House sitter instructions binder: contacts, checklists and home info

These house sitter instructions help you leave your home in good hands without writing the same notes before each trip. The 24 undated pages are filled in by hand and cover contacts in the order to call them, access and alarm notes, a daily checklist, a calendar for the stay, care for houseplants and the garden, mail and trash days, appliance quirks, Wi-Fi and TV notes, emergency shutoffs, a quick page about pets, neighbors and services, a checklist for leaving and a log for the sitter.

You get a US Letter PDF and an A4 PDF. Download them right away and print at home. Nothing is mailed.

How these house sitter instructions answer every question

Your sitter has a single binder with all the answers: which key fits which door, what to do when the alarm sounds, which plants need water on which days, when the bins go out to the curb and where to turn off the main water. The stay calendar gives each job a box on every one of 14 days, so a glance tells you the mail was picked up and the plants got their water.

Complete the information pages one time, then reprint only the checklists and the log before the next trip. Codes and passwords never go on paper, and the pages remind you to pass them on privately.

Who these house sitting pages are for

• Homeowners and renters heading off on vacation, a work trip or a family visit
• Families who ask a friend, neighbor or relative to look in on the house and water the plants
• Snowbirds and frequent travelers who want one binder to reuse trip after trip
• Anyone with lots of plants, a garden or a house with a few quirks the sitter ought to know

Design and printing

• Elegant, minimalist look: white pages and soft blush pink touches that use very little ink
• Generous margins all around, so a home printer will not clip anything
• Two portrait sizes: US Letter (8.5 x 11 in) and A4 (210 x 297 mm)
• Undated, so it works for every trip in any year
• Codes and passwords never appear on the printed pages, with reminders to share them privately
• Pairs well with a pet sitter sheet if pets stay at home
• Use it in a binder or on a clipboard, or have a print shop spiral bind it

Inside the house sitter binder: 24 pages

1. 1Cover listing the contents
2. 2Welcome and trip details, with the dates you are away, where you are staying, the best way to reach you, any time difference, a note from you, the type of stay (overnight or daily visits), the 5 things that matter most, the updates you would like and what you agreed
3. 3Contacts in the order to call them, 8 rows (owners, next to call, a trusted neighbor, family close by, whoever holds the spare key, a backup sitter), the home address, urgent help numbers, utility lines and who can make decisions if you are unreachable
4. 4Before we leave, a checklist for the homeowner covering a week ahead, the day before, on the way out the door and what you leave for the sitter
5. 5Home access and alarm notes: keys, doors and gates, notes on the alarm panel, steps if the alarm goes off, the routine for locking up, and lights and blinds (codes are passed on privately and never written down)
6. 6Where things are, a 12 row table (flashlight, first aid kit, fire extinguisher, light bulbs, cleaning supplies, towels, tools, plunger and more), rooms the sitter may use, rooms to keep shut, the sitter's room and a box to sketch a floor plan
7. 7Daily checklist for the morning, every visit, the evening and every other day, plus the little extras of your home
8. 8Stay calendar with 9 job rows and boxes to tick over 14 days, a table of weekly jobs and what is coming up during the stay
9. 9Indoor plant care, a 12 row table for each plant, its spot, how much and how often to water and its light, how you water, signs a plant is struggling and the fussy ones
10. 10Garden and outdoor care, with a table for outdoor watering, sprinklers and hose, pots, garden jobs, a yes or no list for the lawn and yard, and a box to sketch the garden
11. 11Mail and packages, notes on the mailbox and deliveries, an 8 row log of mail and packages, what to open, what not to open and newspapers
12. 12Trash and recycling schedule, a pick-up table for each bin, what goes where, bins and bags, a 14 day trash tracker and holiday changes
13. 13Appliances and quirks, a 10 row table for the appliance, its location, how to use it and its quirks, plus what not to use and what to do if something breaks
14. 14Heating, cooling and water, with thermostat settings, the water heater, a plan for bad weather, freeze protection, electricity, water and noises that are normal
15. 15Wi-Fi and TV notes, with network and TV fields left empty for privacy, other screens, smart home controls, things to feel free to do, things not to do and a cheat sheet for the remote
16. 16The kitchen and helping yourself, with food to enjoy, food to leave alone, kitchen notes, groceries and takeout, things to use with care and cleaning up
17. 17House rules and preferences, lists of please do and please don't, 7 is it okay to questions answered yes or no, quiet hours and parking
18. 18Emergency info and shutoffs for water, gas and electricity, safety gear, getting out safely, a box to sketch a map of the shutoffs, the nearest help and home insurance details
19. 19If something goes wrong, step by step plans for a water leak, a power cut, a smell of gas, a door found open, a storm and getting locked out
20. 20A quick page about pets, with a table of the pets at home, quick care, the vet, do's and don'ts and pets that like to escape, pointing to your full pet sitter sheets
21. 21Neighbors and services, 5 neighbors, 8 services and trades, visitors to expect and people not to let in
22. 22Checklist for leaving, covering inside, outside and locking up, keys handed back and a message for you
23. 23The sitter's daily log, 16 visit rows (date, arrival, departure, jobs done, notes), supplies bought and what is running low
24. 24Notes for us, with questions, anything that needs fixing, notes from the stay and what would help to know next time

What you download

• House Sitter Instructions in US Letter, a 24 page PDF
• House Sitter Instructions in A4, a 24 page PDF
• Read Me First, a brief printing guide (PDF)

How to download and print

• Check out with PayPal, a debit or credit card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. Your download page opens as soon as the payment goes through.
• We email the same private download links to you, so you can download your files again later.
• Open the PDF in a free reader such as Adobe Acrobat Reader and print at 100% or Actual size.
• Print only the pages you need, as often as you like, for your own personal use.

Good to know

• The PDF is designed for printing rather than as a hyperlinked digital planner, though most note taking apps will let you import it and write on the pages.
• You are buying a digital file. Nothing physical is sent.
• Colors may look a little different on your screen than on paper.
• For your personal use only. Sharing, reselling or passing the files on is not allowed.
• Digital files cannot be returned. If a file will not open or print properly, email us and we will help quickly.
• The binder helps you organize and is not safety, legal, insurance or veterinary advice. In an emergency, your sitter should call emergency services first.

How this was made

Designed and written by PetiteDiary. AI tools helped draft parts of the text, and some background scenes in the preview images were created with AI. Every page was designed, reviewed and checked before release.

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