And I bet she appreciated it more.
Exactly. There are so many cheap and cheerful stores out there and if it isn’t to their taste they can stick it in a cupboard till you come back.
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I’m a host (and a sitter) and happy to say that I have a luggage rack, reading lamps, multiple coffee makers, pet carriers and nearly everything else on this thread! I probably don’t have enough sharp knives for serious cooks, especially meat knives since I’m vegetarian!
I’ve only done a few sits, but have learned that some houses skimp on towels, so I am bringing a small microfiber one to my next sit.
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Hey @mars : it reminds me once I bought a mop - couldn’t find any in the house ! How can you leave in a house, with a dog and a garden with no mop ???
They had an electric mop which I found totally inefficient - maybe I was not used to it and didn’t use correctly ! Anyway I bought the mop… but I took it back with me - hopefully I was driving back home ! Not because I needed it myself at home not because I paid for it but only because I thought if I had left it maybe HO would think I thought (yes sometimes it is very weird in my brain 
) they were not clean enough or something similar… And so I have 2 mops now at home where I have no animals, living in a city with no garden at the entrance and a terrace before coming into the house and I am not too fussy about clean floor !! And this mop always remind me of the lovely Romagnolo dog we took care of for 8 days ! A kind of memory-mop !
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That was smart, @Françoise-et-Youn. I have stayed in places that had no had mops, brooms, vac cleaners, etc. so I have gotten down on my hands and knees and wiped the floors with rags and paper towels. I have also considered traveling with my own vacuum cleaner but haven’t acted on this yet —- maybe when cordless vacs drop way down in price. I know I’m a candidate for the “how to pack light “ crash course. My supplies keep growing and growing!
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Ceramic pans don’t work with an induction cooker.
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Some do. It depends how they are made.
There speaks a geek who bought an induction hob last year and researched for over a week to find the best pots and pans.
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No broom 
? 
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This may not be considered a ‘missing amenity’, but traveling/eating with plastic forks is a must for me (even at home). I just cannot stand the stainless steel of a fork on my teeth. Yet, stainless steel spoons don’t bother me …no trouble eating ice cream or soup. 
I also travel with plastic cups and paper plates…less clean up/cuts down on washing dishes.
This is why I really encourage my sitters to reach out to me if they have ANY questions that we hadn’t addressed before I’ve left. Their questions also let me know what I should add to my Welcome Guide and go over with future sitters.
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I believe it’s because washers in uk are generally cold water feed so the cycle takes longer than in the US
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That is a great tip Bunnycat. I usually pack a jar of instant coffee or sometimes a little plug in device to heat one cup. Just wondering how the coffee maker works. I too am a very enthusiastic coffee drinker.
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I just need an outlet near the bed to plug in the phone which I need for an alarm and to be on call for work and then a clear space to be able to work. Other than that, if it’s really an amenity I can’t live without - I am probably bringing it with me.
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I’m a chef, and I have an entire kit of miniature cookware and utensils. I wouldn’t leave the house without it. Plus I know that I don’t have to go rummaging around in the owners home to find the stuff that I want to use. I bring everything, condiments, spices, tiny pots and pans, and at least two ways to make coffee because I’m an addict!
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@MissChef , I already pack too much, and I have it on my to-do list to go through everything and whittle the pile down, but … I’m interested in what you pack. Do you have any pictures? Can you go into more detail? I have a set with a stainless steel nesting saucepan and pot with lid that comes in a little bag that I originally got for cooking in hotel rooms, but I only use it now when we go camping. What kind of coffee makers do you take? What tiny condiments? Thanks.
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I prefer to be “self-contained” so that I’m not disappointed by what I can’t find when I’m on-site. it’s a kit I’ve refined over years and years. all the cooking stuff is in a box smaller than a shoebox, and the coffee/elec burner is in another small box. I have a French-press travel mug if I only want to mess with hot water, and a tiny Moka pot if I want to use the stove or a burner. I have salt/pepper/sugar/spices in tall narrow jars in a zippered pencil bag.
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Hi @MissChef welcome to our community forum thank you for joining … I love to cook and I’m really intrigued in your mini kit and would love to see a picture.
I once did a three week sit and never did find any salt and pepper (I purchased of course) there was a “hidden” cupboard above the Aga where the condiments were sitting.
Enjoy connecting with our members and once again welcome.
Angela and the Team
In answer to how we can get the hosts to read this thread, I think you have done the best you can to achieve that by posting it in the Owner & Sitter Exchange.
I have done most of my petsitting in New Zealand where everyone uses Raid to kill flies; sometimes it is the only thing sitting on the kitchen or dining room table. I am not a fan or user of any chemical pesticides, esp not to kill a fly. So we buy fly swatters in bulk, bring one along, use it, and leave it for the owners with a mention in our farewell note. At one of our sits we left 3 swatters for each of the kids so they could have some competition going.
@Mars - I try and get by with very simple solutions. I also like a dark room for sleeping and find sleeping masks uncomfortable and have found sits with no drapes, just blinds that let light through. Took some 39-gallon black trash bags, cut off the bottom seam, cut up the middle and opened it up. Then I taped the bag to the top of the blind holder. Not pretty… but effective… lol.
For getting up in the middle of the night and not wanting to turn any lights on I use 2 solutions depending on the distance to the bathroom. A small flashlight inside a blue disposable glove (Nitrile Exam Gloves) or a motion-activated nightlight inside the toilet bowl. And the nightlight has different colors like this one (https://www.amazon.com/Original-Activated-Changing-Nightlight-Decorating/dp/B07C4QK1XD/ref=asc_df_B07C4QK1XD/).
And since I drive to my sits, I carry my toiletries in a backpack and if I’m using a hallway bathroom or a bathroom with not much space then I use this adjustable height personal folding table (Mainstays 26" Adjustable Height Personal Folding Table, Black - Pick Up Today Only - Walmart.com) to sit my backpack on. The folding table is small enough to have just outside the bathroom door without blocking the hallway if there’s not enough room in the bathroom.
And I use a small sturdy cardboard box that is 6 inches high that fits perfectly inside my backpack for my toiletries. And as I carry my own bottles of aloe hand soap and a bottle of antibacterial hand soap with pumps, I use toilet paper cardboard tubes to place over the pumps so they don’t accidentally squirt when transporting them. Not pretty… but effective… lol.
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