House Sitter - Conneaut,OH

Relax. At least you clean your toilets. ;)

We always have house sitters when we travel because we have large pets - a German Shepherd and a pig. I figure the various house sitters we've had probably snooped some, but my life is an open book. I don't care if they approve or not.

This summer our house sitter was a student from my AP Language class last year. She'll be a senior this year, and I'm sure I'll see her at school. I could have worked myself into a tizzy worrying about what she would think about our home and wondering if she would say anything to other students, but instead I enjoyed our vacation and thanked her for house-sitting (and paid her, of course).

I've also been a house sitter, and I've never snooped (much). I've always loved seeing how people decorate their homes, and considered it a privilege to be allowed to house sit for them.

Enjoy your vacation, and stop worrying! :)

LOL! Yeah, pretty sure you're overthinking this! I've stayed at other people's houses before and although I am a strict Clorox user myself, did not even flinch when I found the store brand under the sink. ;)

I'm sure they won't even notice! Just have some super good snacks and ice cream stocked in the kitchen, a note on how to use the remote and have an awesome vacation!

LOL...You are funny with your jokes. :-D You may be having these reservations for a reason. Your instincts may be telling you "Don't use this person"....You are not completely comfortable having this person over to house sit for you, don't do it. Your gut instinct is usually right and you won't have a good time on your vacation worrying about everything. I don't want to talk you out of your feelings because I think they are telling you something you should listen to. Understand? :-) I'm not trying to add to you freaking out or anything, but growing up, I have learned to listen to certain instincts and feelings that I have. Your house doesn't have to be in pristine shape....it should look 'lived in'....ya know? Everything will be ok....Just don't use this person....something is telling you 'not to'. So better to listen to your gut instinct, than to regret it later.....yes? :-) I would rather you be wrong about it and have taken precaution, than to go ahead and allow her to be in your house and be 'right about your gut feeling' and have to deal with whatever is going to happen.

You are so funny. And so normal.

I would just be happy to know you clean your toilets, lol

It would be hard for me not knowing what someone is going to do in my house too. But like you said, there's nothing you can do now, so deep breathe and concentrate on your weekend away.

Pretty much exactly what Tori said...we have had numerous family members and friends stay at our house...we have 2 big dogs and I refuse to board them. Did I consider hiding some of my...toys...ummmm, yea. Then I figured if they were nosy enough to look where they shouldn't, let em find something that might give em a shock! I've always trusted the people who stayed, or they wouldn't have been in my house.

And while I realize it is probably normal for people to snoop, no, I don't have a desire to in someone else's home...but that's just me.

Go enjoy your getaway and as long as you trust the person house sitting now to steal from you or vandalize, your house will be just fine!

I have housesat (for friends & family) and I've also been housesat (by friends & family)... I really don't snoop. I couldn't care less what brand of underwear, or cleaning supplies they use. I do care when I have somebody over to watch my house (usually, it's someone to stop by every other day to feed cats & clean litterboxes). But, it wouldn't matter if somebody was my friend, family, or paid help... I like my house to be as clean as possible when I leave so it's relatively clean when I get back home! The worst is having to ask somebody to take care of pets--especially when it involves cleaning up (scoop dog poop, clean litterbox, wipe up any other miscellaneous messes that my d*mn cats make)! Heck, we had only been in our house for about 5 months when we asked our neighbors to do this for us! We really like them and do trust them with access to our home.

Now, we have people who come over nearly every day to help my brother (speech therapist, physical therapist, and a guy who helps him in the shower), so I am more *aware* of how my house looks. At first, I'd run around like a crazy person before I left every morning to make sure there weren't any dirty dishes (or clothes) lying around. Or, that I hadn't missed a "cat-vomit episode" from the night before... etc, etc. It was crazy! That lasted a few weeks and I finally told myself "screw it! We live here and they are just going to have to ignore our mess when they come over and just do their job!" If they don't like the mess, they are welcome to clean up (ha ha)! I do make sure we don't have anything gross or embarassing left out, though.

If you do trust this person to take care of things (and not steal from you), then I say, do whatever cleaning you would normally do before a trip and just don't worry about the rest (romance books, cleaning supplies, etc)! Enjoy your vacation!!

Of course she's going to snoop. Everyone does it even a tiny bit. From just opening the closet door to see what kind of shoes you have to the full fledged search and peek.

Let it go. Just make sure your bodies, and private toys are well hidden....lol.

I've never house-sat for anyone, but I'm sure if I did, I would have done some snooping. I think you should expect some of that.

But... what's this person going to find? As long as your personal stuff is locked away (bedroom toys and that kind of thing), let 'em snoop. It's not like the tabloids will purchase photos of your store-brand bowl cleaners!!

I had my own pet sitting/house sitting business for several years and I was a babysitter for many years. I am not a nosey person and I don't snoop. If a door is closed I don't open it and I have never looked in someone's closet or drawers. I don't even open their refrigerator. Unless, I am given specific instructions to do otherwise, I just went to do the job I was hired to do. I don't like to be judged and I don't do it to others. Some people are better housekeepers than others & some people go green & recycle while others do not. I am there to do a job. Who am I to judge? Besides some of my best friends use Clorox toilet bowl cleaner and read romance novels. How they keep their home does not define the person, their personality or size of their heart. BUT, I know people that are snoopers so when I have used a pet sitting service while out of town I removed my valuables and locked my bedroom door and filing cabinet with important documents. When a trusted friend or family member watched our home, I didn't change a thing. Do what will make you feel comfortable and give you peace of mind. You do not want to have to worry while you are away.