Thanksgiving Thoughts: Simple Creative Ways To Practice Gratitude in Your Busy Life

Thanksgiving is a time when the greenest of families should be gathering together in gratitude and togetherness. Gratitude is a big word, but a vital one for the growth of the heart.  In the light of the coming holiday and knowing our busy schedules, we want to share some simple ways to bring gratitude into your daily life and thoughts. 

Developing your sense of gratitude isn't just a trend or a pop-psych fad. It's vital for your overall sense of well being and depth of your life quality. 

The truth is, we could all use a little more tender care and grace. Through self love, self forgiveness, appreciation and extension of the same, our lives will feel more full and fluid. We cannot always control what happens around or to us, but we can control our response and perspective.

Thanks to the lovely people at Mind Body Green, we have a fantastic list to share with you, of 14 creative ways to practice gratitude in your every day life. 

1. Write a handwritten letter to someone you've never properly thanked. Send by mail or hand-deliver; don't email.

2. Create An Appreciation Calendar. Each day, write five things you're grateful for and put it on a calendar.

3. Turn everything into a gift. Instead of your normal morning coffee, think of that cup as the gift of coffee. The gift of laughter. The gift of a smile.

4. Focus on something you're looking forward to and be grateful.

5. Say "I'm grateful for you," to everything you touch today.

6. Enjoy the little things. With a small task you do today, such as washing your hands or texting a friend, ask yourself how your life would be without it.

7. Look in the mirror and say, "I appreciate you," or, "I'm thankful for you."

8. Reach out to an author whose book has changed your life and share your gratitude in an email or letter.

9. Share a positive post on social media about a friend, company or product you truly love.

10. Spend five minutes with your hand on your heart, appreciating you and all of your hard work.

11. Donate your time or money to an organization or charity you believe in.

12. Make a list of ways you've impressed yourself lately. Think about what the challenges in your life have taught you. Be thankful for the blessing in the lesson.

13. Call your parents or children and tell them you appreciate them.

14. Send love to a force bigger than you, and give thanks to your higher power.

Your healthy life is our highest priority at Bayes.  Connect with those you love, including yourself today and practice these steps toward gratitude.  We also welcome you to stop by and enjoy the line of organic cleaning products we have to offer you. 

Have a thankful day!

5 Easy Ways to Save Money While STILL Shopping Organic

Many people would like to buy organic quality goods but are afraid of the cost.  But shopping organic doesn't have to mean spending our life savings on our daily fruit intake!  It is possible to buy locally and organically grown food and natural products without draining your budget.  Isn't that music to your ears?  Today, we'd like to share with you some little ways to save money while still shopping organic. 

buy by the ingredient.
Ok.  Maybe this is obvious to some, but not all. Do your meal planning based on ingredients rather than recipes. One idea to have a list of staples you use each weak, like bananas, apples, spinach, broccoli and zucchini.  Get your staples and then choose a few other veggies or fruits that are on sale that week and find a recipe online based on that ingredient. Usually, the things on sale are the foods that are in season. Great news for you? You'll be eating affordably and in season; double healthy points! Don't have every last item?  That's ok.  Get creative. I'm sure you have a great replacement and you will surprise yourself at your ability to make affordable, organic and edible pieces of art!

freeze it up.
If you found a particularly good deal on a food item, go ahead and grab it to have on hand at a later date and simply freeze it until you're ready to use it again.  Here's how to efficiently freeze your items: Dice the vegetables or fruits, cut up meat into portions and slice or separate baked goods.  Then, place them on a wax paper-lined cookie sheet.  Stick them in the freezer for 1 to 2 hours on sheet pan.  Once they are frozen, transfer to freezer bags. (Always double bag them.) Easy as pie, right?

use those coupons wisely.
More and more, Natural food stores are releasing coupons for organic products. This is great news! You will save the most money when you pair coupons with a store sale. This way, you get the store’s lower price, plus you get a greater cost reduction by using a coupon. If you can stack a store sale with a manufacturer’s coupon and a store coupon, then you will be making your purchase at the absolute lowest price. Keeping your coupons and their expiration dates clearly organized is the key to strategically using those little slips of paper to save big on your grocery bill.

compare prices for bulk items online.
Find the best prices on prepackaged snacks, organic varieties, and even produce when you price match online. This is a great strategy for moms looking for affordable school snacks for the kids. The best shopping strategy for a wholesale club is to purchase items there that you typically don’t see featured on sale, or that do not offer coupons. (Think: gourmet coffee and cheeses, produce, organic products, nuts and dried fruits.) After purchasing in bulk, dole out smaller portions into zippered snack bags. Packing your own snack-size options not only cuts down on spending, but it provides you with healthy, ready-to-eat snacks in appropriate portions.

make it from scratch.
We tend to shy away from cooking from scratch because we think of it as an inconvenience. But it actually doesn't take that long and doesn't have to be complicated! From cakes, to cleaning supplies, making your own DIY goods is far more easy and affordable than you may have thought.  Ease into cooking from scratch by starting with something simple, like chocolate chip cookies or a delicious marinara sauce. For cleaning, make a simple all purpose spray. You’ll avoid the extra costs of prepared goods by avoiding unnecessary packaging and ingredients. 

At Bayes, we strive for excellence in health and home, which is why we are committed to making quality organic cleaning products especially for your needs and budget.  Everyone deserves a healthy home and we want to start with you. 

Live Better With These Green Habits for the Home and Whole Family

Living green doesn't have to mean turning you life upside down.  There are little

things you can do here and there that make a big difference on the environment, your home life and family. Try these tips out and live better with greener habits for the home and whole family.

Relax While Driving

It doesn't matter what kind of car you drive; fuel-sipping hybrid or hulking gas-guzzler, you can improve your gas mileage, save money, and reduce your impact on global warming just by changing your driving habits. Be relaxed while you drive; when we are in a hurry or irritated and react by speeding, accelerating or breaking excessively, we burn unnecessary amounts of fuel. Calm down.  You will get where you need to go.  When you relax, you'll save gas and possibly yourself from an accident. 

Eat Seasonal, Locally-Grown Food

Eating locally and eating in season are two of the most important parts of a sustainable diet, and they really go hand in hand. Eating locally allows you to minimize the number of food miles your purchases travel, and eating in season is the best way to get the most out of a local diet. Also, your best and most available organic produce will be local and, naturally, in season. Even better, if you can walk or bike to a local farmer's market, you'll really be reducing fuel usage and know that your food is the highest quality and freshest possible.

Skip the Bottled Water - Bring Your Own!

Bottled water typically costs about 10,000 times the cost of tap / filtered water, so by using your own mug instead of buying one individual, disposable plastic bottle every day, you could save $500 a year. Obvious and easy change!

Bring Your Own Bag to the Store

Paper or plastic? How about neither? The fact is both paper and plastic shopping bags impact the environment considerably. Instead, choose more durable, reusable canvas shopping bags. These green bags are popping up everywhere these days, so you’ll have no problem finding one to suit your style. 

Buy Green

Show businesses that consumers want products made responsibly and sustainably. Next time you’re shopping, take the time to look at the labels on the products you buy. Try to avoid over-packaged items, household products with toxic or non-biodegradable chemicals, and choose items made of recycled materials or are organic, fair-trade, or LEED certified. 

Bayes decided to go into business out of a desire to meet the need that so many people are asking to be filled.  Our cleaning products are organic, non-toxic and gentle on the spaces in your homes. We encourage you to make small steps to big change in your home as you make your cleaning routine more green.