I was absolutely over the moon to be invited to be the guest of HouseSitMatch.com on their weekly Twitter chat - #HouseSitChat.
Here's how it went.....
Introductions from HouseSitMatch.com
Then Onto The First Question - Tell Us About Yourself
Fortunately I'd been given the questions the night before so was able to type up my responses in advance - vital when it comes to copying with Twitter's tweet length limitations. Even though there were five minutes between each question to be tweeted, when it came to actually doing the chat, I definitely wouldn't have been able to get my answers typed up and tweeted live!
You’ll Never Dine Alone
One of the challenges for me as a solo female housesitter is dining out. Despite years of business travel when I worked in the corporate world, there is still something dissatisfying about dining out alone.
In fact, even eating alone at home means a missing key ingredient, no matter how delicious the food. Meals are meant to be shared. From our earliest history as cave dwellers, food was hunted and gathered not for immediate solo consumption but to be returned, prepared and shared around the fire by the whole family or tribe.
There is something about the shared experience, exchanging our taste sensations and pleasurable experiences with others that adds additional flavour to our meals. Everyone knows that a chip (french fry) taken from someone else's plate tastes twice as good!
Solo Dining - Unique Challenges
Dining out comes with its own set of additional challenges for the solo housesitter.
A Lukewarm Welcome
The welcome often isn't quite so warm. N...
Day By Day Guide To Facebook Group Regular Features
Many of the general housesitting discussion groups on Facebook have regular features. In them, group members can join in discussions or post images or links about what they are up to.
Remembering what's going on where and when was proving a bit of a challenge for me. Facebook can also be rather fickle in what it chooses to show you from one week to the next.
So I created myself a list of all the Facebook Group regular features posting opportunities, and thought I would share it with you.
Monday
#CoffeeMondays - House Sitting World
Start your housesitting week with a cup of your favourite blend while you join in a discussion about this week's topic.
Louise Read at House Sitting World usually sees what's been going on around the housesitting community in the preceding week. Then she asks a topical question or seeks members' tips and advice on a particular topic.
Blog Callout - House Sitting World
Not always on a Monday, especially since the start...
Special Interest Housesitting Facebook Groups
HouseSitting (Spanish)
I wasn't sure whether to include this group in the Geographical Housesitting Facebook Groups post or this one as it covers more than one continent.
Started by a nomad housesitter, this group's main language is Spanish. The group has over 5,500 members and is quite active.
A good place to find housesits in the Spanish speaking world - and to brush up on your Spanish!
Women Who Sail - Housesitting
If, like me, you are into sailing, this could be a good group to join.
As well as more traditional housesitting opportunities from members who are going off sailing and need their home and pets caring for, there are boat sitting assignments both short and long term.
There are around 1500 members at present. Please note you have to be a member of the main Women Who Sail group in order to be admitted to this group
Housesitting Co-Sitters Match
This is a group specifically aimed at solo housesitters who are looking to conne...
Geographical Housesitting Facebook Groups
There are numerous Facebook groups that specialise in a housesitting in a particular country or region. There are even ones that focus on individual towns!
I've organised the main groups I've discovered into continents for ease of reading. But if a country you are interested in isn't listed, I suggest going to Facebook and type the word housesitting followed by the country, region or city/town you want. That will show you a set of results and you can then just click on 'Groups' to look at groups.
If there isn't a group, why not start one? During my research I noticed that many of the groups listed here were started by the same person. Clearly they are places that she visits - or wants to visit and has started the groups as a way of attracting people in that area to her.
A word of warning. Be very careful about committing to housesitting assignments sourced through these groups. Do your due diligence, take up references, have a video chat and get absolutely clarity ...
Facebook Groups to Find Housesitting Assignments
This is a list of the Facebook groups I have discovered that allow posts from homeowners seeking housesitters and housesitters seeking assignments.
These groups are global so are a good place to start. But also check out my post about Facebook groups dedicated to housesitting in a particular geographical area.
A word of warning. Be very careful about committing to housesitting assignments sourced through these groups. Do your due diligence, take up references, have a video chat and get absolutely clarity on the homeowners expectations and the terms of the sit. Insist on a housesitting agreement with commitments to compensation for travel costs if the homeowner cancels.
Many homeowners will have listings on the big housesitting platforms and are just promoting their listing on Facebook. If so, always use the housesitting platform interface if you can, as most of the platforms have done at least some identity checking and others have a support mechanism in place to assist y...
Facebook Groups for Housesitters
I thought I would write a quick post to signpost Facebook groups so that housesitters could easily find the best groups to join depending on their needs and interests.
But it turned out there was nothing quick about this post at all! In fact when I started to look beyond the handful of groups that I'm a member of, I found so many that this quick post has turned into a series of posts!
The reason this not so little project of mine came about was because I was having coffee with a fellow housesitter the other day. I mentioned something I'd see in a certain Facebook group. I was taken aback that, despite being an almost fulltime housesitter, she hadn't heard of this group or its associated monthly publication (no prize for guessing which group I'm talking about!)
The Facebook groups about housesitting are great places where housesitters can interact with each other. You can get and give help and find useful tips and advise as well as special offers on housesitting platfor...
General Housesitting Facebook Groups
This is a list of the Facebook groups I have discovered that have a general topic of housesitting rather than being focused on a specific geographical area or a special interest or tribe. Most don't allow homeowner or sitter adverts so check the group guidelines before posting. I've created a separate post for groups that are primarily about seeking housesitters or housesitting assignments.
House Sitting World
With over 15,000 members as at June 2019, the House Sitting World Group is the largest online community of housesitters and homeowners.
Created and run by Louise Read and Tim Lou, the group has many useful documents in its Files section, providing a wealth of information to help you get started on your housesitting journey.
New posts require admin approval before being published.
House Sitting Magazine Group
A spin off from the highly successful House Sitting Magazine, run by Vanessa Anderson and Ian Usher.
This group has almost 7,000 members (a...
Unusual Way to Find a Lost Pet
It's happens to the best of us.
We let Felix out as usual and he didn't come back. We opened the front door to accept a parcel and Fido made a dash for it.
A homeowner's pet going missing is one of the scenarios that every housesitter dreads.
But there's growing evidence of a secret pet network - a domesticated jungle drums as it were - that housesitters and homeowners can tap into to quickly get the missing pet home.
Recently, Japanese Twitter user @charlie0816 tweeted that his cat had gone missing and he'd tried a method recommended by another Twitter user.
He was told to ask any other cats he saw nearby to tell his cat to come home. Charlie noticed a stray cat as he was out looking for his cat so gave it a try. He asked the stray if he could keep an eye out and get his cat to come home.
The following morning he opened his door to find his cat sat there waiting to come in.
Instead of being m...
In Case of Emergency
A recent incident on my current housesitting assignment got me thinking about how well prepared any of us are when we take responsibility for a client's home and pets.
Dogs Will Be Dogs
I'd been overseeing some renovations on the house and while the builders were bringing in tools and materials, the dogs (Mac - my client's dog and Eddie - my own dog) took the opportunity to sneak out and go for a wander in the nearby woods. I wasn't too worried as they'd done this a few times - both on my watch and when my client was at home. The routine was to periodically yell their names and eventually they would both turn up, usually filthy dirty but very pleased with themselves.
However on this particular day, things took an unexpected turn which resulted in me having to deal with the kind of situation every housesitter hopes they will never have to face.
Three hours after the escape to the woods, Mac returned - as usual caked in mud and ready for a lie down in a shady spot. B...