Who doesn’t like to get away for a breather, enjoy some free time off and a little R&R? I am a travel junkie and it’s kind of a problem. Most of the time, my partner likes to stay home while I am whisking myself away on weekends, visiting friends or taking in a special event somewhere. I love the fact that I can do that and don’t have to worry about the house, the plants or my cats and the fact that my partner loves me for my free spirit and spontaneity. (lucky me!).

Sometimes, my partner does like to travel! We usually go away somewhere together once a year; overseas to see his family or we end up in some random place because of last minute deals.  We were very lucky to have close friends in town who would stay in our house while we were gone to tend to the cats and household chores.

Sadly, our last close friend is moving away, leaving us with no one in town who can care for the cats or the house while we are away in August. One of my cats is 14 years old and though he is still rather playful, he needs people around him and lots of attention. I thought about bringing someone in to come daily and feed them, clean the litter and spend an hour with them, but in some ways I didn’t feel good about it. We know a very good cat b&b out of town that the cats loved, but now that the oldest cat needs more care, I didn’t want to take  him away from his home and comfort spots. *sigh* Also, cat care places tend to be expensive, and for 2 cats for two weeks, this could cost me about $400. ouch.

So while on the couchsurfing.com website checking my messages, I came across a group within the site called “House Sitting”…hmmm. I quickly joined the group and posted an ad. I also found another website which is very good, called: House Carers. People who are looking to house sit pay a $50 yearly fee and people looking for a house sitter don’t pay. yay! So I placed an ad on there and replied to a few sitteres hoping to find a suitable person/or people to hang out with the cats and enjoy our home while we’re gone.  $400 saved and peace of mind. How cool is that? Now let’s hope I can find someone *crossing fingers*

We still don’t know where we are going on vacation, the plan is to drive to my home city (which is 1200km away from where I currently live), hang out with friends and my mother, then catch a last minute flight overseas or anywhere that’s inexpensive. I love not knowing where I’m going yet, that’s part of the excitement!

If anyone knows of other reliable house sitting websites, please let me know. Thanks!

HouseCarers.com