@KatLuvr, I wonder how many of us were maids and never knew it.

I agree with Joria, too. I've found that unmade beds don't seem to have the same effect as dirty objects or trash, so I worry about those the least. For the stuff I can't do, I make it a point to include a quick sweep of the house in one sim's daily routine for the kitchen and bathrooms. If anything, though, these are something maids in my game will do.
As far as laundry goes, I've never had a maid start laundry themselves. Once my sim starts it, however, the maid will take care of the rest as long as s/he's still present when the cycles finish.
I know it's a pain, but if you're attached to having a maid (I know I am in some families), fire the one. A new one will show up and hopefully be better. They can't be much worse. I've done this in the past and after sorting through two or three duds I've always found a decent maid who gets most of the cleaning done most of the time.