Leave it Better Than How You Found It – One of the Golden House sitting Rules

The outline of “leave it better” house sitting and life rule

“Leave it better.” It’s a great all round concept of making the world a better place and leaving things better than when you found them. Here we apply the rule to house sitting, offering the home owners a phenomenal and positive experience. However, this also has the added benefit of:

• Improving word of mouth referrals
• Increasing positive reviews on house sitting websites and social media
• Improved repeat house sits – Being invited back again
• A warm fizzy feeling inside knowing you have left a good impressions and have made someone smile!! 🙂

An age old house sitting and leave it better story

Housesitting is not new. A mate recently told me about his parents who regularly looked after their friends’ houses in the 1970s and 1980s. His father had a well-paying job and they owned their own home but for reasons of convenience, they would regularly housesit for two of their friends in the northern beaches area in Sydney.

The arrangement meant that his father was closer to his work and cut his commute time from 45 minutes each way to 5. His friends were quite well-to-do and they would regularly spend their winters in Europe.

Having someone in their houses gave them a sense of security, their pets were healthy and happy, and they always came home to well-maintained and beautifully clean homes. Meanwhile, my mate was enjoying having the run of his parent’s home.

The arrangement worked well for everyone. My friend’s mother thrived in the relaxed lifestyle of the northern beaches and it was like a holiday for her. She loved her friends and looking after their homes was a joy for her. Her attitude was that she would always leave their homes better than how she found them.

We’re not talking about making radical changes here but simply maintaining the cleanliness and orderliness of her friends’ homes. And they loved her for that. One of them, a well-known artist, was so grateful that he gave her one of his paintings each time he returned home. His mother passed away a few years ago but those paintings have remained in the family and they are a wonderful reminder of the kind of woman his mother was and of the friendships that she had nurtured.

How this story applies to us!

I like this story. It really sums up so much about what we do when we look after someone’s home. It requires a leap of faith for the home owner to trust someone with the place they love most. Rachel and I see that we have a unique opportunity to add to the lives of others and to show our respect for what others have spent their lives building. We are taking care of homes and we are building relationships founded on trust and mutual respect. And I think that is a motto that I am happy to apply to every aspect of my life;

To leave it (whatever it may be) better than how I found it.

A few quick tips on leaving it better than you found it

• Leave a hand written thank you note
• Do a major cleaning job that will make a difference – IE, clean the windows, dust the shelves, weed a big garden bed.
• Get the dogs or pets professionally cleaned
• Purchase some scented candles or leave a little gift
• Take and print some photos of the beloved pets to let the owner know they were well cared for
• Purchase a beautiful big bunch of flowers or pick a bunch form the garden

Add to the story – What would or do you do to leave it better than you found it

We would love to know what you would do to leave someone’s home better than you found it after house sitting. So please let us know by leaving a comment below. It may even help others by giving them ideas on “Leaving it better”!!

Apply the rule now! 🙂 Leave your comment and leave this blog topic better than you found it! 

Keep on just living the dream!