A house sitter needs essential information quickly, often while carrying bags, locating a key, or responding to a pet. A “read this first” note should guide the first hour and point to fuller instructions. It should not contain every household detail or expose more personal information than the sitter needs.

Write the note for a trusted person who has already agreed to the role. Discuss responsibilities in advance; the page is a memory aid, not a substitute for consent, training, or a walk-through.

Start with arrival and contact

Put the property address at the top, followed by the agreed entry method and the name and number of the primary contact. Include a backup contact who knows they have been named. Avoid labeling keys with a full address.

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State how the sitter should confirm arrival. If an access method fails, provide one safe next step rather than several risky workarounds.

Prioritize the first hour

List what needs immediate attention: checking a pet, adjusting a specific setting, securing an entry point, or locating an essential supply. Put later chores in a separate detailed guide.

The first page can contain:

• Arrival confirmation and contact details.
• Immediate pet or plant task, if any.
• Location of the fuller household instructions.
• Essential water, power, or alarm information they are authorized to use.
• The agreed response to a lockout or urgent maintenance problem.
• Any area that is private, unsafe, or out of bounds.

Keep health, security, and personal information to the minimum necessary. Do not include account passwords or unrelated records.

Make normal operation clear

Explain unfamiliar locks, alarms, appliances, heating, ventilation, and waste routines during the walk-through. In writing, record only the steps the sitter must repeat. Use exact labels that match controls and storage locations.

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Never ask a sitter to attempt electrical, gas, structural, medical, animal-care, or other specialized tasks beyond their competence. Provide appropriate professional and emergency contacts.

Test and protect the note

Walk through the instructions with the sitter. Ask them to show where the main guide, pet supplies, and relevant shutoffs are, without turning the review into a quiz. Revise any wording that depends on you pointing or saying “over there.”

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Leave one printed copy in an agreed location and send a secure copy if appropriate. Retrieve or destroy outdated copies after the stay, especially when access details have changed. Update codes and permissions according to your normal security plan.

Pet and plant instructions belong in separate, detailed sections. State amounts, times, locations, normal behavior, and the qualified contact to use when something seems wrong. Let the sitter practice any unfamiliar routine while you are present. Do not expect them to interpret vague phrases such as “a little water” or “the usual walk.”

Explain household quirks that could look alarming: a noisy pipe, a light on a timer, or a door that sticks. Also identify changes that should never be dismissed as normal. Clear distinctions reduce both unnecessary worry and dangerous assumptions.

Discuss visitors, deliveries, remote cameras, connected devices, and privacy before the stay. The sitter should know what monitoring exists and which areas they may use. Pause unnecessary indoor monitoring where appropriate and never conceal it.

Create a communication rhythm proportionate to the stay. One arrival message and a daily pet update may be enough; constant reporting can make the sitter feel supervised. Agree on what requires immediate contact and what can wait for a routine update.

End the note with departure essentials: what to lock, where to leave the key, and how to confirm that the handover is complete. A useful read-this-first page gives the sitter confidence without pretending every situation can be scripted. It makes priorities, boundaries, and reliable help easy to find.

Date every version and remove older copies from drawers, message threads, and shared folders when practical. Conflicting instructions can be worse than missing detail. Before each stay, read the page from the sitter’s point of view and confirm every contact, code, schedule, and location that could have changed.