Earning my keep

I'm so grateful to Delly and Jason for giving me a place to stay out of the cold while I wait to receive invitations to park or house-sit. I'm doing multiple things to be a good house guest... after all, I wrote a booklet on Bed and Breakfast Guest Etiquette.

1. I'm trying to take up as little space as possible with my things in the kitchen, living room and bathroom.
2. I'm trying to be as quiet as possible by keeping the volume down on the TV, my laptop (TV shows and podcasts) and have ver few phone calls a week.
3. I'm eating up their leftovers to make more room in the crowded fridge.
4. In lieu of payment for electricity, I'm contributing a few items to the household.
5. I'm making myself useful by providing HandyAnde services I normally charge $30-$60 an hour for. By providing at least an hour of my services a day ($30 x 30 = $900/month) as a home economist I feel as though I'm giving value for my presence. Some of my tasks:

• scooping out the 5 cat litter boxes
• picking up milk, cat litter, cat box refills as needed
• sweeping the laminated and linoleum floors
• unclogging the shower drain
• washing dishes by hand throughout the day
• cooking parts of dinners
• refilling pet water bowl
• organizing some cupboards  
• keeping pets company when "mom and dad" are out of the house
• adjusting the window blinds in the morning and late afternoon (for the pets and plants)
• investigating unfamiliar noises 
• breaking up cat fights
• combing cats to reduce the possibility of hairballs.

This is what I do when I'm house and pet sitting. So hire me already... it costs you nothing!

Housesit Disappointment

I was confirmed to spend a month as a house sitter and pet sitter for a cat in Oakville Ontario starting March 11, and I was thrilled to be returning to a familiar location. I had postponed my trip to Ontario by a week to get a missing connector for my solar panel and power box, and had outfitted my van with all the equipment and supplies I would need for a month. Then the homeowner emailed me that she had changed her mind and hired someone else. I was stunned. Not only because my hopes were dashed of having a quiet month to write as I maintained her home and cared for her cat, but because I didn't want to impose on my friends longer than necessary, and now I had nowhere to go. I felt stranded.

While I like staying where I am, I always worry about being an unwanted guest. But I realized too, that this homeowner is not a kind person and she could have handled this differently. I don't think she realizes that I would be writing about how she treated me, in my blog and my book.

So I'm actively looking for housesitting situation of a week to several months in NW Pennsylvania, NE Ohio, NW New York, and southern Ontario. I'd love for them to be back-to back, but I'm happy to have an invitation to keep your home or business secure in your absence.

You can read about my background as a house and pet sitter on this page:  www.AndreaReynolds.com/housesit.html