How to prepare your home for a house sitter

The night before a holiday is rarely calm. There's the packing, the passport check, the airport time, and somewhere on that list is "leave instructions for the sitter." Most people leave it until the last minute and end up writing a panicked WhatsApp at midnight while the dog watches them suspiciously from the bedroom door.

Here's a much better way. Walk through this checklist a few days before your trip and you'll save yourself a lot of stress, and your sitter will love you for it.

A week before

Confirm everything in writing

Make sure your sitter has your dates, suburb, the names and species of your pets, and any major medical needs in writing. A WhatsApp chat is fine. The point is that nothing important is "we discussed it on the phone three weeks ago."

Plan the walkthrough

A good housesitter will want to do a 20 to 30-minute walkthrough either the day before you leave or a few days prior. Schedule this. Don't skip it. It's the single most important thing for the booking going smoothly.

Refill what's running low

Pet food, cat litter, dog poop bags, medication. Don't make your sitter do the first emergency Pet Shop Science run on day two. If you'll run out during the booking, leave money for them or set up an account they can use.

Check vet contact details

Make sure you know your vet's name, phone number, address, and any emergency vet you'd want used out of hours. Write it down somewhere visible (more on this in a moment).

The day of the walkthrough

Walk your sitter through every room. Don't just hand over keys at the door. The walkthrough is your chance to point out:

• Where the alarm code is and how to set it
• Which light switches do what (especially the weird ones)
• Where the wifi password is
• How the geyser, gas stove, dishwasher, and washing machine work
• Which windows close properly and which stick
• How the pool pump works (if you have one)
• That weird drawer that doesn't open
• The plant care notes (yes, even the cactus)
• Where the spare keys live
• Which neighbours are friendly and which to avoid

The "house notes" document

Every good sitter wants this. It's a single document or note that lives in an obvious place (kitchen counter, fridge door) with everything they might need. Here's what to include:

Your contact details

• Your phone number (and WhatsApp if different)
• Your travel itinerary (which countries, rough dates)
• An emergency contact who isn't you (a family member, a close friend)

Pet care

• Each pet's name, age, and any health conditions
• What they eat, how much, when
• Walk routine (where, how long, leash or off-leash)
• Any meds, dosage, when given
• Quirks (scared of motorbikes, escapes through the kitchen window, gets car sick)
• Vet name, address, phone number
• Whether you've authorised emergency vet treatment up to a certain amount, or want to be called first

House info

• Wifi name and password
• Alarm code and instructions
• Bin day and which bin goes out
• Any maintenance things they should know about (leaking tap, dodgy lock)
• Pool day, pool service contact
• Domestic worker schedule (if any), and whether you've told them a sitter will be there

Useful local stuff

• Closest vet
• Closest 24-hour vet
• Closest petrol station
• Closest grocery store
• Closest pet shop
• A coffee shop or two if they're nice (sitters love this)

Pet emergency authorisation

This is the bit most people don't think about. If your dog has an emergency at 11pm on a Saturday, what should your sitter do? You don't want them paralysed waiting for you to wake up in another time zone.

The cleanest options are:

1. Pre-authorise spending up to a limit. Tell your sitter (and your vet) that they can authorise treatment up to, say, R5,000 without calling you. This works for most situations.
2. Set up a credit card on file with your vet. Most Cape Town vets are happy to keep this on file. Your sitter doesn't have to handle payment.
3. Nominate an emergency contact. A friend or family member who can authorise treatment if you're unreachable.

Whichever you choose, write it down clearly. "Use your judgement" is not a plan.

The day before you leave

• Strip and wash the bed (your sitter will love you)
• Leave clean towels out
• Empty the bin
• Make sure the wifi is working
• Test the gate, garage, alarm, all of it
• Leave the keys somewhere obvious AND tell them where
• If you're paying via EFT, make sure they have your banking details
• Leave a small welcome note. It's a kind thing to do and sets the tone for a great booking.

Things you'd be surprised to forget

Real things real clients have forgotten, in real bookings:

• Mentioning the dog has a fear of thunder and how to handle it
• Telling the sitter the alarm company calls when triggered (sitter answered, didn't know the password)
• Mentioning the cat is on a strict prescription diet
• Leaving the spare key somewhere the sitter could actually find
• Telling the domestic worker someone would be there
• Mentioning the pool pump runs at night and isn't broken
• That one specific medication that ran out on day three

None of these are catastrophic. All of them are avoidable with 30 minutes of prep.

One more thing: trust your sitter

Once you've done the walkthrough and left the notes, let go. Constant check-ins from the airport, anxiously refreshing for daily photos, asking your sitter to send extra updates because you're worried, all of it is more about your anxiety than your pet's wellbeing. A good sitter will message you if anything's off, and won't if everything's fine. Trust the booking. Enjoy the trip.

The whole point of booking a sitter is so you can switch off. If you can't, the booking has failed before it began.

That's it. Save this checklist somewhere for the next time you travel.