I think I haven’t been clear enough about it in my listings. I kind of assume that sitters know they should leave the bed the way they found it. If I’ve made the bed up for you with clean sheets, then I would expect you to leave it like that. If I just leave out clean bedding and you have to make the bed up then I would expect you could leave that for me as well. But I came home today to a giant load of wet laundry, including sheets, towels, etc. Not that big a deal but I just came home from a trip and don’t feel like drying and folding all that laundry and putting it away.
They just used a clean house with everything available to them. It seems like that’s what I should get back as well. No-?
Just want to clarify:
The very first thing I said was that I should have been more clear. My fault.
I had a second set of sheets they could have used. I did not intend for them to have to do laundry at all.
I was annoyed about a bunch of things on the sit, and that irritation comes through in my original post, but it shouldn’t have. I really was looking for A read on the situation, which I got from many responses .
*I feel like this subject has been thoroughly covered now. It’s clear that I need to have a very clear check out guide. Thank you !
(updated by Forum team to add additional context from OP)
I don’t require or expect my sitters to make the bed for me (although it is lovely if they do!), but I ask:
please at least strip the bed and put the dirty sheets in the hamper, along with used towels (not on the floor like a hotel)
if they do make up the bed with fresh sheets, please let me know, because my first sitter left the bed exactly as I’d left it - same sheets, and the top blanket was even at the same jaunty angle, so I’m guessing they took a picture, and I was so tired and jetlegged I didn’t want to think about whether they’d washed the sheets or just made the bed so I remade it with different sheets even though I was 99% sure the sheets were clean.
The more I use THS the less I feel like asking sitters to do before leaving. BUT - leaving a bunch of wet laundry in the washer is kind of the worst of all possible solutions, especially if they didn’t send you an explanation. I’d rather come back to dirty sheets than wet laundry that might have to be rewashed if it’s been sitting around too long.
In the end, I’d consider this a minor irritation if everything else went well and just clarify for the next sitter.
You simply have to realise that you are dealing with people!!! Some are extraordinary good at understanding what should or shouldn’t be done. others are just plain ignorant and stupid. Here, just as everywhere, there will be a ‘mix’ of the considerate and the inconsiderate. I have had many sitters. Some have lost things, broken things and never replaced them. Others have been fantastic, prepared meals bought little presents etc. I simply accept that people’s standards and expectations are completely different and ‘go with the flow’! The best you can hope for is that in communication with a sitter beforehand you get the ‘vibes’ that all will be, at least, reasonable. To expect more is naive I’m afraid! Your point about the bed: If it was made up, as you wanted it to be how would you know it had been laundered?
I don’t understand people who don’t wash the sheets. I always do unless the HO has a house cleaner that comes in than I don’t clean the sheets. But I usually always do
• Hosts vary in what they want done with bedding. Some would like it restored to original state. Some stripped, but not washed. And so on. If you want something specific, there’s no reason not to say so.
• Whether someone can reasonably wash, dry and remake a bed depends on what time they leave. Like if they depart early in the day, it wouldn’t be reasonable for them to wash, dry and remake.
Based on the factors above, plus the fact that some of my hosts didn’t have dryers, I’ve left bedding in stripped, entirely remade, mid-wash and mid-dry states, depending on the sit. All of my hosts have been reasonable and none of them have expected me to read their minds, happily.
Like others have said @longhairlover if you have a specific preference then spell it out for your sitters so they are in the loop. Some HOs say just leave it as they don’t want extra washing on their return with bags of their own laundry, & the sitters are in a spare room, some ask for a clean bed, some say strip it and leave it in the basket, some want you to put it into wash before you leave and so on. All options are fine as long as we sitters know. Having managed to wash, dry and remake a super king bed in rainy season in Thailand when there were no spare sheets we can vouch for the fact that everything is possible but only with future planning! #allaboutclearcomms
These sitters most likely thought they were being helpful, in the absence of knowing what you wanted. We don’t intentionally make things difficult for HOs.
When I drive I take my own bedding & towels and let the HO know in advance to save them making the bed up for me, but when I use public transport a question that I now ask the HOs when I care for their pets is what to do with sheets & towels and (unless they say to leave it to them) if I need to leave before the laundry is ready, ask if they could leave fresh linen out for me to remake their bed.
I dont expect my sitters to have time to wash and dry bedlinen & towels. (Im in the UK, and dont have a dryer.) I ask them to leave it and I’ll sort when I get home.
If it happened to be a sunny day and they had time to wash and hang it on the line for me to bring in, that would be lovely.
I always discuss this with the HO and we come to an agreement as to what works best considering our departure/arrival times. I generally like to leave things as I found them but it’s not always possible. I find that HOs are very understanding.
How can bedding always be washed, dried and put back on the bed if not enough time to do that.
In a house with no tumble dryer or even washing line, British mist and fog - how can this be done?
Its impossible not to leave unwashed bedding in some circumstances.
We always strip the bed before leaving and thats it (for the bedding)
Don’t assume, write your demands in your listing or in your welcome guide.
But… how do you do when you are staying with other people? When I have guests, I don’t want them to bother with that kind of chores (and risk using the wrong liquid as a detergent, the wrong temperature settings etc).
I always ask what they want. If I leave early I don’t try to wash the sheets, but I usually offer to change the bedding. I ask them where the spare bedding is. Most people are happy with me just stripping the bed or some ask me not to bother at all, especially here in Ireland and if I use a guest room
One person asked me to wash and dry a d remake the bed but warned that the tumble dryer often caused a power cut. So I didn’t put it on because I needed power for my online work! I put it on later but the sheets were not dry by the time I left. Mind you I did remake the bed with spare bedding! The host didn’t complain but never left a review. One of my more irritating experiences with a host! The cat was gorgeous though
Not always possible if I have an early flight.but I strip bed before I go and wash my towels as I use them.maybe just towels I use on last day I leave in wash basket.
@longhairlover I have a departure check list, it’s part of our WG.
Clear concise communication.
Lesson 1 in my therapy experience, which was a hard one to accept for a Scorpio that wants to live in mystery😉 was
assuming anyone in your life should be able to read your mind may cause more friction than you know.
Well it all depends on when the sitter is going, what the weather’s like etc. I’ll always ask the home owner what they’d like done with the bedding. I’ve had all sorts of scenarios: been told to leave the bed, just strip the bed but when I’ve got the time and am not leaving until the afternoon with good weather I’ll wash the bedding & towels, hang it out to dry, sometimes even iron the bedding and remake the bed, and fold towels. If the sitters are leaving early in the morning then how can they wash and remake the bed?
By using a second set of sheets. I’m fine with used sheets going in hamper, but would like fresh sheets on bed. I will specify next time. And certainly they can launder and put away most of their towels from the week.
