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Friday Diary: My Pet & Long Term House Sitting Experience by Hexotica
Chinese New Year installation at Box Hill Station. It's the Year of the Dog--and there'll be lots of dogs for me in it, indeed!

Ever since I heard about people living rent free in exchange for pet and long term house sitting, I daydreamed about doing.

I had wanted to do it for YEARS, and I finally got my chance in February 2017.

Here's my experience, as recorded then in this Friday Diary.🪄✍️

Two weeks ago I gave pet and house sitting a 'test run' to see how it would feel, and maybe get some insights into how it would be as a long-term house sitting lifestyle.

Here's what I've learned so far:

First off, I've discovered that the demand for pet and long term house sitters is massive!

It's SO massive, that almost every time I mentioned that I was even thinking about doing it, people would right away ask if I were available to mind their cat/dog/rabbit for when they were planning their next trip!

Catteries and dog kennels are not only expensive for long-term stays, they are stressful to pets who are used to being in their own territories--especially cats.

Then there is the security issue of leaving a house unoccupied for a long period.

So it just makes so much sense to have someone willing to stay and take care of the fur babies while watering the plants and taking the snail mail inside, making the home look occupied and thus deterring burglars.

Luckily, there are also a lot of people willing to take on pet and long term house sitting. So there MANY online sites connecting them to home owners.

The two that I set up profiles with are Trusted Housesitters and Pet Cloud.

Trusted Housesitters is ideal for unpaid long term house sitting around the world.

Pet Cloud is good for paid, shorter sits, so it's helpful for filling in between long term house sitting plans.

People have been telling me about someone they know, usually retired, who has been long term house-sitting for years, traveling across the world.

It's THE ideal way to travel and work as a digital nomad if you want to spend less money.

A dog-sitting friend of mine hasn't paid rent in a year since moving to Brisbane! Now she is saving to buy a second house!

Another friend told me he knows a copywriter who has rotated between the same four houses for years. The house owners take regular annual vacations and she is their go-to sitter.

For me personally, I am able to work from anywhere so long as the wifi is strong!

For years I have dreamed of becoming a digital nomad and working around the world like a digital nomad. I wanted to be able to visit my family in Atlanta for an extended period of time without causing a major disruption to my finances or business.

Finally, I can now!

I have no pets of my own, no mortgage, no kids, not even many houseplants.

Just over a year ago, I moved away from the business of handcrafted accessories and toward freelance social media marketing.

Long term house sitting seems like a nice way to ease into becoming a local nomad before doing any international roaming.

To me, it sounds like it would be an adventure to live in a different house in a different neighborhood every 2-3 months.

I LOVE exploring the area, feeling like a traveler, spending time with pets while working at home, and all without the full responsibility of owning them!

My Pet & Long Term House Sitting Test-Run

So, what happened is that a friend posted in a community Facebook group asking if anyone could pet and house sit for her friend for two weeks. I jumped at the opportunity, and of course, being a trusted, long-time friend, was immediately recommended.

After 8 weeks wait, I packed up:

  • one big suitcase
  • one yoga mat
  • one wheel suitcase with my laptop and spiral work notebooks
  • one computer monitor
  • one ergonomic office chair
  • 5 bags of groceries

The lady I pet sit for lived just down the street from me and had the cutest, most affectionate fur babies. One was a Papillon dog and a the other a tubby black and white cat.

I fell in love right away!

All my latent maternal instincts came out over those two weeks. I spoiled those two animals with affection like mad.

It was a strangely comforting feeling to feel their little eyes watching me all the time. (Probably wondering who the hell I was and what the hell I was doing in their house! 😂)

Staying in a stranger's home was odd at first. But after I cleaned, temporarily rearranged things in my own way, and set-up my office, it quickly became comfortable.

And for a bibliophile, it is a true pleasure to have the luxury of time to look through someone's library more thoroughly than the brief spine-gazing stolen in a short visit!

Luckily for me, the owner had an excellent, broad taste in books. I guiltlessly indulged that one curiosity in her belongings, whereas for everything else I only had a practical appreciation.

"Oooh, Williams Sonoma plates, nice!"

"This vacuum cleaner can fucking SUCK, my god!"🤯

Taking the dog for daily walks, petting the cat into purry states of pleasure, feeding them...then there was the gross-out spectacle of watching the dog eat the cat poo from the litter box.

That was a true event I wish I could un-see.🤮

The DOWNSIDE to my pet and long term house sitting test run 🍐

Now for the only downside to the test run..

It was a super, invaluable, can't-believe-I-didn't fucking-check-to-make-sure-lesson, for ceratin...

The wifi RAN OUT after TWO DAYS of work!!!😭

So I had to go home to work every day after. That wasn't too bad, as it was just a 20-minute walk or 4-minute drive. I took the dog home with me every time.

But I will be sure AF I get proof of an unlimited connection next time.

I learned to not just take the word of the owner, who may only be using it for email.

The upside to the experience was getting a good idea what I will and won't store away come February next year.

The American-style filter coffee machine is coming.

The half-dozen spiral work notebooks must go, as does everything to do with paper full-stop.

And for everything else I will take, it will be a matter of quality over quantity and minimal living.

Since I am recovering pack-rat, am very much looking forward to that!!

I'm now ready to take on a few YEARS of pet and long term house sitting adventures!

After the two weeks pet sitting, I then spent a week in the Dandenong Ranges at my partner's house while his housemate was in Bali.

Coming home after three weeks was very strange; the closer February 2018 gets, the less connected I feel to having a place of my own.

I stopped buying house things months ago, and am only getting rid of more and more.

I'm constantly debating what I will keep and what I will sell or get rid of so that I won't have to pay for it to be in storage.

I have a few months now to secure my first true pet and long term house sitting stint, hopefully for at least 2 to 3 months and in the area I most want to explore.

There are a lot of sites to join and scour for the right match. I only want to care for cats and I need strong wifi, primarily.

I'll be sharing all my coming adventures in alternative lifestyle living, so thanks for reading and please share any tips or suggestions that you have with me too!

Want to start learning how to start and run a creative business so that you can become a pet and long term house sitter?

Join my free Facebook community, Marketing For Creative & Unconventional Women & Gender Diverse.

It’s where I help creatives overcome their ugly-duckling imposter syndrome to start a business.

And where they can learn to kick-ass with their marketing to fund their world-traveling DREAMS! 🪄🦢

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