I love this magazine! It is an off-shoot of Consumer Reports, I think. Thanks for the link, DD.

Their website says they launched in 2000, and are published by Time, Inc. I don't think it has anything at all to do with Consumer Reports which does not accept advertising.

I like Real Simple, too.

You're right, I'm confusing it with ShopSmart.

It's the only magazine I still subscribe to. I let all my other magazine subscriptions drop off.

I enjoy the magazine but often find the ideas preposterously unsimple. The name seems to have evolved to mean "Hip Good Housekeeping" instead of truly simple ideas, which would of course, preclude not buying this magazine.
Still, it's fun to read in waiting rooms...

I think Real Simple's goal is to encourage it's readers to buying elegant storage and organization systems. It's at the checkout counter at every Container Store. From what I've seen, it really doesn't tackle any significant de-cluttering issues nor does it really advocate a truly simple lifestyle. Just an elegant, highly (impossibly) organized, and green one (even if "green" means that you must go and purchase another plastic-based organizing system) that is cool and trendy looking. I also find the food and clothing/grooming tips to be rather trite and blatantly geared towards their advertisers. Sheesh. Plus, I try to stay away from magazines that create a feeling of dissatisfaction about the lifestyle choices that I have made or about the hand that I've been dealt. I will never have my digital photos alphabetically and chronologically organized on 100+ CDs in a special drawer, that my carpenter made for my home office (that is painted with Benjamin Moore paint), which I update religiously once a month.

Not that I'm for chaos, simplicity and order are beautiful things. But these people have too much time on their hands. I saw an article somewhere about a woman who had her gorgeous "gift wrapping room" (with built-ins to hold too many rolls of expensive paper) showcased and all I could think about was what a tremendous waste of time, space, and money. Poor soul, believing that all of that wrapping paper, which would ultimately wind up in the trash, was of lasting importance. I'd like to publish a magazine called "Get Real" that would emphasize really living your life, not accumulating and organizing stuff.

" From what I've seen, it really doesn't tackle any significant de-cluttering issues nor does it really advocate a truly simple lifestyle. "

That's what I thought too!

I have gotten many free issues over the years, and I really never saw a reason to subscribe.

AND... it IS fun to browse through in a waiting room!

LOL, cupofkindness
"I will never have my digital photos alphabetically and chronologically organized on 100+ CDs in a special drawer, that my carpenter made for my home office (that is painted with Benjamin Moore paint), which I update religiously once a month. "

What a defeatist attitude! :)

Yes, you're absolutely right, Susan. I'll never have my act, digital or otherwise, together. I give up...

Seriously, though, I was waiting in a store for a prescription yesterday and I thought I'd give Real Simply one last look. Here's one of the first pages that I saw in the August, 2010 issue. This picture was the main part of an ad which claimed that magazine readership was at an all-time high, in spite of predictions that the internet would make magazines obsolete. I have too many children to have images like this in my home. So needless to say, if I was ever tempted to subscribe to Real Simple, this puts the kibosh on that idea.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{!gwi}}

??
That link goes to
http://www.hollywoodcelebgossips.com/

Sorry that link didn't work properly! It should go to:

http://www.hollywoodcelebgossips.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/lady-gaga-rolling-stone-pink-bubble-cover-picture.jpg

Lady Gaga wearing nothing but pink bubbles.... egads!

I don't know if I've seen the current issue, but I do remember reading the text of an ad like you describe. My kids are older, so I don't have to think of things like that anymore.

As far as the usefulness of the magazine, I think of it as a fashion magazine. It is enjoyable fantasy. I may or may not get any workable ideas.

Wow, everybody's so hard on Real Simple. Which magazine would you think is better-Better Homes and Gardens, Good Housekeeping, Women's Day? I like Real Simple because it has lots of photos. Not a lot of in-depth written articles, but they do have decent recipes. And i truly enjoy the articles rating things like potato chips and lipsticks. Okay, it's a lot of fluff. But I still like it.

When it came out, Real Simple seemed between the aspirational Living (which I personally love) and Good Housekeeping (which seemed old-fashioned). I always felt RS was more about obviously simple things like put the magazines in a rack instead of in a pile and throw them out when the new one comes or weirdly simple tips like different uses for dryer sheets.

NOTE: I'm a dude in his mid 30s so I have only about 10-15 years of history with home magazines. Most of them have fashion and makeup in them, so I don't get the full benefit. :)

Real Simple does have some goofy ideas. (How about buying clear plastic egg cartons to transfer eggs into so that you can see them in the fridge or I guess one would never be able to find their eggs keeping them in a regular store egg carton. LOL.) Their journalists don't always know the basics about what they write about. (The photo touting azaleas for the garden and showing a row of mums is just one example.)

Anyway, did anyone enter the contest in the link I provided? Just wondering.

Books form your mind better than a magazine on important topics like living simply, or getting organized. I've enjoyed the books "Your Money or Your Life" and "The Tightwad Gazette" for insights about living simply; and Peter Walsh's "Its All Too Much" and Julia Morgenstern's organization books for help with stuff. I think most of the problems can be traced to having too many possessions. Real Simple magazine is remarkably shallow and trite, it's not worth the paper it's printed on.

When it first came out I did the free trial and was very disappointed. I figured it was because I was already obsessive about organizing that it just bored me. I've not looked in a copy of it in ages.
dilly dally, I'd enter the contest if could help me organize my time. But then maybe all I need to do is turn off the computer....

Jannie wrote: "I like Real Simple because it has lots of photos. Not a lot of in-depth written articles"
One reason it could be called Real Simple. You don't need to read long articles.
Another....
dilly dally wrote:
"Their journalists don't always know the basics about what they write about. (The photo touting azaleas for the garden and showing a row of mums is just one example.) "
Their journalist are simple minded.

I remember being crabby with them when they did a makeover for a mom who had family members involved with 3 schools--dad was a principal one place; kids were students in different grades. Lots of activities, etc.

Their calendar solution was a write-on, wipe-off calendar. Because it was a PRODUCT, and it *looked* cool.

But you can only track one month at a time.

I thought, Where is she supposed to write down that she's got a dentists' appointment in 6 weeks? Or where is she going to write all the school plays, team practices, big games, school-board meetings, for 4 busy people, months in advance? She'll have to track them on a paper calendar, and then re-write them once a month.

So, it was done by a *stylist*, who looked at what is available int he market and looks cool, but didn't really seem to consult anybody who knew anything about how to organize your life. I work at a magazine, and that often is how it is, unfortunately. Not always, but it happens often enough, especially w/ photo-driven and product-driven magazines. Which Real Simple is.