We have decided to try get someone to housesit while we are on holidays. We are in the process of finding someone suitable who we trust to care for our house and animals while we are away.
Instead of planning what to take I need to think about what to leave behind.
This is going to require some planning and organisation to be able to hand over the running of the household. It is a reminder of how much knowledge and information is carried in my head.
Things like instructions for the washing machine, location of the booster switch for the solar hot water, how much food the dog eats, what day the rubbish is collected and so on.
The upside is that the house is pretty well decluttered and organised so it will be easy for someone to find where things are. There is also plenty of space for extra clothes and belongings.
I am determined that I am going to have all the planning done well in advance of our trip so that the last week or so will not be a mad rush. I want to simply pack my bag according to a pre-determined list and go to the airport, knowing that everything has been sorted out.
In the past, sometimes the last week before a holiday is so frenetic that I just want to get on the plane or in the car before my head explodes.
I would love to hear if anyone has had experiences of someone house-sitting for them. How did you choose them and was it successful?
organised castle 
We did a house swap with a couple of young ladies. It worked out really well as we got a chance to visit the city. It did take a lot more organizing than I was expecting though. There was so much to think about like keys and security and how to work everything and what food they were to use and I had to have beds made up and everything spick and span. We didn’t have pets to concern us but they looked after the garden. We left a very comprehensive list.
These days with emails I guess it much easier to do the communication thingy. We had to do it by phone.
We did the house swap via a free Christian house swap group.
I found living in someone else’s house a bit daunting and I was nervous something would go wrong but not a great deal did.
I am working of the list of info I will need to leave. I have had about 6 offers through the site we listed the house on. I am getting close to making a final decision based on a number of factors.