Privacy can be a main concern for many who are thinking of starting home-exchanging. “But where should I keep my ring collection?” or “What do I do with my laptops and folders of confidential information?” might be some questions running through your minds. As always, we encourage you to do what you feel most comfortable with and communicate with your exchange partner to reach an understanding.

We asked in our Facebook groups last week what they do with their personal and valuable belongings while preparing to receive a guest and here are their top three most common practices.

What HomeExchangers do with their valuable and personal belongings

1. Most of you shared that you leave everything as it is, totally trusting your guests.

"I leave everything as it is, we've done many exchanges and the trust is still there."
- Myriam

2. The second most popular practice was keeping their personal things in a locked cupboard or room.

“I recognized that sometimes accidents happen, so if something is super important to me I put it away.”
-  Sheena

3. There were also members who preferred keeping such things with friends or family members when they’re hosting

Everyone has their own way of doing things

For some, they prefer to leave everything as it is and just put away personal financial documents such as bills, etc. For others, they prefer to keep their sentimental items locked away. And still for some others, for business reasons, they keep their home offices locked up. Some are more cautious and prefer to keep all their valuables locked in a safe.

The key is to discuss about this with your exchange partners

Everyone is in a different situation and has different preferences so we don’t have any official rules with regards to what you should do with your valuables. Do what makes you feel most comfortable and of course, if there are some things that you would prefer to leave untouched, or that your guests should be more careful about, communicate it with your guest!

A guide to help you prepare for your exchange

If you feel like you need a little reminder about what to communicate on before an exchange, don’t hesitate to read our second HomeExchange guide about preparing for your first exchange. Even if it’s not your first time, it could still be a useful reminder for you ;-)

In this special context that we’re in with the pandemic, we’ve also summarised here some cleaning tips that official sources have shared.

Join our Facebook groups to share your opinions about these kinds of topics in our weekly polls!
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