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I hope you are well. My name is Christian, and welcome to my channel Backpacking Bananas. My partner and I are full-time house sitters and have been living in Sydney since October or November of last year. So, it's been 10 or 11 months. Basically, long enough to understand that there are a lot of things that no one talks about. You have to get used to sleeping anywhere. Of course, every house will have a different mattress, different pillows, different bed size, strange sounds, and temperature. Things you never think about in your own home because you're used to them. But as soon as we start getting used to the next house, we move again. And these are not just ordinary things. The biggest thing I had to adjust to was that many owners
want their pets to sleep in bed with you, which I was not used to at all. I'm slowly but surely getting used to it, but I think even dorms in hostels couldn't have prepared me for this. I will just say that a good sleep mask and reliable earplugs will be your salvation in any situation where you don't feel at home. You will definitely become attached to animals. Especially as people who work from home, we spend almost 24/7 with these pets, and you just get used to having them around. And then suddenly the owners return, and you have to say goodbye to your new best friend. The plus of being based in the same city is that we can always come back and visit them, which we do.
This is a rather sad reality that you just have to get used to. You become incredibly adept at packing and a much more minimalist than the average person. Because as a house sitter, you pack up your entire life every time you move into a new house. And we are lucky because we have a car. Not all house sitters have a car, so they are even more minimalist than us. I think it's very important to have a system that makes it easy to assemble and disassemble. Most of my clothes are in drawer organizers. These are just open cubes from Kmart that I keep various things in. And when it's time to move, I literally just pack them into my huge bag. It has over 100 liters.
This is a shopping trolley bag. So, it rolls on wheels, which is very convenient because it can be very heavy. However, when I have to climb stairs, there are these massive handles that I can sling over my shoulder. But I have found that this system is currently the most effective. I also noticed that I had a lot of things that I didn't use all the time or only seasonally, like in the summer. So now I also rent a storage unit in Sydney for things I don't use this time of year. And it freed up a lot of space in the car, making every move a little easier. But I have to be very conscious when it comes to shopping and the things I buy because they need to fit somewhere and space is limited.
Another thing that this lifestyle has made me much more mindful of is privacy. Housesitting itself is obviously built on a huge amount of trust. People trust us with their homes, their pets, sometimes practically everything they own. But, on the other hand, I also lead a fairly public and active online life. I have social media accounts, housesitting profiles. I register on websites and apps when I travel all the time. So over the years I have inevitably created a pretty massive digital footprint. Which brings me nicely to the sponsors of today's video -Incogni. If you don't already know, Incogni helps you remove your personal data from data brokers-
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Their pets' routine becomes your routine. So, if the dog eats at 6:00 AM, congratulations, you are now an "early bird" at 6:00 AM. And most animals are very dependent on the regime. But you know what? That's what I really like about this business. As a freelancer working from home, I often struggle with implementing my own routine. So, if this schedule is already set by the animal's schedule, it's much easier for me to plan my activities for the day without having to start from scratch. Does There are owners and animals with habits that you categorically disagree with. And I think it's inevitable that as you visit different homes, you'll encounter rules and routines that don't align with your methods.
I think it's a question of balance. I think there is always a way to maintain an animal's usual routine by making small adjustments to make it comfortable for both you and your pet. Housekeeping is often referred to as free housing, and it really is a great thing. You don't have rent or bills. We also often find that the owners leave us food in the pantry and refrigerator, which is just wonderful. Although you don't pay for it, you are responsible for someone else's home and, usually, for a living being loved like a child. Feeding, walking, medication, basic care, keeping clean, and planning your day around your pet's needs are all part of the contribution you make in return. So this
can be considered free housing or a side job, where the amount you would earn for these services is equal to the cost of your accommodation. I literally just received a new offer. It looks great, but the dates don't work for me. If you take care of animals, you never have a full day off. Even when you're having fun, the thought constantly runs through your mind: "How long will the dog be alone?" When do we need to return? Some of the animals we cared for had severe separation anxiety and we couldn't leave them for long periods of time. So, certain pets can significantly influence what you do, where you go, and how long you are away from home. That's why it's so convenient to do it together: if one of us goes away-say, I was away for
about three weeks in July-my partner was able to stay and take care of the house in Sydney. When the load is shared between two people, it always makes things much easier. Some animals are slightly different from how they are described in the profiles. We didn't have a completely bad experience, but the owner might write that the animal "loves company," but it turns out that it follows you into every room, even the bathroom, climbs into bed, and never leaves you alone for a moment. The biggest surprise awaits you during walks: you might have been told that your dog is very friendly, but you take it out and notice that it, certain breeds of other dogs, or just people Therefore, it is very important to try to find out all this information
before we agree to take care of the house. However, despite everything, you can never be one hundred percent sure until you take the animal for a walk. So the first few times I take my pet out, I'm always extremely cautious. I keep them on a short leash and just assess the situation. Location can be much more important than how beautiful the house itself is. A beautiful house is great, but if you're a million miles away from everything, it's worse than having a simple apartment in a great location. But I also believe that the concept of "great location" is different for each caregiver. For Ben and me, the ideal place is one where we can park our car, either in a private car park or on the street without restrictions, which is hard to find in Sydney
. If we can't park near our house, we certainly want to have good public transport connections. I love when there is a large park nearby, especially if it is spacious enough to let the dog off leash if allowed. And the last thing I really appreciate is a good coffee shop within a 10-minute walk of the house, because it's our little luxury. Every morning we go to a coffee shop and get delicious coffee from the barista. It just sets us up for a good day. But, of course, some hutsitters may want to find themselves somewhere in the wilderness, away from civilization and society, to feel like they are truly resting and recharging. And I think everyone will find something for themselves.
You just need to be pretty picky when you ask for information during the application process. Your logistics can become pointless. Transportation of all belongings, moving supplies from the pantry, refrigerator, freezer. We now have both a car and a scooter. We had overlays in the hutsit graphics. Resolving issues with key handover, planning which dates This lifestyle has made us extremely adept at logistics. And I think I was in my element this year with home planning. And what's really great about my relationship with my partner is that we've realized how well we work as a team through all of this. We are both pretty calm and
flexible people, which I think is necessary when you choose this kind of life. The breaks between chats become the real enemy. This is why we often tackle overlapping hats, because as you can imagine, it's hard to find options that fit together perfectly. Of course, we are very lucky to have friends in the city who we can turn to if the need arises. But Ben and I try our best to never rely on friends for support. And I can't even remember the last time we stayed with friends, probably four or five months ago. So we're doing pretty well. We also noticed that if we had a successful series of hutsits in a row, we could afford an
Airbnb or a hotel for a night or two because we saved a lot of money on housing. You become incredibly skilled at finding things in someone else's home, especially in the kitchen, pantries, and closets. You also become incredibly skilled at using different appliances, because every house has a different washing machine, dishwasher, microwave, oven, or dryer. And eventually, you start to recognize familiar appliances and think, "Oh, I already know how this ice maker and this refrigerator work." Such a random and strange skill, but I'm so glad I have it. Leaving home after a chat is like a military operation, and we're pretty good at it now.
We wake up, make the bed, clean, take out the trash, clean the refrigerator, pack our things, and make sure to walk the dog and don't forget to feed it. We load all the things into the car, inform the owners that everything is ready, and leave them the keys. We are still learning that it always takes longer than we expect. And when we finally leave the house, we breathe a sigh of relief. But For example: "Oh, I forgot my shampoo in the shower." "I forgot the yogurt in the fridge." But then again, it's a good thing that we're based purely in Sydney because we can always come back home if we forget something. Your reviews essentially become your resume for home care. Once you have a few good reviews on your profile, it will be
much easier for you to receive future orders. After all, how nice it is for the owner to see your profile and so many people who have written wonderful things about you. This immediately makes you much more trustworthy in their eyes. Feedback is very important to us. We, of course, do our best to get a five-star review from the owner. The hardest part is getting your first orders when you don't have any reviews on your profile yet. So at the very beginning we simply applied for all available options. And we noticed that we were being answered for shorter orders, which were applied for by fewer people. And also to houses that were located a little further away, which could perhaps only be reached by car. After all, this is something that
not every home caretaker has. So at first we managed to get a few short orders away from the center. We, of course, tried our best and received several five-star reviews. And then we had a chance to apply for better offers. And now I can happily say that almost every trip we take is simply incredible. The buildings are wonderful. They are located in incredible places. We take care of such amazing pets. We once lived for quite a while in a house in Paddington for 3 months. At that point, we almost felt at home there. But even when you have a baggage of five-star reviews, if you want to get really good deals, you need to act fast.
Set up notifications to receive them whenever a house cleaning offer appears for your available dates in the area you want. Prepare a template for your application, but be sure to personalize it. At least review the ad to include the owner's name, the animals' nicknames, and explain why you are the best fit for this option. This is extremely important, otherwise your candidacy will not even be considered. But it is also very important to be fast. Some of the best ads disappear in one minute. For example, Trusted House Sitters allows you to submit no more than five applications for one ad, after which they are closed.
However, the plus is that if you have time to apply, you have a fairly high chance of success. One to five is not bad at all. Maybe it's just in Sydney, which is a very expensive city, but this field- can you call it a field?-is quite competitive. That's great, but the competition is high. People know about it. You truly become a local in every neighborhood you stay in. Like I said, Ben and I go get coffee every morning. When we arrive in a new area, we try every cafe until we find our favorite. Having found a favorite place, we start going there every day. We always bring our own cups, and within two or three days, the coffee shop owners already know what we're ordering.
Most often, the dog is recognized faster than you. After all, the owner walked with him through this area every day. This is very nice because it creates the feeling that you have temporarily become part of this community. You are part of it. You live there. Dogs give you an instant social life. I understand that dog owners are already well aware of this phenomenon. But as house sitters, we're not used to this; While walking your dog, people literally stop you on the street. People start talking to you or your dog first and then move on to you. Since I work for myself and don't have colleagues, I don't see other people every day. This gives me that opportunity, and it's very nice. It also accidentally turned into a bit of a networking opportunity,
as we are very quick to let people know when they compliment the dog we are looking after that it is not our dog and we are just looking after the house. Because, firstly, it creates a good opportunity for an interesting conversation, because it is not a completely ordinary thing; and secondly, these people will know that we are house sitters, and if they ever need a house sitter or have someone they know, they will know who to turn to. Essentially, every walk with your dog becomes passive "word of mouth," even without trying to awkwardly advertise yourself. We keep saying we want to print business cards for us as house sitters to give out to people if they ask about it, which happens
literally every day, especially in the areas we like, you know. But in the end, thanks to this we were able to get to know Sydney in a completely different way. Housesitting has taken us to areas where we probably would never have booked accommodation. It gave us the opportunity to live like locals rather than just having a tourist experience, and I think that's probably something I didn't expect at all from housesitting. Yes, we saved an insane amount of money on housing and bills. But it also gave us the opportunity to live in many parts of Sydney, not just look at them. And I think that's what I'll miss the most when we eventually stop doing this. But the
funny thing is, at first I said to Ben, "Okay, let's do this for 6 months, and then we'll settle down somewhere." We've been doing this for 10 months now and don't plan on stopping anytime soon. This is just too good. So, anyway, I'll end with this video. I hope you guys enjoyed this video, maybe you learned something new. Good luck on your housesitting journey if you are going to do it. Subscribe to this channel if you haven't already. I will be filming a lot more content about housesitting. As I said, we're not going to stop anytime soon. And see you in the next video.
See you later.
