Home > Blog > House Sitting Checklist
Quick Facts
| The five stages | Before you apply, before you travel, on arrival, during the sit, on departure |
| The one we would never skip | Film the house when you arrive and again before you leave |
| What sets your day | The pet’s routine, not yours. It took years to build and you are there a fortnight |
| What most sitters forget | The fridge, and the footage |
| The packing trap | It is a house, not a hotel. There is a washing machine and a kitchen |
| Our experience | 20 sits across 12 countries, and this is what became automatic |
Five stages, one principle: return the house and the pets in the same or better condition than you found them. The pet sets the routine, tidiness is continuous rather than a final scramble, and two videos, one on arrival and one on leaving, cover you if anything is disputed.
Before the list, the honest version. Caro and I do not carry a checklist any more. After 20 sits across 12 countries it is built in, and we simply do the next thing without thinking about it. The place where we set all of it down properly is our book Travel More for Less, which walks through the whole process from your first question to your first confirmed sit and the reviews that open the next door.
This page is the condensed version. Five stages, what goes on each one, and a pointer to whichever article explains it in full. If you take one thing from it, take the two videos. They are the habit almost nobody has and they have saved us more worry than anything else on this page.
For most of Europe we point people at TrustedHouseSitters first, and our 25% discount link is there if you want it. Everything below works the same whichever platform you sit through.
If you want the daily reality rather than the list, what house sitters actually do all day covers it. This page is the sequence.
Stage One: Before You Apply or Accept
Everything here happens before you commit, and it is the only stage where saying no is free.
| Check | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Read the listing properly | You are applying for what is written there and nothing more. If it reads like a job description, it probably is one. |
| Look at the photographs, not just the pets | You can tell a lot from pictures. Untidy rooms and cluttered surfaces tell you how a home is kept when nobody has tidied it for a viewing. |
| Confirm every task is actually listed | Anything not written down is a conversation you have not had yet. |
| Check the entry rules for the country | Not every country permits house sitting, and some treat it as work. What to tell customs covers crossing the border. |
| Ask whether any pet needs medication | Injections and timed doses change whether a sit is fair. |
| Ask how many pets, including outdoor ones | Cats that live outside and come in for food are still your responsibility. See house sitting for cats. |
| Ask how many plants need watering | A windowsill is nothing. Fifteen pots and a vegetable garden is a chore. |
| Count the pets against a fair exchange | Our limit is two dogs, four outdoor cats, and four pets in total. See is house sitting a fair exchange. |
| Confirm dates, arrival time and handover | The full question set is in what to ask a homeowner |
The question list varies by listing, because some homeowners write everything down and some write almost nothing. What does not vary is checking.
Stage Two: Before You Travel
| Check | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Passport, and the visa for where you are going | Do this when you accept the sit, not the week before. |
| Medication, in hand luggage | Not in a checked bag that can go missing. |
| Toiletries | The basics. Anything you forget, a house has shops nearby. |
| Clothes and underwear | You are going to a house with a washing machine, a kitchen and an iron. The full packing list explains the one rule that changes everything. |
| Re-read the welcome guide | If there is no welcome guide, ask for one before you arrive. |
| Confirm how you are getting in | Keys, a lockbox, a neighbour, or the owner still being there. |
The packing trap catches almost everyone the first time. You do not need a fortnight of clothes, because you can wash them. Pack like you are visiting a friend who is leaving you their house, not like you are checking into a hotel for two weeks.
Stage Three: On Arrival
What happens here depends on whether the owner is still there. Either way, the list is the same.
| Check | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Film the house before you unpack | Your record of how you received it. If something turns out to be damaged, this is what settles it. Do this when the house owners have left. |
| Meet the pets and let them come to you | Do not crowd an animal that has just watched its owner leave. |
| Walk through with the owner, or the guide if they have gone | Anything unclear, ask now rather than at midnight. The pre-sit question list is where to start. |
| Find the medication and read the instructions yourself | Do not rely on being told once. Read the label yourself and ask what a missed dose looks like. |
| Save the emergency contacts. | See pet emergencies when the owner is unreachable. |
| Ask where the pet passport is kept | If the animal needs a vet, you want everything in one place. |
| Find the stopcock | Every house is different and most times you will never need it. |
| Find the fuse box | Same reason. You want to know in daylight, not in the dark. |
| Confirm bin day and where they go | Getting this wrong is the fastest way to irritate a neighbour. |
| Confirm the pet routine in detail | Feeding times, walks, quirks, and what a normal day actually looks like from the animal’s side rather than yours. |
One thing worth saying plainly. If something comes up during the sit, ask the homeowner before you start trying to fix it. They may have had the same problem and know the workaround. Do not start tinkering with someone else's house on a guess.
Stage Four: During the Sit
| Check | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Follow the pet’s routine, not yours | It has been built over years. You are there for a fortnight and it is not yours to change. |
| Feed at the times you were given | Not when it suits you. |
| Walk when the pet expects it | If the dog walks at seven, you are up at seven. |
| Send updates at the frequency you agreed | A photo does more than a paragraph. See sending updates |
| Keep the place tidy enough that a visitor would not catch you out | Unexpected visitors should not be arriving, but if one does you should not be scrambling. See the cleaning and |
| Clean up messes as they happen, yours and theirs | Do not leave either one for later. |
| Water the plants | They were on your list for a reason. |
| Put the bins out on the right day | The one household task with a deadline. |
| Report anything that breaks, the same day | Even small things. A broken glass reported on the day is a non-event. Found three weeks later it looks like hiding. |
| Use the vet line before you go anywhere | If your platform provides one, use it early rather than waiting to see whether it gets worse. |
Keeping things tidy as you go is the whole trick. If you clean as you live, departure takes an hour. If you leave it all to the final morning, it takes a day and you will miss something.
Stage Five: On Departure
| Check | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Strip the bed as soon as you wake | It is the first thing to do and it sets up everything else. |
| Start the wash, or leave it ready | Early enough in the day, run it. Later, leave it in the basket so the owner can. |
| Wipe down every surface you used | Wipe onto the floor, then vacuum and mop. The floor catches everything. |
| Clean the fridge | The thing most sitters forget. See a proper checkout. |
| Leave the rooms you never used alone | Do not tidy spaces you were not in. |
| Walk through once yourself | Fridge, wardrobes, cupboards, under the bed, chargers. |
| Then have your partner walk through | Two pairs of eyes, independently. It is how you get to certain rather than hopeful. |
| Film the house before you hand it back | The matching footage to your arrival video. |
| Return the keys the way you agreed | In person, through a lockbox, or with a neighbour. Do not improvise this one. |
| Send the departure message | What you found, what you left, and anything they need to know before they walk in. |
The Two Videos That Cover You
This is the part we would keep if we could only keep one. Film the house when you arrive, before you touch anything, and film it again before you hand it back. Same route through the rooms, same order.
It has never once come up for us. We have never had to show either video to a homeowner or a platform. But from other things in life, I know that having the record already sitting there makes a difficult conversation easy. If a homeowner notices a scratch a month after they get back, you can tell immediately whether it was there before you arrived.
That is all it is. Visual proof, in both directions, and it costs you five minutes at each end.
Treat It Like a Friend’s House, Not a Contract
The version of this I actually believe is simpler than a checklist. I look at house sitting as a way to visit friends. It is genuinely like staying at a friend's place, except the friend has left and you are returning the house to them in the same or better condition.
I know it is not a contract, and I am not pretending it is. But I push toward friendship every time, and it works. We still keep in contact with homeowners from sits years ago, and some of them are genuinely friends now.
The moment it starts to feel like a job is the moment it stops being comfortable. That does happen, and when it does it is usually because the exchange stopped being fair. Being a professional sitter is about doing the work properly, not about turning it into employment.
Conclusion
Five stages, and only one of them has a deadline. Everything else is a habit: read properly before you commit, ask before you assume, follow the pet's routine rather than imposing yours, keep tidy as you go, and film both ends.
Do not wait until something goes wrong to wish you had documented it. The five minutes you spend filming on arrival is the cheapest insurance in house sitting.
If you want the whole thing properly written out, from your first question to your first confirmed sit, it is in our book Travel More for Less.
Caro and I have completed 20 house sits across 12 countries, driven 19,000km across Europe in our 1998 VW T4, and saved over $26,500 in accommodation costs over three years of house sitting.
DM us @housesittersguide, we answer everyone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a checklist to house sit?
Not once you have done a few. Caro and I have not used one for years because the sequence becomes automatic. At the start a list genuinely helps you find the rhythm, and you will grow out of it faster than you expect.
What is the most important thing to check before a house sit?
That the listing and the reality match, and that the exchange is fair. Read it properly, look at the photographs, and count the animals and the tasks against what you are getting in return. It is much easier to say no before you accept than after.
Should I film the house during a house sit?
Yes, on arrival and again before you leave. It takes five minutes at each end and gives you visual proof of how you received the house and how you left it. It has never been needed in 20 sits, but it is the cheapest protection there is.
How tidy does the house need to be when I leave?
As clean as you found it, and ideally without a final scramble. The trick is cleaning as you go rather than saving it for the last morning. Strip the bed first thing, wipe surfaces onto the floor, then vacuum and mop, and leave rooms you never used alone.
What do most house sitters forget?
The fridge, and the footage. The fridge is the most commonly skipped surface. Filming the house at both ends registers with almost nobody, and it is the habit we would keep above all others.
How do I remember everything on the final day?
Walk through once yourself, then have someone else walk through independently. It is how you get to certain rather than hopeful. Fridge, wardrobes, cupboards, under the bed, and every charger.
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