Professional House Sitting - Preparing to Sit
Before the beginning
Finding places to sit and coordinating how to get there, may seem like the ‘first place to start’ when commencing house sitting, however, there are several items on the to-do list to tick off beforehand!
How and why you decide to begin house sitting may change what you add to your preparation list.
The following are the items I had on my to-do list before moving to professional sitting full time.
Home Preparation
If you decide to move to sitting full time, you may find yourself without a permanent ‘home’. Some people are fortunate enough to have somewhere to store possessions and return to between sits.
In the circumstances where this is not the case, home preparation may include:
Giving notice on a lease or rental property
Arranging cleaners for the vacated property
Culling, selling or donating furniture and possessions you don’t wish to store.
Sourcing storage for your remaining possessions
Buying a suitcase or bag suitable for sitting
Planning what to pack to take with you
Arranging a temporary home for any animals or fur children you might have
Selling your car
Life Administration
When you are house sitting, you tend to be nomadic. This means that what you carry with you is your whole world.
Deciding what to take with you is half the battle. How long will you be sitting for? What weather do you need to plan for? How much space do you have?
Without a home address you may need to arrange a post box at a local or central post office for mail.
Do you have pets or plants that will require care in your absence? Who will look after them?
Paperwork and Documentation
Having access to important documents isn’t always in the forefront of our minds until we need them! When did you last need your birth certificate? When was the last time (pre-COVID) that you checked the expiration date on your passport? Do you need visas for the countries you are sitting in?
Planning travel is like planning a wedding, start with the ‘big day’ and work your way backward to ensure you give yourself enough time to fit everything in. Keep in mind that some paperwork may be the lynchpin in your plans. Do you need a new passport for your visa? How long do you have to wait for your new passport to arrive before you can post it off for the visa? How long will it take to get a copy of your birth certificate? Other questions to consider:
What kind of insurance do you need? Health, Travel, Contents cover?
What other paperwork or identification documents might you need for other countries?
Do you have a payment method for other currencies?
Finally, I must say, there is not always a ‘perfect’ time to start planning to sit. But if you have considered each of these avenues and have a basic plan for how to proceed, you will find it much easier to move into house sitting life.
Happy planning!
x A