True -- I have not had great luck with cleaning/maid services, the amount of work I had to do in advance (tidying everything so that the surfaces can be cleaned) made the "help" I was receiving not very helpful.

I've had better luck hiring individuals who do *actual housekeeping/organizing* through sites like care.com, or just paying a friend to come and mop the floors twice a month.

(This is not to say that I'm wealthy at all, but paying $100 for a few hours of heavy cleaning once a month saves me from badly re-injuring my back, so I pretty much consider it a medical expense.)