souhterngal, you've uncovered the moral of this thread: expectations widely differ. Comes down to what you're willing to put up with and how you differentiate yourself. Value is such a personal thing. I can share a recent experience. I hired a service to do a "move-in" deep clean of our weekend home. The owner of the service came by, we walked through each room (she totally white-gloved every surface), inventoried the cleaning supplies and discussed timing. I LOVED IT! She asked a ton of questions, answered all of mine and explained how they work. In execution, of course, the cleaning folks did what all cleaning people do. There was no magic, but she made it a collaborative experience. There are a ton of cleaning people in the city where I spend most of my week, and all the responsibility was mine. The first cleaning person who offered some type of proactive behavior or knowledge -- like you offered in your post -- would have got me as a client in a second.

Thanks everyone. For most things it looks like I can use simple household cleaners that I have on hand. However I have a diamond cut gold & silver necklace and several intricate silver mesh necklaces and a silver cloth only takes care of the top surface. When I finish wiping the surface I can see tarnish in the crevices. I will try the dawn dishwashing soap or Jannie's solution. I was rather hoping for a little less elbow grease since I have a fair number of pieces to do but perhaps this is the safest. I will let you know how it works.

I travel with one carry-on and a tote bag, even for a three week trip to France, Italy or the UK. I stopped using packing cubes many years ago as they add to the bulk. I roll my clothes and make sure everything works together to make different outfits. In Paris, it's easy to have a wardrobe based on black in the cooler months and navy blue in the warmer months. I stay in a Paris apartment with a washer, so I can do laundry when needed. Shoes = difficult decision. I now use one pair of Italian Aquitalia short boots (I have both black and tan, depending on the season) that are stylish, comfortable and waterproof. I also take a pair of AGL ballet flats (I have black and nude, depending on the season). I have a pair of navy Repetto sneakers that I bought in Paris two years ago. I haven't yet taken those back with me. When I was in Paris in July 2014, the weather was HOT and HUMID. I had to wash my clothes a lot and I had comfortable gladiator sandals with me, too. I have a spinner, but I take that only if I'm on a carrier from the US. It's too large for European planes. If I'm connecting from a US airline to a European, I have to take a smaller carryon bag, such as a GoLite (went out of business).

The first cleaning crew I had was a lovely woman & her mother. They were Hispanic, and spoke a little English. Her husband came with her when we interviewed each other. He translated. She did a fabulous job and I never had any complaints. Then we had a long construction project on the house that lasted about 10 months, and I had to suspend the service. I knew that she might not be able to come back to us, as she was in high demand. Sadly, she wasn't available after the remodel. It's important to note, they only came every 3 weeks. (Just hubs & me-- and we're not dirty.) So for awhile,we had no one other than me. Then I had to have full knee replacement & the next year hip, so during this time, I hired someone recommended by a neighbor. The 1st time, she did a good job - she was here for nearly 4 hours. 2nd time she was here for 2.5 hours and did a decent job. There were some things she missed, and we discussed it. Seems like it was about the 4th visit, I noticed the kitchen sink hadn't been cleaned. ??? Then I found some peanut M&Ms under the dining table. (They'd rolled under there from my g'kids unbeknownst to me and apparently the dog) which told me she hadn't done much cleaning. I checked the security cameras to see what time she had arrived & left. From the time she got here - "cleaned" and left, less than 1 hour. I was paying her over $200 for 1 hour of work. She texted me wanting to set up the next date, I replied, thank you, but we won't be needing you anymore. She called and wanted to know why, and I explained the reasons. She offered to come back and clean the sink. Uhm... no thank you, I already took care of it. Seriously. I now am the housekeeper. I don't do it all in one day. I spread it out. And while it may not be pristine, it's not dirty. The money I would pay a cleaning service, I squirrel away every month. When it gets to a healthy amount, I'll splurge on something special. These are perks to keep me incentivized! LOL