Hi. My wife and I have done a few sits so far, and I realize I may not fully grasp the expectations related to the property. Such things as how you leave the house (clean sheets and replace, etc.). I’m not looking for individual questions/answers, but more of a overall guide of what typically is expected.
With that in mind, is there a general guide somewhere on the forum or THS?
The sitter code of conduct makes a general statement about leaving the home as you found it–that is the core idea from which a sitter should be working, and I don’t think many hosts would expect anything beyond that since we are sitters, not a free cleaning service.
I know I often do more than I probably have to, but that is just because I enjoy cleaning. If there were certain things that may not have been as clean when I got to the house, I can’t help but leave it cleaner than I found it because I am naturally going to tend to that thing when I go, whether it was a stove that was a bit dirty when I got there or a room that looks like it hadn’t been vacuumed recently.
As for the basic standard of ‘leaving as you found it,’ what that would entail specifically depends on a variety of factors such as the length of the sit, the animals and their routine and such. It might be minimal things like a quick wipe down of the counters and some light vacuuming or it might be mopping all the floors because the dogs track a lot of mud in and giving the shower a good scrub.
As for bedding for example, hosts can vary in that and you can ask what they would like specifically. I usually don’t and just make the bed up again before I go unless I can’t for some reason or they have specifically requested otherwise either verbally or in the guide.
So at the very least, you should leave the house as you found it. As far as I know, there is no sort of checklist that outlines recommended specific tasks.
Our approach is light touch but leave the HO with good thoughts about you when they arrive home tired from travelling. So here’s our approach (but it’s very individual)…
The best bit of advice that we received when we first signed up, was “to leave a place as though you were never even there, as though the owners had just left”
Thanks for all the information. I guess our biggest challenge is we typically have a big travel day at the end of the sit, so stripping bed and/or towels in washer and dryer takes time on departure day so it’s a hassle to do. Skimming the forums (still a newbie) everything seems to boil down to communicating with the HO on expectations and our intent to avoid any conflicts. Common sense approach which makes sense.