For a longer absence, give the sitter concise instructions for the house, people and pets, with an escalation path if you cannot be reached. A written packet works best when it names who to call, where safe shutoffs are, how to secure the home and which decisions are pre-authorized. Avoid putting sensitive codes in an unsecured document; share them through a secure method and remove temporary access after the trip.
The core information packet
- Emergency contacts: a neighbor or nearby friend who can physically come over if needed, your own cell number and how reachable you'll actually be, and a backup contact if you're somewhere with unreliable service
- Utility shutoff locations: main water shutoff, electrical panel location and breaker labels, gas shutoff if applicable — labeled clearly enough that someone unfamiliar with the house could find and use them in an emergency
- Alarm system codes and instructions, including what to do if it goes off accidentally and who (if anyone) monitors it
- Wifi network name and password, since most sitters will need this for basic day-to-day functioning
- Where to find a first aid kit, flashlight, and fire extinguisher
Pet and plant care specifics
Don't assume general instructions are enough — write down exact feeding amounts and times, any medications with dosages and schedule, your vet's contact information and whether they're authorized to approve emergency treatment in your absence, and specific behavioral notes (a dog that's fine off-leash in the yard but bolts at the front door, for example). For plants, note actual watering frequency rather than 'water regularly,' since that phrase means different things to different people and different plants.
Mail, packages, and signs of occupancy
If visits are intermittent, decide whether to hold mail, arrange secure package pickup or have a trusted neighbor collect deliveries. Avoid posting travel dates or access details publicly, and do not leave keys, alarm codes or garage codes in an obvious place. Give the sitter only the access needed for the job, explain how to secure doors and windows after each visit, and agree on a check-in method that does not expose household information to others.
Home systems worth walking through in person
- Show, don't just tell, where the main water shutoff is and how to operate it — a written instruction is much less useful in an actual emergency than muscle memory from having done it once.
- Walk through the thermostat settings and any programmed schedule, especially if it's a smart thermostat with an app your sitter won't have access to.
- Point out any quirks specific to your house — a door that needs to be lifted while closing, an appliance that needs to be reset a particular way, a sprinkler zone that floods if left running too long.
- If you have a home security camera system, explain what the sitter should expect to see themselves on camera and reassure them it's not an invasion of their privacy, just standard monitoring.
- Leave a written summary even after the walkthrough, since people forget details from a single conversation, especially for things they won't use until several days into the trip.
- Test access detailsConfirm Wi-Fi, lock, and garage codes work.
- Walk through the houseShow the shutoff and thermostat in person.
- Set emergency authorityWrite down the repair spending limit and decisions the sitter can make.
- Test the packet coldAsk someone unfamiliar with it to find key instructions.
What to prepare before you leave, not while you're gone
Test anything you're relying on your sitter to manage — confirm the wifi actually works with the password you're providing, confirm any smart locks or garage door codes function, and do a final walkthrough together if possible rather than handing over a written list alone. The goal is that your sitter's first time encountering a system is with you present, not during an actual problem while you're unreachable.
It's also worth thinking through what happens if your sitter needs to make a real decision in your absence — a burst pipe at 2 a.m., a power outage during a heat wave, a pet showing signs of illness. Give your sitter explicit permission in writing to spend money on an emergency repair up to some reasonable limit without waiting to reach you first, and identify which decisions genuinely need your input versus which ones they should feel empowered to handle immediately. Sitters who aren't sure whether they're allowed to act tend to hesitate exactly when hesitation is most costly.
What's the most important thing to leave a house sitter for a longer trip?
A written information packet covering emergency contacts, utility shutoff locations, alarm codes, wifi access, and specific pet or plant care instructions — verbal instructions alone are easy to forget, especially for details the sitter won't need until days into the trip when the original conversation has faded from memory.
Should I show my sitter the water shutoff in person, or is a written note enough?
Show it in person whenever possible. A written instruction is much less useful in an actual emergency than muscle memory from having located and operated the shutoff once already, and a brief walkthrough before you leave is worth the extra time it takes.
What should I do about mail and packages during a longer trip?
Decide in advance whether to have mail held at the post office, forwarded, or collected by your sitter on each visit, and give clear instructions either way. If your sitter is staying overnight, this mostly resolves itself, but occasional-visit arrangements need an explicit plan.
Should I give my sitter authority to spend money on emergencies?
Yes, within a reasonable limit set in writing beforehand. Give explicit permission to handle a genuine emergency — a burst pipe or a power outage during extreme weather — without waiting to reach you first, since sitters who are unsure whether they're allowed to act tend to hesitate exactly when it matters most.
| Printed copy | Digital copy | |
|---|---|---|
| Useful when | Power or phone access is unavailable. | A last-minute correction is needed while you are away. |
| Best content | Emergency contacts, shutoffs, and urgent instructions. | The same current information with update access. |
| Where to keep it | An obvious place the sitter has been shown. | A secure place the sitter can reach. |
A simple way to organize all of this so it's actually usable
Rather than a long unstructured document, organize your house-sitter information into clearly labeled sections your sitter can scan quickly under pressure: emergency contacts and utility shutoffs on one page, pet and plant care specifics on another, and general house quirks and wifi/access information on a third. A sitter dealing with an actual problem needs to find the relevant section in seconds, not search through paragraphs of general narrative to find the one detail that matters in the moment.
Test your written instructions on a trusted friend or family member before an actual trip, if you can, by asking them to read through the packet cold and tell you what is unclear. A packet that makes perfect sense to you, because you already know the house, often has gaps that only become obvious to someone seeing it for the first time.
Consider leaving both a physical printed copy somewhere obvious (taped inside a kitchen cabinet, for example) and a digital copy you can update remotely if something changes mid-trip, since a sitter without power or with a dead phone battery still needs access to the physical version, while a digital copy lets you make a last-minute correction from the road if you realize you left something out.