We can work from almost anywhere at this point, as long as there is a fast internet connection. We house sit most of the year, traveling from one to the next either by train, plane, or on our bicycles. If we can save up enough money, we like to go for a bicycle tour during the summer months. We don't charge for house sitting services, but we also don't expect it to cost us money, especially if there are pets. We want each house sit to feel like a fair exchange between us and the home owners - they get a lived in home with less mildew and more security, we get a home to live in. At times we have paid for an upgrade to internet speed, if we needed a better connection than the owner had, and for especially long house sits we are willing to consider paying the utilities. But each house sit is different, so we have no firm policy.
We are both former room cleaners, and know how to make your mirrors sparkle. We also grew up on small farms and between the two of us we are comfortable with dogs, cats, chickens, pigs, goats, sheep, horses, and turtles. Joshua is an amazingly handy handy-man, good with wood projects (like doors that don't hang right) as well as electrical problems (as I typed this he was working on a set of christmas lights that had been ripped from the plug). I know how to fix your toilet. We are both competent gardeners, too, and can care for your orchids as well as your Brussel's sprouts, tomatoes, and kale. We know how to use a wood stove and have lived in houses without central heating or air conditioning for most of our lives.If you are interested in house-sitters who will leave your house cleaner than when we arrived, please send an email to Marks /dot/ Moody /at/ gmail for references. Below is a list of past house sitting experiences.
- Amsterdam, Netherlands, Aug 2010: One week while the owners went on their honeymoon. They thanked us profusely, saying that their, "...house has never been as clean as it was when we got home."
- Fort Bragg, CA, US, Nov 2010: One week caring for a selection of fickle house plants. This was a paid job. The plants survived.
- Monterey, CA, USA, Jan 2010: One week while the owners were on vacation. They have a dog and box turtle, who we cared for and enjoyed.
- Oystese, Norway, Feb & Mar 2011: Two months living with a family of 5 (good friends), helping with cooking, cleaning, and child care.
- Tighnabruaich, Scotland, UK, April & May 2011: Two months in a flat - the owners only live there part time.
- Paris, France, Aug 2011: Seventeen days with a cat whose diet is special, but who prefers to eat plastic bags. See the blog post here.
Akim, notre ami, Paris
- Rural western France, Dordogne, Sept 2011: Almost four weeks with 12 sheep, many ducks, geese, turkeys, chickens, and two dogs and two cats. See the blog post here.
- Rural central Portugal, Oct - Nov 2011: Six weeks in a house-for-sale that was 2kms from town. We walked a lot. Blog posts here and here.
- Rural western France, Dec 2011 - Jan 2012: New location, also the Dordogne. Posts here and here.
- Zurich, Switzerland, Jan 2012 - July 2012: The big city. Post here.
- Weissenberg, Germany, August 2012: Small farm with goats, sheep, chickens, geese, ducks, and a vegetable garden. Post here.
- Menorca, Islas Baleares, Spain, Oct-Dec 2012: A beautiful island home with a dog, a cat, a bird, and a pool. Post here.
Summer/Fall 2013 was crazy and there's just one post about it here. It includes:
- Vienna, Austria, July 2013: Two grumpy cats who eventually let us be their friends.
- French Alps, August 2013: A week of wow on a small farm with pigs, chickens, a dog, and a friendly duckling that thought it was a human.
- Zurich, CH, August 2013: Close to the Limmat for summertime swimming on the daily.
- Outside of Lillehammer, Norway, Sept, 2013: A week watching fall colors from a typically Norwegian, huge scale view of landscape.
Then we went to Oslo and...
- Amsterdam, NL, October 2013: Just two weeks enjoying a cycling city.
- Rural Czech Republic, November 2013: Ponies and pit bulls in the middle of nowhere. (Sorry, no post).
- Rural SW Germany (Baden-Würrtemburg), Dec 2013-Apr 2014: A dog, a cat, and our first and second pet emergencies! Yipes!
Also see our adverts at MindMyHouse.com, HouseCarers.com, and TrustedHousesitters.com.
