Life

From our milk + honey HQ office to the halls of our spas and salons, we often find ourselves discussing books. The books we’re reading, what we love to read, what everyone else is reading—you name it, we’ve gone there. We even started #bathtimebookclub earlier this summer to discuss some of our favorite reads of the moment. When we discovered today is National Read A Book Day, we knew it was time to strike up the convo again. In honor of the (admittedly niche) holiday, we’re sharing some of our current favorites.

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“focus on the positive things in your life, and you’ll be shocked at how many more positive things start happening.” – sophia amoruso

Throughout the week, we delved into strategies to remove literal toxins from our physical space. Today, we’re shifting our focus to decluttering our mind. We firmly believe it begins with a grateful heart.

A new perspective on gratitude

Think of a time your heart swelled with gratitude. Perhaps it was a holiday memory with your family, while reading your child a bedtime story, or opening a letter you received from a good friend. That full-heart feeling is something you can cultivate on a day-to-day basis by taking the time to focus on gratitude. When you’re full of gratitude, it is all consuming and leaves little room for stressors, sadness, jealousy, or any other negative feeling. Start thinking of gratitude as a tool that can be used to clear our minds of those toxic thoughts and harmful stressors. It can be used to maintain control over ourselves, even in stressful or difficult situations. In fact, studies have found when feeling grateful, people experience increased self-control.

Incorporate it into daily life

There are many ways to incorporate gratitude into daily life – we recommend trying a few strategies to see what works for you.

1) Journaling

Capturing a moment of gratitude is inspiring in the moment, but it also creates a document of positive memories. It can be rewarding to capture written gratitude first thing in the AM – before turning to iPhones and emails.  Here are a two of our favorite journals

Moleskine – the perfect morning companion for your moment of gratitude

One-Sketch-A-Day Visual Journal – for those who prefer to sketch their gratitude

2) Letters (read: not an email or a facebook message)

When it comes to gratitude for others, we simply don’t share or express it often enough. Handwritten letters or notes to others are an effective, and often contagious, way to spread gratitude. These tokens say “I appreciate you enough to pause and take time out of my busy day to think about how important you are in my life.”  Dedicate a few minutes each week to some quality time with your favorite stationary.  Your loved ones will appreciate it, and your mind will too.

3) Change your password

If you are anything like us, you spend a lot of time resetting passwords because you routinely forget one of the 1,500 passwords we must remember to navigate our modern lives.  Transform this mundane and frustrating task to one that reminds us to be grateful.  Try incorporating something you are grateful for in your next password reset.   It can serve as a reminder to pause – even for a second – to focus on the positive aspects of your life.

Share your own gratitude note with the #BeeGrateful hashtag to join our always-positive online conversation.

Mother Nature reveals how vital it is for cleansing and releasing in order to rebuild. Throughout the month of January, we’re focusing on cleansing our bodies, minds, and environments of the toxins that inhibit or disrupt our natural rhythms. From everyday cleaning products to the paint on your walls, there are often ingredients at arm’s reach that have the potential to do harm. Today we are focused on easy and approachable ways to minimize exposure to toxic chemicals.

1. Increase your awareness of toxins

Here is a list of ingredients we always try avoid in any products we use at our spa or when formulating our own body care products:

Parabens

What is it? A type of preservative used to avoid growth of bacteria and mold.

Why eliminate? They are endocrine (hormone) disruptors – aka chemicals that can interfere with your body’s development, as well as cause disturbances in the immune and nervous system function.

Found in: Shampoo, cleansers, body wash, body lotion, foundation, skincare products, and more.

Sulfates

What is it? An added detergent that creates a lather to cleanse away dirt and oil.

Why eliminate? Sulfates can strip your hair of their natural oils, leaving your locks feeling rough, dry, and brittle.

Found in: Shampoos, conditioners, body washes, toothpastes, detanglers, and more.

Phthalates

What is it? A type of plasticizing chemicals that make products pliable and help fragrances to stick to skin.

Why eliminate? Phthalates are also endocrine disruptors and may cause reproductive effects such as birth defects.

Found in: Synthetic fragrances, nail polish, hairspray, and plastic materials.

Aluminum

What is it? Aluminum is added to antiperspirants to plug pores and prevent sweat.

Why eliminate? Sweating is an important part of your body’s detoxification process.

Found in: Mainly deodorants

Artificial Dyes + Fragrances

What is it? An unnatural, engineered color or scent

Why eliminate? These dyes and scents may contain stock chemical ingredients, including endocrine disruptors and allergens.

Found in: All cosmetic categories

– Nature has provided many botanical alternatives that do not sacrifice efficacy. –

2. Audit your beauty and personal care products

Detoxify your beauty and personal care routine by utilizing Environmental Working Group’s website. They have a list of consumer products and brands they’ve verified using their testing framework. The EWG audits each ingredient and product based on its green rating. It’s an eye-opening resource for identifying actionable changes you can make for you and your family.

3. Edit your cleaning routine

First of all, ensure you are always minimizing exposure to any cleaning products with the use of gloves. Next, check your products against the EWP and consider swapping them out for homemade and natural alternatives. We recommend the book THE NATURALLY CLEAN HOME by Karyn Siegel-Maier as a great resource for natural recipes.

4. Trade ordinary paint for low-VOC or VOC-free paint

Ordinary paints contain heavy metals, formaldehyde, and other ingredients that release toxins directly into the air you breathe each and every day. While it typically costs a bit more, investing in low-VOC or VOC-free paint is an investment your health.

5. Be discerning with home fragrance

Think twice before plugging that diffuser into your wall. Instead, seek out candles and home fragrances that use essential oils and all-natural, plant-based ingredients. Burn plants, not toxins.

What are your favorite tips to detoxify daily life? Join in the conversation on our Instagram.