Poomaggeddon & seven ways to survive a horror house sit
There is a point on each sit where you pause and figure out if this is a sit you’d happily do again or whether it is a sit that you’d long live to forget. We had a sit earlier this year which falls into the category of the latter.
The main drivers of our anxiety and stress from this aforementioned house sit was the fact that the owners hadn’t toilet trained their two adult Maltese Shih Tzu terriers.
These dogs slept in the house — without access to a doggy door — so each morning we would wake up to a situation we named ‘Poomaggeddon’.
We would wake up to at least 6 poos spread across the house. The smell alone was enough to make us regret the sit. Natalie had the misfortunate experience of stepping in said deposits.
Each day would include mopping the floor and spraying cleaning products all over the place — both of which only exacerbated the pong. Nevertheless we stuck to it. We are dedicated house sitters and we would stick this one out until the bitter end.
In sticking it out we found some new coping mechanisms.
1. Candles are your best friend
Whenever we’d arrive home from work we would come into a house stinking of cleaning products and animal defecation. It was enough to raise the blood pressure.
To combat the smell we invested in some good quality candles. We would burn them day and night — not when we were sleeping of course — and it would clear the air and soothe our souls.
I reckon the medicinal benefits of candle burning even calmed the dogs slightly.
P.S. don’t forget to blow the candles out when you’re leaving the house!
2. There is always a silver lining
Each sit has some form of a silver lining. There will always be something that makes your experience worthwhile.
The house sit mentioned above was about 3 kilometres from some of the most beautiful beaches in Sydney. We would walk down to the beach — with the two dogs in tow — and simply feel so privileged to be living this sort of lifestyle.
There was also a sweet little cafe selling some gnarly almond croissants just around the corner.
The location of the house to public transport was really great as well. It was just a five minute walk to a bus that would take us all the way into Sydney, no dramas!
3. Create an animal free sanctuary for yourself
What was really important for us was that we would have a place free from poo. Our bedroom was our safe place.
We kept the animals and their poo out of our bedroom so when we felt a little overwhelmed by the dogs we could retreat and regroup.
4. Treat yourself to something nice
This one is a little indulgent but treating yourself is good for your mental health.
The way we treated ourselves was through food. We bought some good veggies, made some lovely chicken pies and even cooked a good roast dinner.
We might be trying to save our pennies but we’re certainly not going to starve ourselves in doing so.
5. Deep clean the house to purge the nasties
Within the first 24 hours of living in this horror house we decided we would give the whole house a solid scrub.
From floor boards to ceiling we wiped, mopped, scrubbed and steamed the place until we were happy. We also opened up all the windows so the house would be aired out.
We both felt cleaner and healthier after the house was cleaned up.
6. It is never the animals’ fault
Animals only learn what is taught to them. If they are neglected or taught bad habits then they will only know these things.
The two dogs responsible for Poomaggeddon didn’t know any better. They didn’t have a doggy door or any litter tray. When they needed to go they went wherever they liked. It wasn’t their fault.
For us, we wanted to make sure that the dogs were treated with love and respect while we were guests in their home.
7. Remember, all house sits come to an end
Just like a boring movie or an awkward dinner party — all house sits come to an end. No matter how stinky the poo becomes you will be able to stick it out.
