The House Sitter Checklist Most People Forget (It's Not the Wifi Password)

The standard note for a house sitter covers the obvious stuff: wifi password, where the spare key is, trash day, feed the cat at 6. It's not wrong. It's also missing almost everything that matters if something actually goes wrong while you're away.

A sitter who knows the wifi password doesn't necessarily know where the water shutoff is if a pipe bursts. They may not know which breaker controls what if something trips, or who to call first if the alarm goes off and they don't know the code override. None of that comes up until it's needed, and by then there's no time to guess.

The same gap shows up with pets. Feeding instructions are easy to leave. What's missing more often is the emergency vet's number, the pet's medical history if something happens at 2am, and who has the authority to approve a vet bill if you're unreachable for a few hours.

None of this is complicated to write down. It's just not what people think to include when they're rushing to pack the night before a trip. A guided template that asks the right questions catches what a quick note usually misses.