I had similar problems until I took the time to write it all out. It took forever to do but it saved so much time and frustration. The cleaners really want to do a good job, but well, the reason they're cleaners and not doing your job is because they need a bit of a nudge to get it right.
I went room by room and said what I wanted done and how I wanted the room left. When I used an agency I'd just leave a copy on the kitchen counter.
I've had a full time housekeeper for years so she knows where things go, but she's someone to blame if we can't find anything.
