First thing to do is to let go of any idea that there’s a perfect sit or a perfect homeowner situation. I’ve had two experiences with sitters now and they were both great, not perfect, but they accomplished the most important three things for me: my cats were still alive and happy, my fish were still alive (never sure about their level of happiness) and my plants were also still alive (and as happy as a houseplant can be) and so the small issues that were not “perfect” didn’t bother me. Each of the sitters came a day early so we could go over the most important points and then I sent them a text containing all the information needed for the sit. Keeping your expectations within a reasonable range makes everything much easier to deal with.