If I was a homeowner entrusting my home to essentially complete strangers, I would be so relieved if I returned home to a house that looked exactly as I left it. One of our top housesitting tips is to take as many photos as possible of the space as soon as you arrive.

Sometimes as a house SITTER, though, you might not use the home exactly like the homeowners do. I, for example, need a footstool. So sometimes, especially if we’re in a home for a week or more, we might move a few chairs or a coffee table around. Sofa cushions inevitably get moved around. But we wouldn’t want the homeowners to come home to find their things in disarray!

We like to think of ourselves as very observant and conscientious, but we know our memories aren’t what they once were! Here’s one of our top housesitting tips: take a WHOLE LOT of photos of everything as soon as you arrive. And I mean everything!

We photograph inside cupboards, inside shelves, the fridge, the furniture, and blankets.

We want to make sure we that when we empty the dishwasher we put things back where we found them. If we move things in the fridge to make roomfor our own things, we want to organize it back again at the end of the sit.

When we strip the bed of our sheets, it’s good to make the bed up again like you found it. Pictures will help!

It comes in incredibly handy. “Honey can you remember where we found the placemats?” “Where did you find the cheese grater?”. It is amazing how quickly you can forget where you found things. And you don’t want homeowners coming home and try to figure out where you’ve put their favourite sauce pan!

In a couple of houses, after vacuuming prior to our departure, we couldn’t remember which direction a rug should go. Aha! Let’s check the photos!

It sounds a super obvious thing to do now that I’ve said it, but we are now so much more confident that we’re leaving a home exactly as we found it. It helps us maintain our 5 star review rating on TrustedHousesitters.