Response rating:
Preferred locations
Syd. Eastern suburbs, Syd. Lower N Shore, Syd. Southern suburbs, Syd. Upper N Shore, Central Coast, Northern Rivers, Tweed Coast, Alice Springs, Darwin, Brisbane, Gold Coast & Hinterland, Sunshine Coast, Cairns, Adelaide, Hobart, Launceston, Melb. Inner suburbs, Perth
Additional Info
References available, Non smoker, Experience with Domestic Animals, Experience with Farm Animals
About
Who am I:
I’m Caroline, and I'm now back in Australia after 15 months living in Bali (and house sitting for about 6 months of that time). Prior to living in Bali, I spent 12 months solid housesitting in different parts of Sydney. If you're travelling and don't want to leave your house empty, or simply want someone to water your pot plants every day or two, I'm very happy to look after your place on my own. I've also spent much time with lovely pets as well. I have a strong preference for easy to care for pets. My favourite are 1-2 cats and/or chooks! Also happy to look after ducks, guinea pigs, fish or something else I haven't thought of but you can teach me to care for. Easy to care for, low energy dogs also fine (high energy dogs, puppies, old dogs who need medication, etc are not ideal for how I live my life). Please note, I am a non smoker and thus I prefer to stay in homes of non smokers. I am a minimalist and prefer homes that a spacious and clean.
Why I love house sitting:
I love to housesit because I'm a bit of a nomad. Setting up shop in just one location for a long time has never really done it for me. So I travel light and move where I feel called to spend time. It's an unconventional life, but I love it. And the way social media and technology is these days, I can easily stay connected with friends and family wherever I am in the world.
Where I am now: Sunshine Coast, QLD
Where I'll be next: Sydney, NSW
When and where I'm currently available:
3rd Sept - 24th Sept 2017 (Melbourne)
25th Sept - 1 Oct 2017 (Townsville)
24th Oct - mid-late Oct 2017 (Sydney: Anywhere between Balmain and Bondi)
(After that, who knows!!)
Preferred areas in Sydney; Balmain/Birchgrove, North Sydney/Lavender Bay, Mosman/Balmoral, Bronte/Clovelly/Coogee
Possible areas; anywhere within 30 minutes of Sydney city by public transport.
Preferred areas in Melbourne; within 30 mins of CBD, accessible by public transport & walking distance from shops & cafés
For other parts of Australia, please keep reading.
Why trust me with your home:
I have a bunch of references from people who know me well and can say nice things about me, as well as from people who don’t know me that well, but have had me in their home. (I uploaded a couple of these to this site the last round of Australian house sits I did, but have more if you need them). I take my role as house, home, garden and pet sitter seriously. My policy is… if your place is worth living in, then it’s worth looking after. And I will look after it as if it were my own :)
What I do for work:
I work as a life and business coach helping people improve the quality of their life, relationships and/or business, and I do 80% of my work from home. That means I am at home way more than if you had a house sitter who worked a 9-5 job. It also means any house sit I take on must have fast internet, so I can use Skype (video calls) to conduct my work.
Driving a car vs. Public transport:
I do not have a car, but I do have a full driver's license and am a highly capable and responsible driver (I used to drive small buses full of people for a living many years ago, so I take this responsibility seriously). Often home owners will leave their car and keys with me to use if/when needed. This isn't essential to me looking after your home, unless you live in an area that has almost no public transport. If you live in an area with regular buses and/or trains into the city, and I can easily access a supermarket and other shops, a park and/or bushland, then I'm unlikely to use a car much anyway :)
Length of stay:
I'm happy to consider house sits for as little as a few days if it's an area I'd really love to visit (e.g. Byron Bay area, Sunshine Coast, Melbourne city, Adelaide city, because I have friends in each of these areas), and as long as one month. I'll consider house sits at short notice, and as far ahead as 2-3 months. If you do have a home you'd like me to look after that includes getting on a plane then I will consider anything far flung, or somewhat outrageous if you're happy to pay for/contribute to the travel costs for me to get to/from (within Australia). Never know unless you ask :)
Other things to know:
As someone who has lived in a LOT of different people's homes in my life, I am aware of things other house sitters may not be. If you're vegetarian or vegan, no worries, I won't consume meat in your home. If you're very, very private and don't want me to have any visitors whilst in your home, tell me, because otherwise I am likely to have one of my (lovely, super respectful, darling) friends over for a cuppa or a meal :) If you have particular sensitivities or allergies, or other specific requests, I'm pretty good at all of these things, just let me know.
Contacting me:
I like to have a conversation with people whose homes I might look after ideally a video call (Skype or similar) so we can talk AND see one another before deciding if I will come to stay in your home. Meeting home owners and pets in person, and seeing the home I may live in beforehand whilst nice in theory but is not always easy to arrange. However, if you can introduce me to your pets and show me your home on a video call that can work well.
Things I have found make a house sitting arrangement work well:
1. That we're both really clear on what is expected, what I am free to use and what I'm not (e.g. some people tell me to eat any food they've left in the house, use the home phone as I wish, watch any of their movies, and use their cable tv, etc. Others prefer me not to use any of these. Both situations are fine, as long as we're both clear beforehand)
2. That there are written notes of important phone numbers for both you, vets and anyone nearby you want me to know about
3. That you show me how to secure the house anytime I leave or at night when sleeping (is there a trick to the lock? is there a security door to the garage? etc)
4. That I know how to care for your pets in the way you would want them to be looked after
5. That you show me any particular quirks in the way your house works (e.g. 8 step process to turn on washing machine and it won't work if you don't do it that way)
6. That your home and pets ARE like what you tell me they are (nothing worse for a house sitter who has gone out of her way to care for a home, turning up at a house after being told one thing and discovering that the pets are unmanageable, or the teenage kids have been left at home for me to "keep an eye on", or the house hasn't been tidied or cleaned in years... Did I mention I've stayed in a few houses before? I've seen many things I never wish to see again, hence now I am REALLY clear on what I will and won't live with. My creativity within my business nose dives with clutter, so spacious clean homes are my strong preference.)
7. That I can meet you on the day I move in and spend at least 30-60 minutes with you, perhaps over a cup of tea, getting the keys, contact numbers and the low down on how everything in your home works. (Or in the case you fly out in the wee hours of the morning, I have stayed in guest bed rooms overnight and had that "cuppa conversation" over dinner instead. That works too).
8. That we have a clear plan, for how and when I will move out, ideally again this is over a cuppa, with a conversation about how it all went, how your furbabies (if applicable) are doing, seeing where your mail is, where all your house (and car) keys are, and anything else we might need to discuss so you can settle back in and I can leave knowing everything is as it should be :)
From here:
Want to talk to me about minding your home and caring for your pets? Contact me by mail through this site and I'll get back to you soon! Thanks!
Caroline.