How to clear the clutter in your home office

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Harry Smith spoke to Real Simple Magazine Contributor Kate Parker about how to rebuild the home office one clutter at a time, from the desk to lighting, accessories and more. I like the idea of colourful filing boxes and I had one of those Lazy Susan style pen pots at my old job. I miss that pen pot...

A healthy lunch delivered to your desk from Graze

Does Graze amaze? Healthy lunch boxes delivered to your desk is a great idea but is it just a fad? Fellow blogger Frankie of the fabulous Swell Vintage shares her experiences...

'When one of my colleagues sent an email round about Graze.com, I was intrigued. Working in an office, especially in a female dominated marketing department, can lead to a number of potentially damaging activities: bitching, heated debates regarding Hollyoaks and, arguably the most lethal, excessive snacking. With Graze promising to send 3 of my 5 a-day directly to my desk, I decided to give it a go and swap my normal lunch time routine for something healthier and more modern.

I sign up for one of their trial offers, getting me my first box for £1 and my next two for half the full price (£2.99). The next step is to browse their food selections and rate them according to how much you’d like to try them. There’s plenty to choose from, and all of it sounds interesting and appetising.

According to the Graze website, grazing on their natural foods throughout the day instead of eating once at lunch time is a great way to lose weight by controlling blood sugar. In theory, this sounds like a brilliant idea (who wouldn’t want to eat constantly all day long?), but does it work in practice? By the time I’ve placed my first order, my stomach is rumbling and ready to go!

Monday: My first box is due to arrive, but it doesn’t get to me until Tuesday. However, the Graze customer service team are most obliging, and credit me £1.50 by way of an apology.


Tuesday: My box arrives – yippee! It looks great, is made from recyclable materials and even contains a handy card telling me all of the nutritional information of the day’s offering. This includes fresh cut apple, “fruit squash” (dried mango, blueberries and pumpkin seeds) and black pepper cashews. I start on the apple which, despite getting to me a day late, is still fresh due to clever vacuum packing. In the spirit of the “grazing philosophy”, I do my best to spread the food over the course of the day, so I don’t eat my black pepper cashews until the early afternoon. These are absolutely delicious, and as soon as I finish them, I wish I had more. Not to worry though, I’ve got my “fruit squash” to look forward to. I’d never tried dried blueberries before, but they are very nice – I highly recommend them.

By the end of the day, I’m surprised that I don’t feel as hungry as I thought I would, and I look forward to my next box, due to arrive tomorrow.

Wednesday: After hungrily waiting for my box all morning, I realise it’s not coming. I feel disappointed, and although the Graze customer services team again refund me my money, I’m beginning to lose faith in the system. However, I understand that Graze is still a relatively new company, and that there are bound to be some kinks in the beginning. I decide to keep an open mind, and hope my box will arrive safely tomorrow.

Thursday: The box arrives, and I can’t wait to tuck in. This one contains red and white grapes, “rouge” dried fruit mix (Dried strawberries, raspberries and cranberries) and the “omega” seed mix (Sunflower, pumpkin, sesame, linseed, flax, rapeseed and hemp). This box is definitely diverse, and I look forward to trying some new things. The “rouge” dried fruit is beautiful, and I am now hooked on dried strawberries. Even the seed mix proves very appetising, but I’m still hungry. Perhaps it’s because I went back to my normal lunch routine the day before.

My next box isn’t due to arrive until Monday but, considering the lateness of my last two boxes, I decide to change the scheduled arrival of it to Friday, thinking that that will mean it’ll arrive on Monday. And would you believe it? As if to prove me wrong, the box arrives on Friday, exactly as scheduled. Oh ye of little faith…


Friday: Once I get over the initial shock of the box arriving when it was supposed to, I get started on my day's offering. This box includes fresh pineapple, the “ay caramba” mix (Cajun seed mix, dried goji berries, naturally dried apricots) and pine nuts. I love pineapple and, because it’s arrived on time, it’s nice and refreshing. The “ay caramba” mix, however, I’m not so keen on. The apricots are great, the goji berries are pleasant enough, but the Cajun seeds are a bit tasteless, so I struggle to finish them. This leaves me feeing a bit unsatisfied and, as a result, hungry.

After this box, I decide to give up Graze. Not because the food wasn’t nice or because a couple of the boxes were late, but because this style of eating just isn’t for me. I prefer to have three regular healthy meals a day, and if I fancy a snack, I’ll have one.

However, despite this seemingly negative review, I would still recommend trying Graze. I think the whole concept behind it is genius, and I really enjoyed most of the food they sent me. If you’re into healthy eating and are looking for a new and interesting diet to try, I recommend giving it a go. And with the first box at half price, you can’t go wrong.'

Frankie Murray makes and sells beautiful, original jewellery and accessories. Each item is lovingly made from her vintage or antique finds. Visit swellvintage.blogspot.com to find out more.

A peek behind the doors of Facebook's UK office

I'm pretty nosy when it comes to looking into other people's homes and offices. This video is a tour of the Facebook offices in the UK, located off Carnaby Street in London. Watch out for the quirky, witty touches around the offices such as the labelling of the office plant as 'Facebush'. It's a creative environment and although nothing compared to the wonders of a Google office, it serves the purpose well. It's mainly sales and support staff here though, rather than the brains and programmers who are based elsewhere.