I’m wondering if Sitters should buy their groceries. This just happened with the last few sitters where my frozen food (meat/chicken/vegetables) was used and I didn’t find out until the sit was done. This never happened before so I was wondering why this is happening. I will have fresh fruit and fresh vegetables to use until they can get to the grocery store (less than 1 mile from my condo) and anything in the fridge that may expire before we return. Items in the freezer should be off-limits unless I authorize them specifically on what they can have. Has anybody else experienced this?
Yes, sitters should provide their own groceries. I’m a sitter and I never eat any of the HOs food. If they specifically leave something for me like a gift basket of treats or a bottle of wine, that’s appreciated and I will consume those, but it’s certainly not expected. I’m always amazed by posts such as this, I can’t imagine helping myself to any of the HOs food.
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I never use anything from the freezer unless the home owner is kind enough to say help myself. Some home owners are quite mean and others are extremely generous and will actually buy things in, and fill the fridge with food I like. Have also on occasions been told to help myself to wine or they have left me a couple of bottles. Many appreciate how much money I am saving them by not using kennels, cattery and having people in to tend ducks and chickens etc. I always claryfy with the owner first, what I am allowed, although in most instances the home owner tells me without the need to ask. Perhaps next time, mention that anyhting in the freezer is off limits.
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As a sitter of eight years, I always buy or bring my own food. If I see vegetables going to waste I will use them and then replace. When I arrive at a sit I always ask the homeowners if I can use their spices, oil and condiments and that’s really all I use. We’ve done a couple of international sits where the homeowners have made a nice dinner for us and left breakfast items for us to use which is really appreciated after a long plane flight.
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Of course sitters buy there own groceries. You are being taken advantage of. Next time stipulate what the sitters can and cannot use in your kitchen.
People like that give us all a bad reputation
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I am curious about the freezer:
Did you leave enough space for the sitters in your freezer to put in their own stuff? Because if not, that could be a reason why food is missing.
I had so fare two sits, where the freezer was completly full and completly frozen, so I ended up defrost their freezer (kept most of the food safe during the process) and still had to throw away some of the stuff, because otherwise, I would have simply not find any place for my own food.
If it is not discussed before and if the sitter is not asked, if he would be okay without a freezer, in my opinion the houseowner should make enough place for the sitters food. Especially for a long sit.
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Hi @mwright54
I’d not eat anything out of the freezer or tinned goods unless I was replacing such or the HO was clear that I could use these items.I’m still a bit reluctant to go overboard.
It is a tricky one though for sitters sometimes as I did a sit last year where the HO returned and was disappointed I’d not used a lot of rather nice seafood from their freezer even though they requested I helped myself.
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Pet parents are so different. Some offer nothing, others tell us to eat absolutely anything we want
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We have a refrigerator with a freezer and a separate freezer. There was plenty of room in both if he wanted to buy his own food.
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Yes. I’ve had sitters that arrived with groceries.
Thank you. I’ve had many sits and again only in the last couple of sits where my frozen food items were taken. I will be more specific next time. I always provide fruit and vegetables and breakfast items in the meantime until they can buy groceries.
This subject can be controversial in what one expects as a sitter and what one offers as a pet owner. In all things related to sitting, one must be flexible and be agreeable with the homeowner’s offerings and directives. If a sitter has expectations of freezer space, this should always be discussed, or listed as a prerequisite in their profile. If there is no freezer space available, simply don’t purchase food that requires a freezer. It’s a temporary situation, and one that is easily adapted to for that particular sit. What some sitters do, without specific permission, never ceases to amaze me. It’s not our home, and it’s not our food, so it shouldn’t be difficult to be respectful of that.
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I think it is pretty natural to expect a freezer in a normal home. And of course there should be some space! Like for example for frozen berries if one likes to have those at breakfast. Or for frozen herbs. For ice cream.
How many percent of freezer space would that be? How do people live with a freezer without space??
Here, the small freezer is half empty, I just checked. And I cannot imagine that the HOs here would object to me taking some of their ice cream. In fact, I think I will take a few scoops now.
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If it’s something that’s important to your quality of life, then I’d always discuss it prior to arriving @pietkuip. It’s not something that can be expected, because some folks have fully stocked freezers at all times.
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If someone hosts a human and doesn’t realize that they need to leave space in the fridge or freezer, that’s their fault as a host, IMO. Even if you hired someone as a live-in, that would be common sense. No one should have to ask for that.
I have a fully stocked freezer section in my fridge and a separate freezer. If I neglected to clear room and someone who stayed ended up eating some of that food or threw it away so they could put their food in, I’d apologize for the oversight as a host.
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Wow, wow and triple wow!
You threw out the pet owners food to make room for your own in the freezer? I would have gone ballistic if that had happened to me. Yes, I have rearranged food so I could fit a tub of ice cream in but I do have the common sense to check for space before I shop for groceries.
The state of my freezer at home depends on the time of year. In winter it may have containers of soup, casserole etc in it. I like to batch cook. In the summer fruit and berries and any glut of vegetables going cheap at the grocery store or farmers market. Blanche and freeze them when veg is more expensive.
If I was a pet owner I would offer the sitter to eat somethings in the freezer and refrigerator but not empty the whole thing. I would be very angry if they took it upon themselves to throw things out just to give themselves room. I’d rather they ate the items and not waste them.
Think the motto of this thread is check before you buy.
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Depends a bit on what it was. Could be ice cream containers with just a little bit of ice cream left. Or very old stuff.
And she defrosted the freezer, which saves electricity too. To me it sounds that the HO should be happy.
I completely agree. Some sitters seem to feel very entitled.
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Playing devils advocate here -
When I was pregnant with my first child I had a craving for a certain type of ice cream and that tiny bit might just have been enough to get me through the night. Otherwise hubby would have a 2am journey to the nearest open grocery store.
Who knows why something is kept?
If sitters don’t feel entitled to something as basic as space in a fridge or freezer, that’s sad.
I’ve hosted a foreign exchange student and guests over the years and automatically considered that something any decent host would offer people.
The THS dynamic is an equal exchange, not a servile attitude, as if, oh geez, aren’t we so lucky to get a sit, even if it means the host doesn’t have the basic consideration to leave room for your food. It’s not some kind of luxury to have freezer space — it’s a basic thing that most decent homes have.
Fortunately, none of my hosts have been so thoughtless as to leave me no room for food in the fridge or freezer. As for HOs who don’t offer basics like space, I’d happily skip those sits and leave them to more obliging sitters.
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