When I first moved to LA I subletted a small guest home from a sweet girl - she was in Hawaii for 3 months and I cleaned her place from top to bottom - in fact I left it cleaner than it was when I first arrived there.

Good Karma, indeed. She was so thankful and appreciative that it made it totally worth it.

I seriously need to know what type of base and light bulb are in that room. I LOVE IT. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

definitely agree, although i have been guilty of the opposite but only because they came home several hours earlier than they were supposed to. grrr.

Never swapped apts but I always leave them cleaner and in better condition then when I moved in...

it makes me sad that there are people who DON'T leave other peoples' places clean when they leave them... lol... to me it just seems like a given! Even when we rent a private vacation property where I'm sure there's some expectation of guests leaving a mess, I still spiff it up at least aesthetically before we leave - tidy up, wipe down all the surfaces, do the dishes, etc... I could never leave anything other than a hotel room (or my own bedroom) looking like a bomb went off... seems so rude and disrespectful.

It had not previously occurred to me that this was not a given... way to make me hesitant to ever swap, AT. ;) I even keep hotel rooms neat (towels all in one pile, linens in reasonable order, any dishes stacked, no trash lying around, etc.), there's no need to treat the staff like personal slaves-- I'm an adult and can pick up after myself!

I think it's more important to leave a place as you would wish to find it, rather than as you did find it.

I was once moving out of a place and the Landlord asked me if I would leave it as I found it, to which I could only reply "I really don't think I could get it that dirty in the short time available".

@stationeryfiend

Somewhat along those lines, when my family moved out of our townhome, the property management company was shocked that they didn't have to have their cleaning crew come in to get the bits that most people don't clean (vent gratings, tops of door frames, etc) since we already cleaned it.

Leaving fresh flowers as a thank-you is the icing on the cake. Though one time I couldn't find any decent ones and left a pineapple instead - it was a total hit!

Not just in terms of house swaps; this is being a house guest! My mom drummed this into my head and I have always followed it as a house guest...and always am happily welcomed back. Of course you leave places at least as clean/tidy/nice as you found them.

There's a guy in our circle of friends who is awesome at cleaning and DIY. Everyone knows that having him house sit is a great way to get your house deep cleaned. (He says he actually enjoys it). So he's very popular for house-sitting gigs, which works out well for him, as he's a student with a tiny room in a shared house. Everyone wins!

I always leave spaces (hotel rooms, guest rooms & housesitting gigs) cleaner than when I found them. Each home I've sold has sparkled for the new owners. I've also left behind champagne and non-alcoholic drinks to welcome the new owners.

Creating good Karma plus it's the nice thing to do.

... half-used bars of soap? Is this seriously a problem for you? ಠ_ಠ

I have never swapped homes but I am leaving hotel rooms almost as good as they were when I checked in. Even though I know the bedding will be stripped I always make the bed (i.e. I spread the comforter over the bed and I put the pillows where they belong) and used towels are folded and left on the tub or on the toilet lid. My BF, on the other hand, leaves rooms looking like something exploded there. Wet towels thrown on the floor, bed unmade .... we always argue over it. It seems to me very unrespectful .... I don't know, I always think that if I was a maid I would hate having to pick up wet towels from the floor .... just me, I guess.

I agree with @yoyos... except mine came home a day early without calling. :/

I always try to leave the place nicer than when I left it (@qfiffle's DIY friend's style... deep cleaned down to the upholstery), and depending on the circumstances of my stay I will leave them fresh flowers and a "Welcome Home" card going over what happened while they were gone.

--"half-used bars of soap."

definitely a problem for me. there's nothing worse than looking at a soap bar with bits of hair & other stuff on it. this is why a lot of folks have switched to liquid soap.

Love the print! Anybody know who it is by?

On a smaller scale, it always bothers me when my guest leave my bathroom a mess. I always try when I am at someones home to make sure the towels are straighten, not the leaving an empty toilet roll, put the toilet seat down, etc but for some reason, no one else seems to do this.

Hey Canadian Mango!
I'm Canadian too and seems really contradictory to character to leave a room like that! My Cdn ex-husband was the same way...he figured that it was part of the cost of the hotel stay to clean up his mess(!??!??) It was never a bio-hazard, but certainly WAY more than I'd like to face if I were the housekeeper assigned to the floor.

I always tip the housekeepers during a hotel stay, and I do it everyday...you never know what their tip-sharing policy is so rewards go straight to those deserving. I usually tip $5 per day, but when the ex was around, I'd have to sneak at Ten-spot onto the pillow!

I've rented homes for seasons (like ski chalets) and MANY time-share condos and they've all been pretty close to wonderful when we arrived, but upon leaving, we clean better than we clean our own homes!!! True! lol

On the other hand, every apartment I've EVER moved to has been a toxic mess upon arrival (what are people thinking?), and "pristine" when I left (and yes, as a renter...I've even left champers in the fridge for new tenants to hopefully kick off good times, as I've had there!).

I thoroughly cleaned the last place I lived, far beyond duty, even knowing that it was going to torn down. Those were the most clean and sanitary appliances that ever met a dump (Gawd I hope someone picked them up!)

Sheilalady!