Pssst Pssst Pssst
i have a sister. she is kick ass. i don’t like to mess with her as her rough side is rough and deadly. i owe many lessons in my life that i didn’t have to experience to learn, to her. she has the back bone to have survived it all. she wears her scars proudly and humbly. one of her invaluable lessons was back in 2004. she came to our recently deceased mother’s house to visit my little family. we had made a recent move back to my mothers house from the bronx, the change was doing us good and we were on new family mode, nesting and all. it didn’t take my sister two seconds in the kitchen before she uttered these words “nichim! look at this mess! this is how you like to live? is this what you learned in NYC?!” (and this is my post where i admit i am not the cleanest one of all!) “hay sister, i am not as good as you in the cleaning department” i figured a little guilty building excuses would let me off the hook. it didn’t, it just got more guilt back at me “if mother could see her kitchen right now, she’d send you back to the bronx with all your mess!” we laughed, but she was right, mother would not have tolerated one bit of it, as much as she pampered me, my mother was by far one of the most clean organized virgos i have known. and her kitchen was her priced possession. on her next visit, sister showed up with a present, wrapped, with a bow, handed it to me with this encouraging words of wisdom “listen nichim, all you need is a psst pssst pssst! y ya! have it right here next to your sink and use it as soon as you see something that needs cleaning! now get to work!” my sister is the queen of words, she comes up with some hillarious things as well as being the dictionary of refranes chiapanecos. in my sister’s dictionary the definition for the pssst, pssst, pssst is:
psssst, pssst, pssst: noun /psit psit psit/ etymology: sister’s very own mexican vernacular. dated in the late 1990’s. 1. a recycable spray bottle filled with a mixture of clorox, amonia, terpentine, and just about any other cleaning supply found under her sink diluted with just a little water. 2. a cleaning solution that can clean anything, it can even dessintegrate the paint off your car. 3. the one thing her little sister needs to get some cleaning sense into her life!
it has taken me at least 3 years to pass my sister’s cleaning program. if you pan into my 2007 kitchen, though not spotless, next to the sink you will find my very own pssst pssst pssst made with healthy non-toxic and cheap ingredients that even my children can use! after some research and my own experiments, i came across this helpful little pocket book by raleigh briggs with a slew of great tips on how to make a home using all kinds of simple and earth empowering ingredients and materials. here is her recipe for an awesome all purpose spray cleaner.
1 teaspoon liquid castile soap (i used dr. bronners)
2 Tablespoons white vinegar
1 teaspoon borax
2 Cups hot water
1/4 each eycalyptus and lavender oils
3 drops tea tree oil
mix all ingredients together in a spray bottle.
raleigh suggests not to use this on windows, and to spray scrub and rinse. check her book out, it also give some awesome gardening, first aid and body care tips, she also has other interesting titles!
this goes out to my big sister! who still swears by her killer pssst pssst pssst!