Remote controls, Recycling and paying for parking

It is all a steep learning curve

When Phil and I decided to take a year out to travel and housesit we thought the trickiest thing would be the constant packing and unpacking. Now into year two, the packing is a doddle.

Photo by Caroline Selfors on Unsplash

It is the remote controls, recycling rules and parking pay stations that cause the most hassle.

Why are TV remotes all different?

Each house we have stayed in has a different way of operating the TV. Only one so far has had just one remote control that does everything. At the BAFTA house we had to use the XBox controller. In the current pink cottage I have no idea how to get the live TV channels, so watch everything on catch up. I am a day behind on Great British Menu.

At the sporty family house there was a cinema room with big sofas to sprawl on in front of the giant screen. There was a special box to operate the SKY TV. They had forgotten to set it to record The Big Match and had to talk me through how to do it via WhatsApp. We decided not to use the cinema room as we were so worried we’d erase the recording. Another house had no TV at all. That simplified things.

I am sure it was easier when you had to get out of the chair and press one of two buttons on the TV set to change channels. Back 1974 much fun was had visiting a friend whose parents had a new TV with a remote control. There were only three channels then of course. And no it did not work if you stood in the garden. We tried that. Oh to be silly and seventeen again eh?

What does your Netflix account tell me?

You can tell a lot about people by their Netflix account. Hey houseowner, you may only have the classics on your bookshelves but I know your guilty pleasure. It’s Selling Sunset and Love Island.

My guilty pleasures are food and travel. Currently Somebody Feed Phil ticks both those boxes. Phil likes to see people being killed. Not the killing people bit, I wouldn’t be married to a killer, would I? His guilty pleasures are Death in Paradise and The Gentlemen.

Recycling and rubbish

Every homeowner is supposed to provide a full manual to their home.

Every homeowner says about recycling, just see what the neighbours do because we don’t have clue. Here’s a tip, look on the councils website. Print out that helpful guide. Put it in the manual.

Paying for parking

Why are all parking payment methods so confusing? Press the yellow button, the green button, the arrows. In Exeter press for the green token. In Birmingham, pay and display. Often you have to enter the car reg to pay for parking, I can never remember that. Pay by cash, or card.

Or install the app.

In Halifax I got scammed by a fake parking app. So that’s a no.