Grandma Joy calls house sitting a day ... after visiting 60 countries and 40 states / provinces of USA and Canada Housesitting

 

Hello Ian,

After all these years, sadly I will not be renewing my membership this year. 

 At 80 years young, widowed for 5 years, and with my own house and garden to maintain, I no longer have the stamina to look after other people's animals or keep their houses, gardens or pools to the standard which is desired.

After many years of housesitting with my husband, who was the 'fix-it' man, and being a farmer originally was able to turn his hand to anything that was required, now there is no longer the will, or in current times, the same opportunity, to travel.

We visited 60 countries and house-sat in many of them, as well as 40 states in USA and Canada, and every state in Australia. I have lifelong friends all over the world and many happy memories.

I spent months travelling on my own in France, both housesitting, and working on farms and in B and B's,  house-sat in Norway Sweden and Denmark, my specialty being to look after diabetic cats who needed insulin injections twice daily at the same time of day, which dictated meal times and social activities.

Also Hong Kong, mainland China, Singapore and Malaysia, where blonde hair and blue eyes invited conversation and interest from locals.

I rounded up sheep in outback Western Australia wearing bright clothing, hot pink sneakers and carrying a matching hot pink umbrella, the sheep being so mesmerised - or, perhaps confused - against all expectations, went obediently into the holding pens.

 

There were snakes in the sofa we were sitting on! They escaped into the lounge room when we got up off the sofa, and in trying to escape outside, got trapped between the window glass and the glass sliding door...  Snakes eating the chicken eggs before we could collect them, or up in the rafters of the veranda. Some injured magpies required  hand feeding, and mice jumping out when the toaster was turned on. 

And of course many cats and dogs to be shampooed, walked, fed, and cuddled, and horses and cattle to be tended, to - many of whom (dogs and cats) turned up their noses in disdain when their owners returned, clearly indicating they'd rather stay with us.

I reorganised pantries and cupboards, packed up whole houses for owners moving interstate days after their return, picked fruit and vegetables and made jam and preserves, picked up thousands of macadamia nuts on the nut farm, and hundreds of avocados from the avocado farm, with trays and boxes kept in the bath for cool storage, made hundreds of beds, and washed countless floors.

The snake catching, mouse killing and spider eradication - as a city girl,  I left to others to deal with.

 

It's been wonderful Ian, and I thank you for all your hard work and organisation, making it possible for people to have such wonderful adventures. We have introduced so many people to Housecarers over the years.  Now I'm handing over to a new generation.

Thank you again,           Joy B  (Adelaide)

View Grandma_Joy housecarers profile 

Hi Joy,

Phew Joy, I am out of breath just reading of your energetic wandering and overcoming all the challenges along the way.

Thank you very much for your service and support over the years – since 29-Jun-03!

You were one of our early members.

 Also I love hearing your story and experiences – thank you so much for sharing. It all makes my efforts over the years worthwhile.

 All the best with your “retirement” from housesitting and I wish and pray for many more fruitful and filled years ahead for you.

Ian

How We Saved Over $5000 House Sitting

When you think of Dublin, a few things may come to mind, rainy days, a pint of Guinness and maybe even leprechauns. However, what if I told you Dublin makes me think of saving money? You would call me crazy right? Wrong!

We are Brittnay and Jayden, an Australian and New Zealand couple who are obsessed with the nomadic lifestyle. Our story starts in the snowy Australia Alps one Sunday afternoon. We found some seriously cheap ($300AUD) one-way flights to London we just could not pass up. Before we knew it we had brought the flights and were starting applying for our work visas.

Fast forward two years, we were having a blast in London, and with 25 odd trips away or so under our belts we were not ready to leave. However, like all good things, it was coming to an end, due to our visas running out.

One of our house mates suggested we move to Dublin. It was very similar to the UK, a visa was easy to obtain and best of all, they spoke English. Dublin it was! Unfortunately we were not aware that Dublin was one of the most expensive cities in Europe to live in. We were absolutely shocked at house prices. Looking online we could not find anywhere that was under $1450 for a room.

We had heard about house sitting through a friend and quickly decided this is how we would work around the expensive rental market in Dublin. We signed up to several house sitting websites and set up our profiles. After a few stressful days, we finally got a reply. An Australian couple wanted to have a chat over Skype. They needed house sitters for three weeks while they were on a family vacation in the South of France. The call went well and they confirmed they would like for us to housesit.

We arrived we were greeted by the Australian couple and chauffeured around the beautiful suburb of Dalkey where their house was situated. Little did we know this was one of the most affluent suburbs of Dublin and celebs like Bono and Enya would be our neighbors for the next few weeks.

One thing the couple forgot to mention until they were running out the door, was that they were actually looking after a tortoise for one of their friends. They had never looked after one before and advised us to ‘just google it’.

Our month in Dalkey with Roxy the elderly lab & the tortoise was flying by. Time was creeping up on us and once again we were going to be homeless. Back on to the house sitting websites, it was. Luckily there was a house sit ad advertised just up the road which was starting just a few days after our first was finishing. We applied quick smart and explained how we were just down the road and would love to catch up with them for a coffee and a chat.

We headed down to the local pub to meet up for a wine and a chat. We bonded instantly and her two little chihuahuas loved us! Success, we had a new home again! 

We arrived at the new house sit, and we were absolutely amazed at the house. The owner had told us that the house was featured in (and won) ‘Home Of The Year’ in Ireland the previous year. The home was a newly renovated, funky 70’s style home. Complete with huge walk-in wardrobe, hot pink interior and artwork hung all through the house. It was to date one of the coolest homes we have ever set foot in!

Fast forward another four months and we have completed four more house sits in Dublin and have managed to save just over $5000! Below we outline how we managed to save this amount.

We are obsessed with the idea of house sitting and the fantastic opportunities it gives both house sitters and house owners. Below we have shared out top tips on how to become a housesitter for anyone who is interested in starting out or just genuinely interested how this idea works.

How did we manage to save this much?

Primarily house sitting saved us around $1450 per month on rental costs, however, some other areas where we saved money were:

Food Costs: This was something we did not think about. Every house sit we have completed we have been told by the owners to consume anything in the house we please (especially any perishable foods).

Utility Bills: Over 6 months utility bills can add up, especially in Dublin. Living in a home where the utility bills are covered managed to save us around $85 per month, over 4 months this adds up to a massive $340!

Transport: In Dublin, the transportation system is slow, untrustworthy and expensive. House sitting has enabled us to live in areas of Dublin that are very close to town, which would otherwise be very far out of our price range. This was saving us both around $7 per day. One house sit we had we were even given a yellow mini! This was perfect, it allowed us to see far more of Dublin than we would have using the sub-par public transport system. Also with Jay having free parking at work, we were able to save on really expensive parking fees.

General Household Goods: You wouldn't expect it but buying household goods can also add up over the months. Not having to buy items such as washing detergent, toilet cleaner, shower cleaner, paper towel and floor cleaner ended up saving us around $30 per month!

How You Can Become a House Sitter

 

Sign Up For House Sitting Sites

 

The first thing that anyone looking at starting house sitting should do is sign up to house sitting websites. They are the best way to get your name out there and get noticed. We have listed our two favorite sites below. They are both websites that cost to sign up to, however, once you lock in your first house sit you have already got your money's worth.

Trusted House Sitters

House Carers
 

Getting Started

 

The hardest part is getting that all important first good review. The more good reviews you have the more likely someone is to hire you. If you don’t have any house sitting references you might need to get creative. Use Airbnb references, a character reference from boss or even a professional reference. Every little bit helps!
 

Get Accredited

 

For the most part, you will be looking after someone's pride and joy. Make sure you are up to date with your pet first aid. If something goes wrong while the owner is away they want to know that their little bundle of joy is in safe hands.
   

Police Checks

 

Police checks are the ultimate piece of mind for homeowners. If you have never obtained a police check before they are usually free and really easy to get your hands on - just get in touch with your local police or countries Justice Department.
  

Apply, Apply, Apply!

 

Get your name out there and apply for every house sit that you can! It is a very competitive market out there so make sure you don’t just count on one house sit you have applied for.
   

Don’t Be Picky

 

You need to be open to all types of different locations, pets, and homes. You are never going to find a house sit if you limit yourself to specific pets, locations or homes.

We both love house sitting & genuinely get excited about the idea. We have made some life long friends through this fantastic idea and can see ourselves continuing to travel and house sit our way around the world with help from House Carers. 

We document our travels on our website The Travelling House Sitters and Instagram @thetravellinghousesitters if you would like to see where we are and what we are up to. We are currently in Chiang Mai, Thailand!

View House Sitter Profile of Brittnay and Jayden, at housecarers.com -travelhousesit