These are some things I wouldn’t really get mad at a sitter about. Personally it takes a lot for me to get mad or leave a bad review.
Sitter forgot to put sheets in dryer ehh I let it pass
2: I have 18 plants 4 of them died - ehh pass. If most of them are thriving, it’s all good
3: they did not throw out the trash bag - I would be slightly annoyed but would let it pass
4: they ate some of my food - ehh pass they probably were hungry
5: took some pads or used some makeup wipes - well not really a big deal to me
^ if they don’t take the whole thing and just took a few. It’s fine
6: they didn’t leave everything spotless clean. Ehh it’s fine, didn’t hire them to be cleaners
Now I’m not necessary easy going it’s just I’m a very understanding person. I don’t sweat the small things
Now here are a few things that would make me pretty mad.
1: if my pets were starving… I would be livid
2: they trashed the place, dirty sheets, dirty bathroom, dirty everything. Yeah I would be pretty mad
3: ate all my food and used up all my personal items. Hey at least replace it if you were gonna use it all
4: having a party at my place
Now I want to know what are a few things you would let pass and what are some things you wouldn’t let go
If for some reason a sitter didn’t follow the rules I placed or maybe they did something I didn’t agree with. The first thing in my mind wouldn’t be leave a bad review but I would just message or call to see if they would be honest/reasoning behind whatever they did. I
As a sitter, these are examples of things I’d never do:
• Consume food or drink I wasn’t offered. I don’t expect food or drink, though I appreciate them as gestures of hospitality.
• Use a host’s toiletries unless guest toiletries were set aside.
• Invite anyone to my host’s home without checking if it’s OK. And I see no obligation for any host to say yes.
• Create a mess for my host to clean up.
• Have a party at my host’s place.
• Make noise or trouble that would upset my host’s neighbors.
To me, the above are just about being a good guest, no matter whether you’re sitting or otherwise.
With sits, I also would not:
• Leave pets alone for long stretches. We discuss how long they can be left ahead of the sit and I abide by what I agreed to.
• Cancel unless there’s a legit emergency, like incapacitation.
I water plants within reason, but do not garden, weed or mow grass. If a host wants a green thumb, they shouldn’t consider me.
No, respect is providing a space where they don’t have to guess my intentions. They don’t have to worry whether they are using too much of the jam, or if it’s OK to wash their hair with that shampoo. If it is there they are free to use it. They don’t have to worry about negotiating invisible boundaries.
A lack of respect is leaving the bathroom cabinet full of cosmetics and toiletries, with no room for their own things, but they are not allowed to use what is there.
There was a post recently where the homeowner had placed bird spikes on the furniture they did not want the sitter to use - that’s disrespectful. Better to lock it in the garage or ask a neighbour to store it. Rather than making the sitter deal with a list of don’ts remove the options.
I think comparing a house sitter to a puppy being trained is going to get you into a whole world of trouble @Marj. Most of us are articulate, educated, intelligent, well travelled individual grown up humans that won’t take well to such comments. An uneducated, in training, non human, undeveloped young dog who knows nothing but where & when to sleep, eat, poop and walk. #poorcomparison
You know that I didn’t compare a sitter to a puppy I said the advice the trainer gave me was useful in a number of situations, including the one under discussion. If you don’t want a sitter to use the good china, just put it away, don’t leave it on the counter with instructions not to use it.
Many thanks for your feedback, sorry, I’ll try and feel differently about things in the future. Not a big issue but as an example my cutlery drawer has compartments which I organise so that knives are in one compartment, forks in another, and spoons in the next. When I returned home recently each compartment had a mixture of knives, forks and spoons. Only mildly annoying, but you are right they probably tried to put them back as they found them. I’ll put a picture of the implement in the base of the compartment as a guide next time.
Ok that would be annoying. I’m on the other end of the spectrum and have to resist the urge to line up forks so they all face one way. But hopefully that was just a little forgetfullness/lack of consideration on the sitter’s part and it was otherwise a good experience.
My friend had a sitter once who rearranged her cutlery drawer. She’s ended up adopting that new system and found it made much more sense than her own original system.
I apologise again, my feelings were not legitimate. I did believe that someone would be able to see how they were organised. I didn’t think one person would remove eight sets of cutlery at once and then not have a reference point. But as you point out, again, I was wrong, and will strive to feel differently in the future.
They might not have removed all cutlery at once. For instance, I sit solo and will sometimes use up all cutlery over say a week. I just rinse the dishes and utensils before eventually doing one load at the end of a week, which saves water. Of course, depends on how much cutlery there is. Sometimes, hosts have so much I never run out.
I would remember if the cutlery were sorted, though, and return to their original state. But some folks don’t pay attention to stuff like that. Like I’ve lived with folks who simply didn’t notice. No intention, just not into such details.
Tangentially, I occasionally have hosts who’ve left stuff in the dishwasher or microwave and I don’t know where it’s supposed to go once washed. Those items, I just set in a cluster on the countertop and tell them when I leave. That’s because I figure it’s easier for them than if I stash them in the wrong place and they have to hunt.
I think you’re right. I also nest my saucepans, smallest inside the next biggest etc and they just piled them in the cupboard any which way. And yes there are always bits and pieces in the kitchen that have no consistent home. It’s not a big deal either way.
Personally, I live more like you — all my stuff has its own spot and order. It would bug me if things were out of place in my home. So when I sit, I try to return everything to where it started. Like I hate extra cushions, but if my host had them in some sort of order, I’ll set them aside and then restore them in that order.
If I don’t think I’ll remember something, I’ll take a photo. But my sits are usually only one or two weeks or so, and my memory is still largely holding up for that sort of thing, at least for now.
If you host, I suggest just letting some stuff go and focusing on how well your pets were cared for, because it’s hard to find sitters who’ll leave your home seemingly untouched.
I get raves for cleanliness and tidiness, but I’m borderline OCD, and that’s unusual.
The important thing is how they act. When they are aware that they are a bit on the OCD spectrum in some regards, and can be tolerant of others, that is fine.
