Yoopies – affordable care for the whole family

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If you thought Yoopies was just a babysitting service then think again. Yoopies can help you find flexible, affordable care for the whole family, whether it’s a babysitter, petsitter, cleaner, tutor or carer. Read on to find out more.

For over 20 years my life revolved around primarily one thing – childcare. Where would the children go to preschool? Could I work around the hours? What about the ‘settling in’ period at school? School holidays?? All of these were the basics that enabled me to work and earn a living, without even factoring in potentially wanting to have a social life as a single parent.

And then, as I was just about off the hook, (apart from becoming a Granny), I decided to get a dog. I sometimes wonder what goes on in my mind when I’m making decisions like this. (My motto is ‘Ready, fire, aim’ – it’s meant to avoid overthinking, but perhaps underthinking is more of an issue?)

The whole dog situation was fairly horrendous to start with – I felt trapped and overwhelmed by the responsibility and was sure I had ruined my life forever. Spoiler: I hadn’t, I now love her to pieces. It was touch and go for a while though.

I have been lucky both with the children and the dog in that I’ve had plenty of practical support from my mum (kids) and her partner (doggo) but not everyone has family around to help with this kind of care, and even if you do there are always going to be times when they’re not available or you don’t want to put them out. Yoopies can help

When we had a family trip to Ireland recently for example to celebrate my sister’s 40th birthday, I could hardly ask my mum’s partner to stay at home with the dog could I? (Says me, who has asked him to stay at home with the dog over Christmas before…)

I’ve never put her in kennels because of a traumatic incident with a dog groomer when she was little, so I ended up paying an amount of money that I can’t bring myself to write down for her to stay in a ‘country dog hotel’ complete with movie room and doggy spa. If only I’d known about Yoopies.

I also don’t want to think about the fact that in ten years or so it could be my mum needing the care rather than providing it.

Fortunately, Yoopies can help there too.

What is Yoopies?

Although many people know Yoopies already as a way to find a babysitter, it’s much more than that. Think of it as a directory for any kind of care you might need, whether for pets, kids, elderly relatives or even your home. You can find and book caregivers through Yoopies and all payments are made securely online, so no need to worry about the safety of your financial transactions.

Of course, safety in general is key when you’re using any of these kinds of services, which is why Yoopies moderates every profile daily. If you’re looking for extra peace of mind, look out for the ‘Verified Profiles’. These are caregivers who’ve provided extra information about themselves such as ID, DBS checks or first aid training certificates.

What services does Yoopies offer?

Okay, so let’s get down to the nitty-gritty. Yoopies currently has five different types of care that you can search for, so whatever you need, chances are that Yoopies can help.

You can use Yoopies to find:

• Childcare – nannies, babysitters and childminders for full-time, part-time or one-off childcare needs.
• Tutoring – this could be academic tutoring to help give your kids a boost at school or perhaps as an adult you fancy learning a new language.
• Cleaners – have you tried to find a decent cleaner lately? It’s notoriously difficult so this one could come in handy for a lot of people. (I did have a cleaner for a little while a few years ago and it was lovely, but I wouldn’t inflict my dog-stained house on anyone at the moment.)
• Pet sitters – this could be anything from someone popping in to feed your cats to somewhere for your dog to go for an overnight stay so that you don’t have to check them into a dog hotel and spa. (Don’t look at me…)
• Home care – for an elderly relative or friend including small tasks like food shopping or helping around the house, up to providing personal care during an overnight stay.

As you can see, Yoopies has got a lot of bases covered.

Can I earn money through Yoopies?

Yes! If you’re a caregiver looking to provide any of the services above then you can use Yoopies as somewhere to find people in need of your help. You’ll need to register and get yourself a profile set up, ideally providing additional information so that you can become a verified caregiver, as this will make you more appealing to potential users.

I’m sold! How do I get started?

Excellent news! If you’re ready to start looking for caregivers through Yoopies then it’s super simple – just head to the website and pick the service you’re looking for. Yoopies will ask for your postcode and you’ll be matched with all of the caregivers providing the service in your local area. Take a look, find someone you like and get booking!

Visit Yoopies now to find caregivers in your area.