Maid

A maid is an NPC that can work for you for Simoleons. They come around at about 10:00 a.m. if hired early in the day or late in the day before, and just minutes later if hired mid-day, and they will leave when all their work is done or when it's getting too late. They come daily, doing such things as:
 * Cleaning up dishes
 * Cleaning up snacks
 * Cleaning up pet remains
 * Cleaning furniture (eg. the counter, the toilette, the shower)
 * Making beds
 * Serving meals

Especially in the Sims 2, maids have high cooking and cleaning skill points and are complete all-rounders.

Sims 1
In the Sims 1, the maid is a light-skinned brunette named Brigit, dressed in a stereotypical "French Maid" outfit. The only available interactions with her are "Dismiss", making her leave for the day, or "Fire". For 10 Simoleons an hour she will make beds, clean bathrooms, mop up floods, wash dishes, and dispose of trash, pet droppings and ashes from fires.

In Makin' Magic, if Brigit encounters the Skeleton Maid, she will quit in terror, and you will have to call to hire her again.

Sims 2
In The Sims 2 you can talk or flirt with a maid, and tell her to cook, as well as dismiss or fire her -- or him; maids can be either male or female. Male maids wear half-unbuttoned pastel shirts with matching gloves, and black pants. Female maids wear short black dresses with white aprons, and have long hair with a small tiara. If a maid dies, is deleted, or is moved into a house and becomes a playable character, the game will automatically generate a new maid to replace him/her. There is one maid that is important in Plesantview's story and that is Kaylynn Langerak.