Sitter asked to pay bills

At my current sit (which is a regular sit) I have something similar. The HOs have asked me to try to do washings etc. on a Sunday afternoon, when the rates are cheaper.

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Not in this lifetime I would do that on a sit. :rofl:

Not sure what country that was, but currently in the UK, a full load of washing costs about 15-20p. (wash only and dry outside)
So paying full price electric isn’t going to bankrupt the HO.
Maybe they only buy drinks in Happy Hour whilst on holiday?

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It’s in England :laughing:

Yes, the HOs are nice but very pernickety. I had no idea washing was so cheap, and I tend to use a shorter cycle so probably even more so. This was when they were doing a tour of Australia and New Zealand for 6 months so my guess is they don’t need to scrimp and save on electric.

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And they’ll probably pay £10 per drink in every airport they pass through.
Maybe they don’t realise the price of doing a load of washing too.

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I almost choked on my laughter just now! Imagine responding like that to a suggestion. Hilarious! Thanks for the laugh of the day! :sweat_smile::sweat_smile::sweat_smile:

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There must be a timer so you can programme it for midnight @Huronbase - we had something similar in a multi million dollar house sit in Turkey. They didn’t stay up to do it, just set the time for post 11pm. #savingthepennies

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That’s absolutely ridiculous. What are people thinking? I don’t know how often others do their laundry, but my husband and I usually do all our laundry once a week, which amounts to two loads, one at 30/40 degrees and one at 60 degrees.

I even have it written in our profile that I don’t want to take on sits where energy-saving rules are imposed on me, like having to wear winter clothes indoors because it’s 16 degrees. We’re adults with brains, so you’d expect that we don’t wash each piece of clothing separately and leave all the windows open while heating the house.

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Yes, and they stayed in 44 Airbnbs during their tour, and those don’t come cheap! It does miff me somewhat when HOs place these limitations on sitters when they are clearly wealthy.

I had another sit where I was limited to putting the heating on for an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening…in Scotland…in winter. I spent most of my time in the house with my coat and gloves on.

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“A bit of a liberty” , that phrase fits perfectly.
That Scotland sits sounds horrendous, luckily shivering is designed to keep you warm

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They were odd on a number of levels. Don’t drink the decent coffee. Buy your own water. If the gas runs out (a bottle lasts 6 months and it was 3 weeks so they knew it was almost empty) then you have to buy another one. The house was like the ocean villa in Sleeping with the Enemy so you get the idea! It was early days in the sitting lark and we are older and wiser now. We do wash clothes most days but on a 15 minute quick cycle so hardly eye watering costs. #lessonlearnt

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I hope you lined up the towels!

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And the tins of beans @Twitcher :rofl: :rofl: #juliarobertsstyle

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We had a sit in Spain recently with the same electicity restrictions. Cheap electricity between midnight and 8am. They always put the dishwasher and washing machine on during those hours. The dishwasher delay function was easy so I always used it. But I couldn’t figure out the timer on the washer and I always like to hang washing straightaway anyway so I just put the wash on at 7am (short wash) when I got up to make coffee etc. I had no problem with this as it fitted my own routine.
But @strawberryjen I would refuse to comply (or more likey refuse to sit!) for a stingy host who restricted the heating!! I’m a tropical babe & can’t stand being cold! I love it when hosts say- 'Just put the heat on, or up, whenever you need. We want you to be comfortable! :star_struck:
I’m happy to save on costs where I can as I hate waste (e.g I am serial light switcher-off’er) but not at the expense of my own comfort or well being!

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Gloves! Cannot use the internet with gloves on. Such people are ridiculous.

I would not comply.

I don’t think being wealthy or not should affect basics such as heating or cooling. Pets need to be kept at comfortable temps, along with sitters.

I get that some hosts are tight on money or are frugal, but I don’t sit so I can be hot or cold, or to help solve other people’s money problems. If such restrictions exist on a sit, I’d go with another sit or stay home.

No host will ever get me to pay for utilities, simply because I won’t pay to sit their pets or home.

And I say the above as a sitter with terrific reviews and as someone who’s responsible with utilities.

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@Maggie8K Hear hear :clap::clap::clap:

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Yes, this was in the beginning days of sitting, I wouldn’t comply now. I don’t have the heating on often, but I enjoy being warm!

That particular sitter was eccentric in other ways, including seeming to collect potatoes for months on end, that shrivelled to the size of a prune but grew very long arms.

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Hi @Cuttlefish

What is / was the gas used for?

Same same! I can deal with a lot of things, but of course sitting is not a one way road.

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