When I quit my job and wanted to stretch my savings as far as possible, I started exploring options to reduce my costs while still seeing as much of the world as possible.

I had considered house/pet sitting previously but had a lot of hesitations and, frankly didn’t have the “need” to because I was traveling and working full time so affording accommodations was a non-issue. When I had to really reign in my spending to continue this lifestyle unemployed; I finally took the leap and signed up for Trusted House Sitters.

My only regret? Not starting sooner.

Had I started sitting while working remote, I would have saved so much money.  But, we can’t go back in time or harp on regret, so I’m enjoying the opportunities I have had and will have moving forward.

I am heading into my 7th sit (with 4 more lined up), and have saved thousands of dollars on accommodations, met some incredible people, hung out with some of the cutest dogs and explored cities and towns I never would have thought to go to without these opportunities.

While house/pet sitting has been an awesome opportunity for me, it is not without it’s limits and is not for everyone.

So, let’s get honest about it.

Is House/Pet sitting right for you?

Of course, just house sitting is the ideal arrangement, but it is far less common than pet sitting.  While most pet sitters do so for free accommodation, it is essentially a job in exchange for housing.  You are watching someone’s beloved pet and home, which needs to be priority over free time and vacationing.

There is a schedule to adhere to, which can limit your freedom to explore and wander.  There are also “house rules’ to adhere to that may include not having guests, being responsible for cleaning, lawn care, etc.

If you are looking to love and be responsible for a pet and a home, with some flexibility to visit and explore a new area, pet sitting may be a great option for you.

If you don’t love animals and want total freedom to wander and explore, sitting may not be for you.

What Platform to Choose?

I went with Trusted House Sitters because I had heard great things about it and liked the added protection of the platform. I thought it was worth the membership fee, but there are so many other platforms and options with lower, or no, membership fees.

There are many platforms, apps and Facebook Pages for house and pet sitters that range from free to $200+ annually.

While any house/pet sitting arrangement comes with a level or trust and commitment, I personally prefer a platform that offers some level of protection and support in the event of cancellations, emergency, safety concerns, or a sit not meeting expectations. While the upfront cost can be hefty, if you use the site consistently, it pays for itself quickly. In my case, I paid about $130 for an annual membership and have already completed six sits for a total of 4 months of free accommodations that saved me thousands of dollars.

Before committing to a platform, or plan, make sure to read reviews and what comes with different plan options, like insurance, travel protection, support, etc.

How to Create the Perfect Profile

If you are new to house-sitting, it can take a bit of effort and compromise to land your first few sits and build up reviews. A solid profile can really help land those sits!

I have found key to a good profile is to be honest.

👋Introduce yourself and share a little about who you are - this should be personal and specific to you, not just that you are clean and responsible (be sure to mention that too).

🗣️Discuss why you want to be a house/petter sitter - it is okay to want to be honest and upfront about wanting to use this opportunity to travel so talk about that in addition to your love of animals.

🐶Share any and all relevant experience looking after pets or homes - even if you have very limited experience, discuss it in your profile. Be sure to stay honest and not to over inflate your experience just to land sits, this could quickly come to light if you are in a situation you claimed to be prepared for but are not. Many pet owners are still open to people who don’t have a ton of experience but are passionate about pets and animals.

🐈Get recommendations - Have any and all friends you have provided pet care for, or even just frequently interacted with their pets, write you a recommendation. If you don’t have any experience, you can have friends, family, coworkers, etc write a recommendation to speak to who you are as a person/professional.

📸Include lots of photos - the more photos of you with animals, the better, but if you don’t have any that is just fine too. Use photos that showcase your interests and activities and that may represent you as a sitter. I chose photos of me hiking and in nature to speak to my love of walking and the outdoors.

How to Find Your Perfect Sit

While looking for sits, be sure to read all parts of the description thoroughly, look through all pictures and read reviews. I also go as far as to read the reviews the home/pet owner has left for past sitters to get a feel of their expectations and tone.

<Pause for honesty> you may not land your perfect sit right away.

It may take a bit of compromise to build up reviews and work toward those “dream” sits, especially if you don’t have much experience.

Some things that I compromised for my first sits:

🌍Location - I was looking for sits in the UK due to needing to leave the Schengen Area, and while Central London or Edinburg would have been a dream, those are prime sits with lots of applicants; most of which had much more experience and reviews than I did. So, I branched out and looked in “less desirable” areas, like suburbs and smaller villages.

⭐If you have not committed to the fully nomadic life, seeking out local sits for “staycations” is a great way to build up reviews.

🏡Homes - Of course a mansion with a chef’s kitchen and spa bathroom and king sized guest room fit for a queen is the dream… but, let’s be honest: those are unlikely (though not impossible) first sits. My first few sits were in lovely, cozy, comfortable homes that were more than adequate for my stay.

❌Limits - While some of the locations I applied for were a bit limiting, so were the pets themselves. Unfortunately, I am extremely allergic to cats, so dogs are most available to me. An ideal dog sit is one that can be left for the day to allow for exploring and day trips, but again, those are the sits that get scooped up quick and are most desirable. I was open to applying for sits with dogs that needed a little more attention but limited my flexibilty and free time.

Things I was not will willing to compromise on:

Taking on too much responsibility or tasks I wasn’t up for and didn’t feel equipped for, such as: super senior dogs, pets requiring a great deal of medication or specialized care, homes that didn’t look like a good fit for me, places that were too remote.

⭐Keep in mind that “dream sit” is not just a perfect location, it is also the pet and level of responsibility. A beautiful, central location is great, unless the pet cannot be left alone or needs extensive care and monitoring. I found a sit in Mexico that seemed like an absolute dream, until I read the description more thoroughly and saw that the super senior dog could not be left alone and it was required the sitter take her everywhere… in a baby sling. No, thank you.

This is not to say only apply to sits that feel like a compromise, if something looks good, apply! You may luck out and get your dream sit on the first go. Having a strong application can help make that possible.

Before Applying

Before submitting an application, be sure you can commit if you are selected. I suggest completing the following checklist before applying:

Applying for Sits

Once you have established what you are willing to compromise and have identified some sits that look like good and realistic options for you, it is time to start applying!

How you apply will depend on the platform you use, but generally, the application process is submitting a letter stating why you are interested in the sit and feel you are a good fit.

Some tips for an application letter to put you at the top of the stack

Intro:

Greet both the homeowner and pet. I start every application letter with “Hi <owner> (and <pet name>!)”. This shows that I have read the listing and my application is specific to that sit, not just a copy/paste (even though it mostly is).

Body:

I make sure to specify the sit dates I am applying for. This again, shows my application is catered to their sit. This looks like “I am reaching out in repose to caring for <pet name> and your home, from <date> to <date>”.

Give a little information about who you are, why you are interested in house sitting and what about this sit appeals to you. My first several sits, I acknowledged that I was new to the platform, then gave some information about my experience with animals and house sitting for friends.

Speak to being responsible, respectful and reliable. If you have references or Airbnb reviews, use those to support this.

Discuss your schedule and availability during the day, especially if you will be working remotely while on the sit. I always mention that I make my own schedule which offers flexibility to follow theirs.

Closing:

Be sure to close with an offer to answer any of their questions and a willingness to meet virtually prior to agreeing to the sit.

Be sure to respond to any follow up questions or responses timely - this is indicative of how responsive and communicative you may be during the sit. I have had three sits tell me I was chosen for the sit because of my level of communication.

About 25% of my sits have requested to meet virtually as a bit of an “interview”. All of them have been pretty brief and a great way to do a quick intro make sure we are a good match.

Preparing for Your Sit

Once you have secured a sit (whether first or 100th), these are some steps to take prior to the sit that will make everything go more smoothly:

Of course, some of these things will vary depending on how far you are traveling for a sit, if you are traveling internationally, etc.

When traveling internationally, or coming by plane, I personally always allow a “buffer day” and arrive the day prior to account for any possible delays of issues, someone is relying on my arrival for their departure after all. While this is an added expense, I find the peace of mind it offers well worth it.

Some hosts will also request you arrive the night prior (especially if they have an early departure). This should be discussed prior to accepting the sit, but sometimes comes up after. Only agree to what you are comfortable with. I have stayed the night with my hosts prior to their early departure twice. Once was discussed and agreed to ahead of time and the other was offered when we were discussing logistics - I graciously accepted the offer of a free stay and that worked out better for their 5am departure.

If you have questions leading up to your sit, reach out to the host and ask! Don’t hesitate or feel like you are “bothering” them: the more that is communicated and worked out in advance the better.

If using a platform, there is often a guide provided by the host or lots of information about the house, pets, area, etc. in their profile. Be sure to review this and note any additional information you may need such as vet information, feeding/walk schedule, how long pets can be left alone, emergency contacts, etc. If using a FaceBook or less formal means, be sure all of this information is provided.

During Your Sit

Woohoo! You have landed your first sit! Or are a few sits in, and are now in someone’s home and in charge of keeping their pet alive and well. No pressure!

Rules and Expectations

I have had sits with VERY chill hosts with essentially no rules or expectations (aside from caring for the dogs) who were like “throw a party!” and then others who were clear about no guests in the house, cleaning expectations, tight schedules to maintain, etc. You will find a wide range of expectations and rules across hosts and sits, and the best and simplest approach is just to follow their rules in their home.

Again, all of this should be discussed and outlined prior to the sit so you know what to expect.

Communiation

This is another area where expectations may vary greatly across sits, especially if you are one of their first sitters, they are new pet/home owners, or they have a pet with special needs.

I always establish this prior to the home owners leaving to make sure we are on the same page as far as updates and communication.

What I have found works really well for longer sits is creating a Google Document and sharing the link with the owner. I will add pics and updates daily and the owner can look at it as they please. This works especially well when there is a drastic time difference - like when I was sitting in England for a couple traveling in Japan, and in London for a family traveling in Mexico.

Any emergent issues or concerns are communicated via WhatsApp or other phone service.

Cleaning

There are many schools of thought on this, and the overall consensus is: just be sure the house is clean when the owners return. This includes making sure any yard poo is cleaned up, litter boxes are cleaned, bird/reptile cages are clean, and the house is left in the same condition (or better) you arrived to.

Some sitters are very lax and then just do a full clean before leaving, others maintain the space as they arrived to it for their whole stay.

Both are fine! The vast majority of people who utilize sitters I have spoken to say they don’t care as long as they arrive home to a tidy house.

My personal approach is to keep the house in a way that if the owners or their family/friends popped up, their home would look pretty much as they left it. Is this a little overboard, probably, but does it give me piece of mind and make my “check out” clean much quicker and easier? Absolutely.

I also just close off any space I am not using. If a house has multiple bathrooms, I stick to one. If there are living spaces, an office, etc that I won’t be utilizing, I just shut the door: one less space to clean.

As someone who travels a lot, and used to have a home to come home to, I also subscribe to “No one wants to come home from vacation and have to clean” so I do go above and beyond in my cleaning (which is completely optional). This has been a standout in my reviews, and honestly, I think it has really helped me land some dream sits and be invited back to previous sits.

Most Importantly: ENJOY!

Sink into the space and the experience and enjoy, knowing that you are living rent free and seeing new parts of the world.

And enjoy those cutie pets!

If you are ready to sign up, and want to go the Trusted House Sitters Route, use this link for 25% off your membership.