I have left 4* for cleanliness and all subsequent sitters mentioned the cleanliness being very good; my assumption therefore is that our review definitely got the HOs attention and they upped their game significantly.
I have seen that in reviews and that’s what I think it happens.
On the other hand, I have also noticed that when a sitter in @carpediem16 situation decides to give 4* for cleaning, the 4* rating reappears in subsequent reviews. In those cases, I think the rating reflects the way the hosts keep their house and once someone breaks the ice, others find it easier to be honest.
So, if @carpediem16 decides to be the honest one , like @toreishi said, they can only help, either the hosts improve and they go back to 5* stars, honest 5*, or if they don’t, other sitters will follow suit and then there’ll be a pattern.
See, that is interesting and I think many sitters feel like you do, @linda234 and this is why the rating system is skewed. How can you leave 5 stars to this person and then also 5 to the person who really has gone to the trouble and made the entire home, kitchen, fridge, etc immaculate for your arrival? Someone isn’t getting a fair review. (My husband would agree with you, Linda, however - so we are at odds on this)
It wasn’t “extremely gross” but it was in no way how I would leave my fridge if ppl were coming to stay. I’d be embarrassed having them open the door! And it does not compare at all to the hosts who leave us a clean fridge and have earned the full 5 stars - I don’t think sitters should arrive to food storage containers with stuff in them that you don’t know how long it’s been in there and leave it up to us to open, smell, discard or not and make room for our own provisions.
From your last comment @carpediem16, I would say you have made up your mind as you know it is only a 4* for cleanliness as many of us think it is. You’re still going to give it an overall 5* but it just might alert the HO to clean out the fridge in future.
I’d be more concerned about the pet cams not being mentioned in the listing and only being told to turn them around as this is violating the T & C. This definitely needs including in your review.
I know, you are right @temba - am also agonizing over the wording of this as again, not a single past sitter (over 2 dozen of them) has mentioned them either. Ugh.
Why not try using AI as suggested to help you with the wording? You can do it @carpediem16 
You could make it about you- saying your high standards of cleanliness in the kitchen were not met but might be acceptable to others.
That sounds like someone (owner) who has a cleaning person but does not ask the cleaning person to clean the refrigerator, and the owner does not take the time to do it themselves on a regular basis. We all have our least favorite chores, and this is probably the one! 
I completely understand you on “the wording.” It sounds like the home was generally very clean and it was really just the fridge, right? Otherwise the kitchen was clean, and the garbage was empty when you arrived? I would just state these facts: “Generally the house was very clean, but we had to clean out, wash and organize the refrigerator on arrival, in order to feel comfortable and create room for our food.”
Perhaps a mixture of @BonnyinBrighton and @PVGemini suggestions, something like
“Generally, the house was very clean but I’m afraid we had to clean and organize the refrigerator on arrival, in order to keep it up to our standards of cleanliness and make room for our groceries but this might be perfectly acceptable to others.”
These pet cams may be new -
Alternatively previous sitters may have noticed them and requested that they be unplugged / deactivated for the sit -if the hosts complied then they saw no need to mention to mark down for this in the review
…A simple factual statement - sandwiched in between all the positives could be
“There were four indoor pet cameras present. Had these been disclosed before the sit, we would have requested that they be turned off in accordance with TrustedHousesitters’ policy. Future sitters may wish to discuss indoor cameras with the homeowner before confirming the sit."
Funny you should say that bc indeed the cleaning person came during our stay but focused only on host/family bedrooms and bathrooms.
Don’t have a huge experience of cleaning staff, but have to say cleaning out a fridge is not usually part of the regular duties in my experience. Usually just bathrooms, surfaces and floors. Of course it all depends how long they are there, how much you pay. 
Harumph! Cleaning lady focused on only HO rooms? Chintzy! I’ve started taking sits where I can hire a cleaner to do the last day clean up. Worth it to me, and, since I have my own cleaner at home ($200 every 2 weeks, and still I clean in between), it just feels right for me not to be scrubbing other people’s places! And this is from an ex housecleaner! So… it’s definitely true everyone has different levels of clean, and that’s where the video call comes in. The issue of cleaning is spoken of on the call, so there aren’t any surprises.
Yeah, interesting but we didn’t care. Maybe she’ll be doing it when we leave (though we clean well ourselves) We keep our space very clean and neat and honestly prefer someone not move our stuff around. The house is massive so I guess she has enough to keep her busy for 4 hours without guest rooms or fridge and kitchen details.
I just gave a 4 star review, my first. But I didn’t say it wasn’t clean, I just gave it 4 for cleanliness. And 4 stars for hospitality. Not an inch of room in the freezer, little in the fridge. And clutter, she had a vintage clothing business, they were all over. You couldn’t use the dining area. Was it horrible, no, but she was a former sitter, she should know.
@huronbase Did you explain why you docked stars? If not, then future sitters won’t know what was wrong. A docked star for cleanliness could have been a filthy bathroom, or a stray hair under the sofa. With hospitality, it would have been because they didn’t cook you dinner, buy groceries, leave a cellar of wine…or it could have been a full freezer. We dont know your standards for cleanliness and hospitality, so dropped stars with no explanation are not helpful.
Thanks for leaving an honest review .
Strangely enough I gave my first 4* review and that was for a former sitter. Filthy full fridge with rotting vegetables and a disgusting shower (not the bathroom shown in the listing).
With regard to the new review procedure - would I recommend? Well it wouldn’t do for me but some sitters may be fine with it.
You deducted 1 star for communication, hospitality, cleanliness and accuracy of listing.
You really only addressed the lack of fridge and freezer space (which I guess is where the hospitality deduction came from). So while your review was honest, it could have been more helpful to others by explaining more of your reasoning.