There's a difference between having someone watch your house and actually preparing your house to be watched. The first one involves handing over a key. The second one involves spending an hour thinking about what could go wrong and making it less likely.
I've been on both sides of this. I've been the housesitter who couldn't figure out the coffee maker. I've been the homeowner who came back to a freezer left open because the door sticks and I never mentioned it. Neither is fun.
Here's what I do now before every trip, broken down into stages so you're not doing it all at midnight before a 6am flight.
One week out: the big stuff
Start with the things that need lead time.
Get your spare key situation sorted. If your sitter doesn't have a key yet, get one cut or set up a smart lock code. Test it. I once gave a sitter a key that worked on the front door but not the deadbolt. She was locked out for two hours on her first night. Don't be that person.
Stock the basics. You don't need to fill the fridge, but make sure there are paper towels, toilet paper, dish soap, trash bags, and laundry detergent. Enough for however long you'll be gone. Your sitter shouldn't have to buy cleaning supplies to clean your house.
Handle the mail. Either put a hold on it at the post office or let your sitter know to bring it in daily. Packages are trickier. If you're expecting something, give the sitter a heads up, especially if it needs a signature or refrigeration.
Tell your neighbors. Send a quick text to whichever neighbors you're friendly with. "Hey, we'll be out of town from the 10th to the 20th. Josh will be staying at our place, dark hair, drives a blue Honda." This prevents well-meaning neighbors from calling the police about a stranger in your house. It happens more often than you'd think.
A few days before: appliances and systems
Walk through each room and think about what your sitter will interact with.
Kitchen. Show them how the stove works if it's anything unusual. Gas with a tricky igniter? Induction that needs specific pans? Point that out. Same for the dishwasher, especially if it has a particular loading quirk or a cycle they should use. If your garbage disposal jams sometimes, show them where the reset button is under the sink.
Laundry. If your dryer vent needs cleaning mid-trip, mention it. If your washer leaves the door locked for five minutes after a cycle and that's normal, say so before your sitter thinks it's broken.
Heating and cooling. Write down what temperature you keep the house at and how to adjust it. If you have a programmable thermostat, explain the schedule or just tell them to switch it to manual. If there are rooms with space heaters or window units, explain when and how to use them. If the upstairs gets hot and they need to close vents downstairs, that's the kind of thing nobody guesses on their own.
Water. If your house has a sump pump, point it out. If you have a well, mention what the normal pressure reading looks like. If there's a water softener that needs salt, show them where the salt goes. This stuff sounds boring but a flooded basement is very much not boring.
The day before: the walkthrough
This is when I do my actual walkthrough with the sitter, either in person or over video.
The breaker box. Show them where it is. Show them which breakers control what, if they're labeled. If they're not labeled, at minimum point out the ones for the kitchen and the water heater.
The water shutoff. Show them the main valve and explain which direction closes it. If there's ever a pipe issue, "turn off the water" is step one. Your sitter should be able to do that without Googling.
Security. Walk them through the alarm system, including the code, what happens when it goes off, and how to cancel a false alarm. If there are security cameras, let them know where they are. Nobody likes finding cameras they didn't know about. If you're disabling interior cameras while they're there (which you should), tell them that.
Locks. This sounds simple, but walk through every exterior door. Some doors need to be lifted slightly to deadbolt. Some sliding doors have a bar in the track. The garage door opener might be on a different frequency for each car. Cover all of it.
What to leave out
Put these things somewhere visible and obvious. The kitchen counter or the entry table works.
- Spare key (if applicable)
- WiFi password written in large, clear handwriting
- Your contact info and one local emergency contact
- Pet food and medications, with dosage visible
- TV remote. Yes, label the remotes if you have more than two. I have an entertainment cabinet with four remotes and even I get confused sometimes.
Leave a few gift-type extras if you want to be a good host: coffee, snacks, a bottle of wine. Your sitter is doing you a favor. Treat them like a guest, because they are one.
What to put away
This is the part that feels awkward but matters.
Lock up valuables. Jewelry, cash, important documents, passport, anything you'd be upset to lose. This isn't about not trusting your sitter. It's about removing the possibility of awkward situations entirely. A locked drawer or a small safe in the closet is plenty.
Prescription medications. Yours, not the pets'. Keep them in your bedroom or somewhere private. This is just basic safety, especially if multiple people might be coming through the house.
Anything fragile or sentimental. If you have a vase your grandmother brought from Italy sitting on a table the dog runs past six times a day, move it. If the kids' artwork is magnetted to the fridge and you'd be devastated if it got damaged, take a photo and tuck the originals away.
You're not childproofing the house. You're just removing the things that would make you sick to lose, so neither you nor your sitter has to worry about them.
Small things that make a big difference
These are the details that separate a stressful housesitting experience from a smooth one.
Leave the porch light on. Or show them the switch. Arriving to a dark, unfamiliar house at night is disorienting.
Clean the house before you go. It doesn't need to be spotless, but start your sitter in a clean kitchen and a fresh-sheeted bed. They'll take better care of a place that was already taken care of.
Empty the kitchen trash. Nothing says "I didn't think about you at all" like a full trash can greeting someone on day one.
Check your smoke detectors. If the battery is going to die and start chirping at 3am, better to catch it now than have your sitter texting you about a beeping sound they can't locate.
Leave a note about the quirks. Every house has them. The bathroom door that sticks. The bedroom window that won't stay open without the stick propped in it. The motion-sensor light in the backyard that triggers if a cat walks through. Write these down so your sitter doesn't spend the first night thinking the house is haunted.
Before you walk out the door
Final checklist:
- Spare key tested and accessible
- WiFi password visible
- All access codes written down
- Emergency contacts shared
- Pet supplies stocked and visible
- Thermostat set or explained
- Trash emptied
- Valuables locked up
- Sitter has your phone number and a backup contact
- Neighbors know someone's staying
The whole point of having a housesitter is so you can relax while you're away. Spend an hour preparing properly and you'll actually be able to do that, instead of spending your vacation fielding texts about where the circuit breaker is.