Yeah, I’ve now become a house and petsitter.

I started back in December 2023 and I’ve continued to do it since.

I’m currently on my fifth housesit in a lovely and big villa type house in Bristol.

The house is located just off the Bristol Downs so I have an absolutely massive front garden!

I never had any ambitions of becoming a housesitter.

But things were starting to get very hectic in my shared house and it was preventing me from getting my MTA done.

Moving house wasn’t exactly a simple option, as I live in Bristol and it’s a nightmare trying to find somewhere in a city with massive and perpetual housing crisis.

So I did a bit of laternal thinking… and moved into other people’s houses when they went away.

That’s what I’ve been doing all over Bristol for the past five months.

Housesitting was a very new concept to me when I first stumbled across it back in December.

But I took the plunge by signing up to TrustedHousesitters, paid the subscription fee and did my first housesit over Christmas and New Years.

Mia was the first cat I looked after and she was a very demanding cat who was always trying to get my attention.

I got really lucky with my first housesit because I didn’t have to do a video call and/or a meetup to secure it.

The owner just picked me as soon as she read my application.

It actually wasn’t that hard to secure my first housesit because I have plenty of previous pet care experience, especially with cats, so I just presented all that.

Mowie is a cat I lived with and looked after in my shared house for 4 years, I loved that cat. I feel like this photo (which is my TrustedHousesitters profile picture) has played a huge part in securing all my sits.

To be able to apply for housesits on TrustedHouseSitters there is an annual £99 subscription fee I had to pay, but for that £99 I have more than earned back the money when you consider all the nights I stayed rent free in other people’s houses.

An average Airbnb costs around £100 a night and you always have to book a minimum of two nights.

At the time of writing, I have spent around 8 weeks living in other people’s houses for only £99!

Housesitting has been a godsend.

And not just for the cheap accommodation, but also for the peace and quiet it has afforded me with for getting on with writing up the final projects of my MTA.

I like my nw desk, lots of space!

I’m able to get on with my work without any interruptions from chaotic housemates.

I can’t currently afford to get my own place, so this is the next best thing.

Most homeowners don’t even bother booking a housesitter unless they have pets that need looking after.

The petsitting part is definitely an added perk of the whole housesitting experience.

Currently I’m looking after a five-year old Cockapoo dog called Pepe.

Daisy
Georgie
Jigsaw
Pearcy
Pepe
Poppy
Ricki
Ruby
Mia

I have another nine housesits lined up after this one and they will take me through to the beginning of August.

There also isn’t many gaps in-between those nine sits so I’m not going to be seeing much of my own shared house.

I’m starting to think it might be more cost effective for me to sublet my room out.

I don’t yet.

But, at any rate, I’m going to make the most of the peace and quiet I will have over the next three months and get as much of my MTA’s final projects done as I can.

Beyond that, I don’t know yet.

I might even have a bit of a break from housesitting and then jump back into it around the autumn time.

Right now, I have to walk a dog.