Give a house tour. Arrange for the sitter to come early so you can give her a tour through every room in the house. As you do this, you’ll be reminded of idiosyncrasies that you didn’t think to write down. Show her how to work everything — circuit breakers, dishwasher, alarm, etc.

Create a grand central station. Designate a space in the kitchen where your sitter can keep school handouts, mail, calendars, phone messages, and the worksheets on the following pages. Hang a master map of your neighborhood here, indicating important points of interest. (Create one at MapQuest, www.mapquest.com.) The Grand Central Station is also a perfect spot to post the house rules for kids and pets (“No TV unless homework is done”; “Dog is not allowed on couch”).

Leave keys.

For peace of mind, give a set of house keys to a neighbor so you won’t have to red-eye home to unlock the front door.