My housekeepers engage me in conversation and end up costing me more than they're worth. The only way it makes sense to hire one is if I'm doing my work at the same time to cover the cost. Otherwise, I'm paying for their time and for mine. I have to find some less chatty housekeepers.
Besides, I find that they only do a good job the first time they're here, because they view it as an audition. Once they have the weekly gig, they slack off. One of them a few years ago actually swept carefully around a dead gopher on the kitchen floor, collected her money for the week, and left me with the job of disposing of the corpse. I guess the trick is to hire a new housekeeper each time.
