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Real Simple (1-year) | 
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| Publisher: The Time Inc. Magazine Company
Category: Magazine
List Price: $54.00
Buy New: $23.68
You Save: $30.32 (56%)
Avg. Customer Rating:  193 reviews
Sales Rank: 20
Format: Magazine Subscription
Type: Time magazine
Subscription Issues: 12
Subscription Length: 12 Months
Issues Per Year: 12
First Issue Lead Time: 6-10 Weeks
Release Date: November 23, 2001
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 1 to 3 months
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Product Description
Real Simple is the new magazine for the way you want to live today. You'll find actionable solutions to streamline the ways you manage your life. Systems for reducing clutter, saving time, and reducing stress. Inspiring ideas about home, food, money, clothes, health, work, family, and holidays.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 188 more reviews...
 Elegant Magazine October 11, 2003
39 out of 42 found this review helpful
I enjoy reading Real Simple. The articles are informative and the magazine is beautiful to look at. I disagree that the content is not substantial - it is a monthly magazine, what exactly were you expecting? I also disagree that the magazine solely targets those in an upper income bracket. While some of the items they suggest are things my husband and I still dream of, there are also items they review regularly that you can pick up at CVS Pharmacy. In fact, the product reviews are probably the most useful part of the magazine. I like seeing purchase information next to something that catches my eye. Real Simple is a welcome alternative to other women's magazines that focus on giving yourself multiple orgasms or figuring out your personality based on astrological signs. If you are interested in browsing through a magazine that gives personal stories, features useful products, provides yummy recipes for nights when you have guests over (or have the time to cook a special meal), and is aesthetically pleasing to the eye - this magazine is for you.
A beautiful, useful, and worthwhile magazine November 9, 2004
49 out of 56 found this review helpful
I've read the negative reviews of Real Simple, and quite frankly, I don't understand what they're talking about. This magazine is my favorite of all, and each month it offers thoughtful advice, product reviews, and a wealth of information the helps to simplify how you arrange, clean, and furnish your house as well as helping you find the best products out there.
To the criticism:
Too many ads? Have you ever read a magazine? I work in the magazine industry and the only way magazines support themselves is through advertising. Any healthy magazine abides by a 70-30 ratio--70 percent ads to 30 percent articles. That's just the way it is. The magazines with little to no advertising either charge a fortune for ads (which not all publications can do), are about to go under, or are mere newsletters.
Products shown too expensive? This magazine isn't about blatant consumerism. It's about an idea that I've learned well--if you only want to buy once, buy quality. I've too often purchased a $12 toaster only to realize a year later when it fizzled out on me that it was, in fact, a $12 toaster. It's more economical to buy quality and not keep tossing cheap, defective products into a landfill. Plus, the magazine also offers a host of "good, better, best" options, so you can choose the option that fits your budget, as well as quick, simple, three-ingredient recipes, and ways to make the most of leftovers. Not exactly advice for millionaires!
Too shallow? Each issue offers a variety of advice on making the most out of your life, from your finances, to your family, to your friendships.
Criticism of breastfeeding? Oh please. It's one article. Write a letter to the editor about it, but don't trash the whole magazine over one article.
This is a great magazine for anyone looking for invaluable tips and interesting articles about slower, more deliberate living in a fast-paced age. Plus, it's all wrapped up in a gorgeous package. I can understand why it wouldn't be to some people's taste--it's not necessarily for the inveterate frugal shopper. But some of the criticism in this forum seemed way over the top.
My Favorite Magazine November 1, 2001
18 out of 20 found this review helpful
In my opinion Real Simple is, without question, the best magazine being published. It is full of useful tips, beautiful photography and well written articles. Only useful topics are included - no fluff. It is truly unique. Even if you aren't into minimalism, you will appreciate the beauty of simplicity in your life. I highly recommend this as a gift for yourself or loved ones.
An acquired taste? April 27, 2006
13 out of 14 found this review helpful
I am in my fourth year of subscribing to this magazine. I read the negative reviews listed, and wondered to myself if I also noticed those things on my first or second issue, or even in my first year. But although I may just be more used to the ads (which I've noticed that most magazine reviews on Amazon mention "too many ads!"), I do think some reviewers have been very wrong about this mag- it is definitely not all about buying things- for instance, the repeating section, "new uses for old things." RS consistently features articles about using old or original items, and ways to spruce them up. The recipes are always written so that you get a week's worth of dinners out of the same ingredients, and many of the organizing tips are free! One thing I've always loved about RS is when they do compare and discuss products (anything from furniture to umbrellas) they always have a range of choices- from Pottery Barn level to items at Target. So maybe RS is an acquired taste, but I have found it to be the best magazine I've ever purchased. It is so thick and heavy, I pick up other magazines and am instantly disappointed. I am looking at my March 2006 issue right now, and here are some articles:
-"Fix Your Money Leaks- 22 ways to plug financial leaks."
-"Budding Talent- learn to trim, arrange, and display flowers"
-"One-Pot Wonders- 6 streamlined recipes"
-"Jackets Be Nimble- four versatile jackets to transform your wardrobe."
And then always the "Solutions" section (my favorite), Cooking, Home, Body, Beauty, Life ('tips for saying no' and such), Style, and the Organizer.
I get tricks to use from every article. My primary purpose in reading RS is for better organizing and home management, but I like that you get a little bit of everything. And at the end of each year, subscribers receive an "index" booklet of all the articles by topic, so you can reference the article you need about stain removal or decorating bookcases or cooking with squash, without flipping through years of pages.
Hope this adds more insight to some of the good and bad that's been said, from a seasoned reader.
I *adore* this magazine July 19, 2006
16 out of 18 found this review helpful
I am not a big magazine reader -- never have been, never really had time to! However, a friend of mine at work kept bringing me copies of this magazine to read...after falling in love every time read it I finally I had to get a subscription of my own!
This magazine covers everything! It's got tips for life, cooking, decorating, organzing, and getting the best deal for your money. A lot of the stuff in here -- shortcut cooking ideas, for instance, are stuff that I use and apply to my normal life.
For example: the July 2006 issue has a dessert shortcut for peach cobbler. The result of that recipe was a WONDERFUL dessert for my family of four that took me... less than 15 minutes to prepare and tasted great!
They don't endorse products NEARLY to the same degree that most magazines do, and when they do it's in an article where they had comparisons done...always a recommendation, and usually more than one. The important thing here is they don't say "buy this product" they say "buy products that have such and such feature, make sure it has this in it for silky smooth hair, and oh here's an example of what we're talking about." They make you an informed shopper instead of just throwing products at you withotu reason or rhyme.
So, in conclusion, if you're like me and can use a few extra ideas about EVERYTHING in your life...this is a great magazine. The information is helpful, applicable to normal everyday life...and it's not so full of ads that you want to choke the advertisers.
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