Our first actual sit reinforced our idea that this was absolutely the right decision. What follows is an account of a perfect housesit. When we met Oscar, housesitting became amazing.

The perfect housesit goes as follows:

1. Write an application message to an advertised sit

2. Have a brief video chat with each other to make sure everyone looks like they say in their message and give yourself some piece of mind.

3. Two days before the sit, receive a detailed welcome guide via the housesitting app of the company and receive instructions on when the homeowner is leaving as well as how to get inside.

Those things are relatively normal with a great majority of our house sits. It’s the wonderful way things were organised and presented once we got in the door.

First of all, we had no problems parking or getting inside. The very first thing that greeted us was a a clean, uncluttered house. It looked EXACTLY like the photos in the listing. We went in search of the cat and found him sleeping on the bed. Good! Then we went to the kitchen and found what we’ve discovered is rare and wonderful: a comprehensive folder of guides, manuals and instructions, a fridge with two empty shelves. And wonder of wonders, we found an an empty drawer in the freezer! The WiFi was super easy to connect to and there were instructions for all sorts of eventualities.

We found more space for us in a closet There was a lovely medicine cabinet shelf and fresh towels in plain sight. Over the space of the week, we kept in touch minimally. We sent pictures once a day. The owner responded quickly when I asked what to do about the phone technician who randomly rang the doorbell. We left 9 days later having explored the area (trying not to make this a travel blog) and having stuck the key through the letter flap feeling like we’d left a happy cat, a clean house, and feeling super positive about our adventures ahead!! This was a wonderful housesitting experience.