House and Pet Sitting Service
We look after your home and pets as if they were our own
Are you looking for a responsible and experienced house/pet sitter? Look no further. We are Paul and Sandra, a caring and reliable Gen X couple offering house/pet sitting services.
To secure our housesitting services, email us with your requirements, dates, location etc at Housesitting@MinimalistJourneys.com.
Who we are
We used to live in our own beautiful home in inner-city Sydney, Australia until September 2016, when we farewelled our corporate careers to build our own business and travel the world – seeking out new adventures, learning about different cultures and experiencing life after children.
We now live a minimalist lifestyle, having sold or given away most of our possessions to charities, friends and family. Travelling with carry-on backpacks only gives us great flexibility and enables us to move from place to place with ease.
Why we house sit
We are both animal lovers who used to have our own pets when we were younger: Paul had two scatty but adorable Dalmatians, Spot and Tammy, whom he puppy-trained as well, and two red-eared turtles named Ernie and Bert. Sandra had a moggy rescue cat with beautiful green eyes called Lluna, who lived a long and happy life.
Currently, as we are travelling, we don’t have any pets, sadly. But we try to stay at short-term rental accommodation (or do house sits) that do, giving us the chance for plays and cuddles with our hosts’ furry children.
What to expect
Having owned homes in Australia and New Zealand for a combined 21 years, we know how to look after your home and outdoor space. We pride ourselves on a clean and tidy home. We are able to fix basic common issues around the house (for example, changing light bulbs or fixing a dripping tap) and would be happy to do basic outdoor maintenance (for example, cleaning the pool or general gardening).
A bit about us
Prior to our lifestyle change, Paul used to work as a Product Manager for Dimension Data, a global IT company. Paul loves running long distances (he has completed approximately 30 marathons and countless other races around the world). Originally from New Zealand, he speaks English and basic Spanish.
Sandra was born in East Germany, and besides her native tongue, she is fluent in English and an intermediate Spanish-speaker. She used to work for Commonwealth Bank, Australia’s largest financial institution, for 11 years, most recently as Management Consultant. She is into yoga, meditation and swimming.
We both love the great outdoors, exploring our locations on hikes and by bicycle. Latin Dance brought us together, and we still dance occasionally.
Our experience
We’ve been officially house and pet sitting since 2017. We find most of our house sits through house sitting websites like Kiwi House Sitters (when we are in New Zealand), Aussie House Sitters (when we are in Australia) and Trusted House Sitters (when we are in other parts of the world). Though we also (continue to) house and pet sit for friends and family, and we often do repeat house sits.
House sits 2023
| Period | Duration | Location | Experience |
| Dec 2022/ Jan 2023 | 22 days | Brisbane, Australia | Looked after the home, one 2 year old Blue Staffy named Diggity and a small aquarium of fish |
House sits 2022
| Period | Duration | Location | Experience |
| Nov 2022 | 10 days | Randwick, Australia | Looked after the home and one 3 year old Golden Retriever named Action |
| Jul-Oct 2022 | 88 days | Bluff Hill, New Zealand | Looked after the home and one 12 year old cat named Tigger - Repeat sit |
| Apr/May 2022 | 3 days | Havelock North, New Zealand | Looked after the home and one 2 year old Weimaraner named Moose - Repeat sit |
| Feb 2022 | 28 days | Warkworth, New Zealand | Looked after a 4.9 hectare/12.2 acre farm with home, garden, one working dog (Big Boy/6 year old mixed breed) and 45+ sheep - Repeat sit |
House sits 2021
| Period | Duration | Location | Experience |
| Oct 2021 | 5 days | Havelock North, New Zealand | Looked after the home and one 18 month old Weimaraner named Moose |
| Jun-Oct 2021 | 137 days | Bluff Hill, New Zealand | Looked after the home and one 11 year old cat named Tigger - Repeat sit |
| Apr 2021 | 12 days | Eskdale, New Zealand | Looked after the home, a Golden Retriever/Border Collie cross named Willow, a tabby cat named Sugar and two budgies |
| Mar/Apr 2021 | 15 days | Bluff Hill, New Zealand | Looked after the home and one 11 year old cat named Tigger |
| Mar 2021 | 12 days | Waipawa, New Zealand | Looked after a 1.9 hectare/4.8 acre farm with home, garden, and one cat named Kevin, eight working dogs (from puppy to 10+ years old), eight chickens and six guinea fowl keets |
| Feb 2021 | 28 days | Warkworth, New Zealand | Looked after a 4.9 hectare/12.2 acre farm with home, garden, two working dogs (Sam/13 year old Labrador Cross and Big Boy/5 year old mixed breed) and 45+ sheep |
| Jan 2021 | 10 days | Narrow Neck, New Zealand | Looked after the home, garden, two 8 month old cats named Luna and Jake, and five chickens |
| Dec 2020/ Jan 2021 | 10 days | Mt Eden, New Zealand | Looked after the home and a 3 1/2 year old fox red labrador named Nina - Repeat sit |
House sits 2020
| Period | Duration | Location | Experience |
| Dec 2020 | 5 days | Mt Eden, New Zealand | Looked after the home and a 3 1/2 year old fox red labrador named Nina |
| Jul 2020 | 10 days | Hope, New Zealand | Looked after the home, an 18 month old German Short-haired Pointer named Dexter (for 3 days) and three chickens - Repeat sit |
| Mar 2020 | 6 days | Ashburton, New Zealand | Looked after the home (with basic gardening) and a 10 year old Jack Russell/Fox Terrier Cross named Tilly |
| Jan 2020 | 10 days | London, UK | Looked after the home, and two dogs named Riff Raff (4 year old Cockapoo) and Heather (11 month old Romanian rescue puppy) |
| Dec 2019/ Jan 2020 | 7 days | Munich, Germany | Looked after the home, and two rescue cats named Fini and Flori |
House sits 2019
| Period | Duration | Location | Experience |
| Nov 2019 | 6 days | Prangins, Switzerland | Looked after the home, a German Shepherd named Rolo and a German Short-haired Pointer named Zara |
| Feb 2019 | 15 days | Hope, New Zealand | Looked after a lifestyle property with three dogs (two Border Collies and a Doberman), four cats, five chickens, two cows and a horse - Repeat sit |
| Feb 2019 | 2 days | Hope, New Zealand | Looked after the home and a 14-week old puppy named Dexter (German Short-haired Pointer) - Repeat sit |
| Jan 2019 | 29 days | Dunedin, New Zealand | Looked after a property with a sizable garden requiring daily maintenance over the Summer |
| Dec 2018/ Jan 2019 | 19 days | Dunedin, New Zealand | Looked after the home (with basic gardening), two dogs named Rusty (Australian Terrier Cross) and Lucy (Fox Terrier Cross), and a tabby cat called Nonu |
House sits 2018
| Period | Duration | Location | Experience |
| Oct 2018 | 17 days | Hope, New Zealand | Looked after a lifestyle property with three dogs named Jackson, Abbey (both Border Collies) and Ruby (Doberman), four cats named Angel, Stevie, Furby and Daisy, five chickens and two cows |
| Jul/Aug 2018 | 34 days | Hope, New Zealand | Looked after the home (with basic gardening) |
| May/Jun 2018 | 22 days | Swannanoa, New Zealand | Looked after a 2.7 hectare/6.7 acre farm and home, a German Shepherd named Dora, 17 sheep (growing to 21 as several lambs were born under our watch), countless chickens, turkeys, ducks, guinea fowls, and numerous other birds in five aviaries (including peacocks, cockatiels and finches) |
| May 2018 | 15 days | Christchurch, New Zealand | Looked after the home, two Samoyeds named Tashi and Shaila, and two Birman cats named Simba and Coffee |
| Dec 2017/ Jan 2018 | 27 days | Auckland, New Zealand | Looked after the home (with basic gardening) and a 10 month old Jack Russell puppy named Ollie |
House sits 2017
| Period | Duration | Location | Experience |
| Dec 2017 | 7 days | Tokoroa, New Zealand | Looked after the home, a Maltese named Zara, and two cats named Shadow and Panda |
| Nov/Dec 2017 | 15 days | Auckland, New Zealand | Looked after the home, a cat named Furby and a Beagle named Bella |
| Nov 2017 | 12 days | Ruakaka, New Zealand | Looked after the home (with basic gardening) and a Siberian Husky named Mia |
Working with us
Our house/pet sitting services are free of charge. We are flexible and tailor each engagement based on your specific needs. To give us all peace of mind, we use a questionnaire/house sitting agreement that covers all essential questions we and you may have and captures the specifics of each house/pet sitting engagement.
If you are interested in our services please don’t hesitate to get in touch. We would be very happy to arrange a video call (via Skype, Facetime or other means) to speak to you in person.
References
We know, as pet and homeowners, you will be most interested in our references. Our references demonstrate that we are reliable and trustworthy people, who will look after your home and pets as if they were our own.
Through Kiwi Housesitters
Through Trusted House Sitters
Other references
Police check documents are available upon request
Our availability
Our availability for house sits is limited at this stage due to other commitments. If you are looking for house sitters in May/Jun OR Oct/Nov 2023 and are based in New Zealand – preferably Hawkes Bay or Auckland – please contact us.
Current and upcoming house sits
| Period | Duration | Location | Experience |
| Jan 2023 | 18 days | Northbridge, Australia | Looking after the home and garden |
| Jan 2023 | 5 days | Dee Why, Australia | Looking after the home and one 4 year old dog |
| Sep/Oct 2023 | 13 days | Helensville, New Zealand | Looking after a lifestyle property with three dogs, three cats, five chickens and ~10 sheep - Repeat sit |
To secure our housesitting services, please email us with your requirements, dates, location etc at Housesitting@MinimalistJourneys.com. While we travel, we usually have an internet connection at our nightly accommodation. We make every attempt to respond to any message or contact within 24 hours. We look forward to hearing from you.
Last updated 9 January 2023
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