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Hey readers, Accidents happen. Even the most careful sitters (hi, it’s us 👋) sometimes end up with a moment. And by “moment,” I mean: something breaks, smashes, falls off, or mysteriously loses a toe (more on that one later). The art, we’ve learned, is in how you communicate and recover. A few of our greatest hits: 🍽️ The £80 oven tray incident. Tom pulled an oven tray out of a fancy Miele oven/microwave combo… and it smashed into pieces. We gave the homeowners the choice: did they want cash, or a replacement? (We sometimes secretly hope for a “don’t worry about it”. In this case, it wasn’t the answer we got). They wanted the real deal (fair enough) so £80 later, lesson learned: never assume German engineering is indestructible. 🚪 The door handle saga. We’ve broken more than one door handle over the years. In our defence: these were in old houses. We did manage to screw them back into place, which felt like winning at DIY. (We take victories where we can.) ☕ The coaster fail. Once I plonked a hot mug straight onto a lovely wooden table. Left a mark. Sent the homeowner a photo, braced myself… and she didn’t mind at all. Honestly, her reaction made me trust humanity again. 🐜 The anteater’s toe. Yes. You read that right. A taxidermy anteater lost a toe during one of our sits. Neither of us touched it, but when we noticed, one digit was definitely disconnected from its’ foot. Family and friends were in the house throughout the sit, so we’re not taking full blame on this one. (Imagine writing that WhatsApp: “Hi! So… about the anteater…”) In actual fact, we said nothing and prayed they didn’t notice. 🪟 The blind disaster. And then there was the blind. It was at least 40 years old and basically held together by hope. Of course, it finally gave way on our watch. When we told the homeowner - a wonderful 75-year-old lady - she immediately said, “Oh that’s my fault, I should have warned you it was hanging by a thread!” What. A. Babe. 💻 When the pets fight back. It’s not just us. A dog once chewed my laptop, completely wrecking the screen. The owner initially insisted: “Oh, she’s never done that before!” as though I’d waved the laptop in front of her like a chew toy. Eventually, they covered the repair. Still, I never look at pointers the same way. 👉 Moral of the story: things break, but honesty, a willingness to cover the costs of the repair (and a sense of humour) nearly always smooths it over. Your turn: Have you ever broken something in someone else’s house? Did you own up? Be honest 😅 Until next time,
Jess
Hitched Hiking & Housesitting
Full-time sitters, part-time damage control specialists✨
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