By Michelle Maurice, Vale of Evesham NCT
Probably quite a few of you out there think that the last
thing you’d fancy is having someone else come and live in your house for a
week. What about my stuff? What about my private paperwork? What happens if
anything gets broken? And, if any of you are remotely like me, you’ll be
thinking WHAT ABOUT THE MESS? I need a holiday to gather the energy before I
can even begin to think about tackling it. Also, you might (like me) be feeling
a little uncomfortable at the idea of sharing usually private spaces with
complete strangers.
The first time my husband suggested taking advantage of the
NCT houseswap scheme to me, I said no. Firmly. Resolutely. Definitely. There
was just too much to worry about.
When the prospect of another holiday of just doing the same
old things again loomed, however, and we faced the stark reality that no way
could we realistically afford a holiday abroad/hotel/holiday cottage I started
to think about it a little more seriously. And when my husband started reading
out to me the different places we could visit, I was actually seriously tempted
and finally began to give it proper consideration. And I’m so glad I did!
The result was a very successful houseswap to the fabulous
city of Cambridge, followed by 4 further exciting houseswaps to the Isle of
Portland, Bath, Bristol and Norwich. We had a fantastic time in all of these
places, and our enjoyment was much boosted by the fact we could really afford
to enjoy ourselves a bit because we weren’t having to foot large accommodation
bills.
We were also impressed by the generosity and respect shown
by all of our houseswappers – the homes we visited were clean and spotlessly
tidy, and usually set up to welcome us as guests – clean bedding, towels etc –
sometimes even soap! Our home was also treated with respect. One family did
break a couple of mugs, and left us £5 to cover costs – which was more than
enough. Amazingly, we managed to not break anything ourselves when away (a
small miracle – we must have eaten out more than we realised!).
There are so many beautiful places to see in the British
Isles (although the houseswap register does usually carry a couple of abroad
destinations too).
The main pros to houseswapping are this:
1. No hotel
fees/ticket-passport fees = lots of money suddenly freed up to spend on
enjoying yourself. Major plus.
2. The
house you’re going to is already set up for children ... exciting bedrooms
filled with different books and toys
meant our son would finish one house swap and immediately demand to know
where we were going on the next.
3. If the
weather is bad, you have a whole house to be in – you don’t have the prospect
of being desperate to leave a hotel room/holiday cottage with limited
facilities. All the home comforts of ... well ... a home, are right there for
you to enjoy.
4. Your
house is immaculate when you return to it (see 2 below).
5. NCT
houseswappers tend to be people like you. They aren’t interested in your
paperwork, they will take care of your stuff, and they will put bedding in the
wash/clean bathrooms etc before leaving your house at the end of the visit.
(Pop a plea in your notes if you want to though!) And we’ve had (and left!)
some lovely welcome packs/thank you flowers sometimes too – a really nice
touch!
6. Local
knowledge is on tap – all houseswappers usually leave out notes/leaflets/maps
of where’s good to go. And they KNOW.
The main cons, in my experience, have been:
1. Having
to tidy one’s house before going away. It’s amazing how much dust/dirt/family
detritus I found when I began looking at my house through the prospective eyes
of a newcomer who would be experiencing every aspect of my home – not just the
living room.
2. The time
it takes to clear up said dust/dirt/family detritus.
Things to discuss with houseswappers before heading for
their home:
1. Are you
happy to swap bedding? Towels? – We always did. It’s difficult to fit the
children in the car once you’ve crammed a King Size duvet and a large suitcase
in there.
2. If you
are bringing your own bedding, check bed sizes!
3. Check
about pets and allergies. I’m allergic to cats, but have successfully swapped
to a place with 2 cats because they lived in the garage.
4. Check
about pets generally – we’ve taken our dog on some swaps, but not others – not
everyone is comfortable with having an animal in their house. Some swappers
leave their pets in situ and I’ve heard good reports about this. We never have
(our dog’s a bit barky sometimes) but one family were actually disappointed to
find we’d shipped her off to our parents so they weren’t going to have her for
the week!
5. Reassure
them you’ll leave clear instructions/guides about the finer tuning of your
heating/plumbing etc. They’ll do the same for you.
For more information, check out the NCT’s
Houseswap Site – there are lots of lovely places to choose from! Anyone up for a swap to Evesham?
Are you on the NCT houseswap register? What's been your experience? Let us know by commenting below.
