I talk a lot on Inside Laura’s Head about travelling on a budget, and I’ve recently shared some side hustles you can do to earn money to fund a trip or two as well. I’m really aware that people are struggling and having to give things up, and that travelling isn’t something everyone is willing to give up. I have been, and will keep, looking at other ways to make travel possible without spending as much money, and housesitting always comes up as a suggestion. So, J and I joined a housesitters website, Trusted Housesitters, to see what it’s all about, and if housesitting really is a way to travel for free.
What do I have to do?
Housesitting generally involves looking after pets as well as the house, although some people may want a house looking after without animals, it’s likely those will be few and far between. People looking for a sitter state what dates they’re after, where their home is, what sort of house, anything interesting about the local area, what pets they have and any special information about them. You’ll usually need to feed pets, give them medication if applicable, give them some attention and if they’re dogs, walk them. Some homeowners may ask you to water plants or take in a delivery, but you shouldn’t be being asked to do lots of work. Houses with cats will usually mean you can be out most of the day, if that’s what you want to do, but we’ve also found that working from home, in a different house, with a different area to explore in the evening, still feels like a holiday to us.
How much does it cost? Do I really get to travel for free?
The site isn’t free. There’s different levels of membership fee, the cheapest being £100 per year, which is refunded if you don’t get a sit within 14 days after making your 5th application. If it turns out no one chooses you, you’ve not lost out. You do need two references to join-we chose friends with pets who know how we are around animals, so that the references can reflect us accurately. You’ll also need to factor in travelling to wherever you’re going to do a sit, either petrol or public transport, to make sure it’s affordable before you commit to the sit.
Where can I go to?
Trusted Housesitters has sits all over the world. We’ve only done a local one so far, just to see how we felt looking after someone else’s pets, but we’ll be looking at further afield in the future. I definitely want to do some in Devon or Cornwall, for example.
Where you can go to really depends on the amount of time you can stay too. The more flexible you can be with dates, the more options you’ll have-J could go anywhere, whenever as he freelances, I am limited to being able to drive to somewhere outside my working day, for example. It’s also worth thinking about how much time you’ll have free when you go to somewhere-there wouldn’t be a lot of point in me driving down to Cornwall for a 3 night sit when I’m working, but if there was a two week sit and I knew I had my evenings free and could book a day or two off during that period, that’s absolutely worth the trip for me.
What are the downsides?
The main downside is you’re responsible for someone else’s beloved pets, and their house. Animals can get out, or get sick, or be biters (I’m looking at you, Carl the cat!) Cats sometimes throw up, litter trays need cleaning, dogs need walks and poo scooping, and no one enjoys those things. But if you like hanging out with animals, that side of things can be worth it.
Another thing I find difficult is staying in someone else’s house, when it’s not really set up for guests-in terms of a holiday rental has empty drawers for you to use, an empty kitchen etc. House sitting means you’re working around someone else’s stuff-fine, but something to get used to.
The one thing I didn’t expect to be so difficult was actually leaving the pets at the end. I cried when leaving our first house sit because I’d really grown to like the cats, and I knew I’d miss them. Not everyone would be as affected by that, and I do really struggling with leaving places anyway, but if you’re the same, definitely think about whether you’d find it too hard to keep leaving animals you’ve had a nice few days with. Getting to travel for free is great, but do consider the downsides too.
Would you recommend it?
I really would. We’re only one sit into our journey, granted, and I will update this post after we’ve done a few more, but overall I think housesitting is going to be a really good experience for us. I’m hoping to see a fair bit of the UK, and maybe the world, whilst making some new furry friends.
Have you ever thought about housesitting as a way to travel for free?
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