the fridge stuffed with food, and tell the HS beforehand that we’re doing a food shop for them so we can find out if they are vegetarian or anything they don’t eat. I also leave pasta, rice, bread, you name it. The cupboards are full, we have one area we ask them not to take food from as it has hard to find foods. We’re not paying the HS, and we want to express our immense appreciation of the care they take of our property and pets!
I respectfully disagree with this. I am more than happy to eat perishable items but would like the HO’s consent. I’d rather eat them than waste them and I’ve been on sits where they’ve just had a shop delivered and they say eat the fridge stuff. I have been on one sit where it wasn’t clear and there was some strawberries and mushrooms that would have been well off by the time they returned so I ate them and I didn’t feel the need to replace them as I would have chucked them in the bin otherwise. I always leave fresh milk/milk substitute for HO’s to return to. I never touch the dried items though beyond tea coffee and sugar even though I have had HO’s say please have anything you want.
Personally I find it strange that anyone would leave any half eaten food in the fridge for a stranger to find!!! I can’t think anyone would be happy to eat someone else’s left overs. The bottom line should be that stuff in jars that will keep, or other food which is sealed and untouched can remain but everything else goes!! Presumably people know long before hand when a sitter is going to arrive and should be running down their fridge anyway! I understand that in some countries it is the norm to have ‘walk-in’ fridges but here in Europe the norm, I would suggest is a normal sized thing that is used for storing food during a week or so. If you have half the supermarket stacked up in one of these enormous things then obviously you are going to have some sort of problem with sitters and it will need to be discussed before you leave.
Ken, sometimes this is really well-meant by the HOs and gratefully accepted by the sitters. Also vice versa, as a sitter, I often leave the “left-overs” of my last home-cooked meal for the HO, so they won’t have to start cooking up something themselves when they get back tired, exhausted - and hungry. By now, they have always appreciated it, just like I appreciate to taste their home-cooking on my day of arrival.
As for the perishables in the fridge, I use up everything that I like to eat - or give it to the pets - and I stock up the fridge with similar, but fresh items before I leave.
I’m sorry I simply can’t agree. Cooking something for your visitors is one thing. Leaving what you don’t eat is another! Obviously we are talking ‘degrees’ if you cook two pies for example, one for you and one for your visitors, that, I feel is quite acceptable (assuming they like what you are cooking!!) but if you are talking about cooking a casserole or something like that and leaving it for your guests after you have had your fill, that is, in my view, unacceptable. As for perishables, again, in my view, the question shouldn’t arise. There should be nothing left in the fridge that is perishable unless agreed beforehand between you and the sitter.
As a sitter, I just realised I forgot to throw out some expired items from the fridge before I left. I hope it’s not interpreted as malicious…
While I really appreciate the gesture, I don’t want to feel pressure to eat or drink their stuff while they’re gone, especially the perishables. I love food, but I really don’t mind (maybe even prefer) providing for myself here.
I did eat some of the last homeowners’s stuff while I sat for them because they said a few times to help myself to anything and that there’s no need to order out. Lovely woman and I am thankful for this gesture.
I also wonder if even I don’t eat any of their stuff, is there an unwritten rule to trash expired food and drink?
We often leave vegetables for the sitter to eat or give to our sheep, but I’d never leave leftovers or anything gross. My pantry is available to save a trip to the store but it’s rarely used.
I don’t think there’s any expectation to throw out expired food, but if something goes bad you might toss it for your own comfort. Once a sitter told me I had left some horrible smelling food in the fridge that he almost threw out but I’m glad he didn’t, it was several jars of very potent, very delicious kimchi 
Weirdly, I’ve often come home to a lot of food left behind by sitters. It bothered me at first but now I figure it’s a small price to pay for happy, healthy animals. And sometimes they leave chocolate, so it’s not all bad. Like anything, each situation is different. If you have a preference you could always ask the HO to clear out perishables before you come.
