Forums | MacLife

NAG wrote:

Sounds like an airhead.

++

Wow, this dude was quite useless. If you explained t him that you wanted him staying there because you were afraid of burglars and he does this, then this dude is a moron. I hate it when people dont follow directions. I hope you didnt pay him? What if you were robbed? What would you have done to him? Would you have expected him to pay for the missing items? I would.

I honestly don't know what i would've done had i come home to find anything missing. I know he won't be housesitting for me again, though. Not that i'll be going  on vacation again anytime soon.

That really sucks, mtpalms. That's good she paid for everything. maybe she learned a lesson, but i'm guessing she just bitched to her friends about having to pay for it all.

Originally, my daughter was going to stay here, but it was going to be a lot of trouble to move all the babys things here for that short a period of time.

I need a housesitter for extended periods to take care of my pets. I don't mind having the neighbors feed them if it is only for a couple nights, but I'm afraid they'd feel abandoned if the house was mostly empty for any longer than that. The dog is indoor/outdoor so not such a big deal, but the cat is an indoor cat.

Apart from the reliable caretaker-guy I mentioned, I've never had a housesitter that didn't break something, or do something stupid, all though well meaning. The dumbest was the couple who thoughtfully smoothed out all the dirt mounds around the horse pen. My husband had put them there with a tractor to prevent flooding the corral when we have desert thunderstorms and flash floods. It must have taken them days to undo our flood control, and they were so proud of themselves! ::grits teeth, bears it::

mtpalms wrote:

I need a housesitter for extended periods to take care of my pets. I don't mind having the neighbors feed them if it is only for a couple nights, but I'm afraid they'd feel abandoned if the house was mostly empty for any longer than that. The dog is indoor/outdoor so not such a big deal, but the cat is an indoor cat.

Apart from the reliable caretaker-guy I mentioned, I've never had a housesitter that didn't break something, or do something stupid, all though well meaning. The dumbest was the couple who thoughtfully smoothed out all the dirt mounds around the horse pen. My husband had put them there with a tractor to prevent flooding the corral when we have desert thunderstorms and flash floods. It must have taken them days to undo our flood control, and they were so proud of themselves! ::grits teeth, bears it::

See, having had something like that happen, I wouldn't be able to do it again; I just couldn't relax knowing someone was living in my home and potentially re-landscaping my garden! I'd much rather put the cats/dogs in a cattery/kennel and forget about everything. Sure, your animals may not derive the same pleasure from being away from their environment as you, but they soon get over it and are oh-so-pleased to see you when you return. Plus you know that a) your animals are safe, and; b) you haven't lumbered an unwilling and potentially irresponsible neighbour with the keep of your pets.


tF

Last edited by tomfoolery (2006-08-28 12:18 pm)

that was what i initially was going to say was a positive about the situation... at least you didn't leave him there and he throw some huge party and have you come back to discover a bunch of trash all around the house or worse.

if you're tentative about "hiring" a housesitter next time, i'd actually suggest just turning/leaving on some lights and tvs in the house to give the appearance that someone is in the house.  it should hinder robbers from coming after your house because i don't think they'd take the chance of walking up to a house to "check" if it's empty first.  they'd rather go after the empty, lights-off, looking house.

justine wrote:

He wouldn't have had a party here. As for leaving the lights and tv on ... i do that whenever i go to work.

Welcome to the forums, by the way.

smart move, and thanks.

yeah, i always heard about people using timers for their lights in their houses, but i never knew how much rigging up the house with timers to do that would actually cost.  so the cheap route... just leave some lights and a tv or two in house on whenever you're gone.

Orion wrote:

You just get those plug in ones and plug the lamp into it.    That's all they used.

Where do you get those?

Malkin wrote:

justine wrote:

Orion wrote:

You just get those plug in ones and plug the lamp into it.    That's all they used.

Where do you get those?

Target, Walgreens, Home Depot, Amazon, just about anywhere. 

Thanks. I've never seen them before and had no idea where you'd get 'em.

yankees4life wrote:

justine wrote:

Malkin wrote:

Target, Walgreens, Home Depot, Amazon, just about anywhere. 

Thanks. I've never seen them before and had no idea where you'd get 'em.

same here.  i didn't know they were that easily accessible, but then again, i was never really specifically looking for them that seriously.

I actually use a few of those when go away. Set one in the living room for around 7:30 to 11 or so. Then the one in the bedroom kicks in for about an hour. gives the illusion that someone is home and moving about the house. They are really simple to set up and then once set you just forget about them