3 essentials to leave your house sitter

You need to do more than just hand over the keys to help your house sitter do the best job possible of watching your home and pets while you're away. Be sure to leave these three essentials for your house sitter before you head out on your next vacation.

In the event of an emergency, your house sitter may need to figure out how to get to the hospital, take a pet to the veterinarian or contact someone who can repair your home.

To plan for the unlikely event of an emergency and to make your house sitter's life easier, put together a complete contact list related to your home.

Be sure to include your mobile phone number, the number of neighbours or friends who could help in an emergency, and information on local emergency rooms, your pets' vet(s) and other numbers that could be useful.

Hopefully, your house sitter will never need to use this contact list, but it won't hurt to have it on hand, and the numbers could come in handy when you're at home, too.

Your house sitter can't read your mind, so be sure to make your wishes for how to care your home as clear as possible before you leave the house.

For example, if you want your sitter to feed your pets, tell him or her where you store extra food. If your house sitter is staying in your house, make sure he or she can operate laundry machines, run the dishwasher and use electronics, such as your TV, stereo, DVD player or home security system.

It may seem tedious to explain these things, but bear in mind that your home is not familiar territory for your house sitter.

Unless you're paying your house sitter to clean your house while you're on holiday, try to leave a clean, habitable space for him or her.

Remove any valuables and tidy up loose clothing, books and other items. Not only will your home feel more hospitable to your house sitter, but it will also be much cleaner when you return. And who likes to come home to an untidy house?

Also, if you feel so inclined, you can provide a few thoughtful extras for your house sitter along with your emergency contact list, explicit instructions, and a tidy space. There's little doubt that your sitter will appreciate perks like a bottle of wine, a nice bar of soap or a few delicious snacks.