Another thing that really overwhelms me at this time of year is the commercialism of it all! I absolutely love the smelf of chestnuts and pine trees and am not above singing along with Silver Bells in a store, but everything about this time of year--this stretch from Halloween to Christmas tells us to buy, buy, buy!

Here's one thing I've been thinking about in the two years I've been subscribed to Real Simple... how is it that a magazine devoted to keeping things simple only has solutions that involve buying things? Don't get me wrong, I love trying out new gadgets and buy a lot of stuff..but I'd love to see an issue one day telling us how we can reuse some neglected objects in our home, or solve a problem without running to the Container Store.

Every month, I shake out the cards and tearouts asking me to subscribe to a magazine I already subscribe to. One month I decided to pull out the best buy cards and nikon "actual size" cards and all the ads that weren't printed out on the same paper as the rest of the magazine. They were - I kid you not - a quarter inch thick. That's pretty huge for a magazine that is only 3/4 inch thick max.

I feel like RS by definition should strive to eliminate all this clutter from our lives...detrimental to our organization and to our environment....What do you think, Kristen?

Emma, they do; haven't you ever read "New uses for old things" or whatever it's called (sorry, Kristin!)?

I do agree with you re the tearouts, fragranced perfume ads, car pullouts, etc. etc. etc. all of which I just rip out and recycle without even looking at them because I like to be able to turn the pages of my magazines.

Emma, you raise issues we think about constantly. Unfortunately the economics of magazines means, on one level (and as I'm sure you know), the healthier a magazine is, the more ads it has. And the more ads we run, the more editorial pages we run, so that is a win. As for the editorial content, we take pains to give readers both ideas and solutions that don't involve buying stuff (Anne is referring to New Uses for Old Things, which appears in the Simple Solutions section of the magazine every month). We're also trying increasingly to feature green tips or ideas. For many of our readers, the easiest solution to the problem sometimes involves buying something. For other readers, not so much. When we're really doing our job, we're talking to both of them.

Anne: you are right about that column...I'd forgotten about it. But there are only about 4 tips per issue, though to be fair, those 4 tips inspire me to look at things in my home in a different way.

Kristin: I completely understand the economics of running a magazine, and your dilemma in trying to balance passion and practicality. Perhaps suggesting to advertisers to use less extraneous material in their ads would help lessen the bulk of the junk in the magazine (i'm talking to you, alli and nikon! :)) And perhaps not including subscription cards in subscription issues? In this day and age most people go online or use the phone to order anyway, don't they?

Forgive my kvetching, I love RS and look forward to its arrival every month and feed my family its recipes. I's just that this season, taken in context of a senseless war, a rapidly melting planet and increasingly materialistic demands can sometimes overwhelm the senses :)

This was the PERFECT post! I just walked inside (yes, 40 degrees outside and 10:30 at night here in OK--seems like the only time of day I can get ANYTHING done without my "little helpers") from transforming my front porch/entry from Fall to Christmas! Amazingly enough, my pumpkins (not carved) were really in pretty good shape! So now, I have to wait for my wonderful hubby to "harvest" the seeds so we can plant our own pumpkin patch! So, I'm right there with ya! If any of you bought hay for Fall "decor" ... some moms at my son's school came up with a great use for it! You can wrap some fabric or sheet or plastic bag around it and tie it with some pretty toulle and voila! It is now a "wrapped" present ---to of course put underneath an OUTSIDE tree! How's that for a new use for an old object! GO SOONERS!!!!!!!

Next weekend is still only what, Dec 7th? Plenty of time left to get out your decorations. I know they've been in Macy's since the week after Labor Day, trust me, I checked.
As for all the "junk" inside the magazine... I embarassed to say, I never really notice it. I guess I am more focused on the actual articles. Whoops - I hope no advertisers read this!
And if you think your kids are skeptical now, wait until they are teenagers! You need to really build up your self-esteem to deal with those critters!

Cute post!
Hard to believe the time passes so quickly!!!

Sue
praiseandcoffee.com

My OB will not have mercy on me and schedule my twins delivery (3rd and last) before Dec 18 -- 38 weeks! I realize I SHOULD feel very blessed, but they are already over 6lbs each and I swear my pelvis is broken in about 20 places leaving me unable to turn over in bed or get myself out of the tub. Even worse, I am done working Tuesday and what in the world will I go with myself THEN?! The Christmas season for me as thus become minimal solely due to my limitations.

3 1/2 yr old asked tonight, "Mommy, why can't we make a million lights and strap them on our bushes like the neighbors?" And, all I wanted to answer was, "Honey, because I can't even put on my own pants."

The nice thing is this, though: by literally being physically unable to do anything (new gig for me), I actually am enjoying the Christmas music, the fireplace, the tree lights, and the quiet. I'm definitely not suggesting you all do as I did to find that solace, because after this little moment passes I will have years of chaos to attend to, but...take a sick day, disappear for an afternoon, schedule a "meeting", and enjoy yourselves by doing nothing other than taking in the end of the year.

Sometimes forced quiet is what you need to make the calendar stop charging to Dec. 25.

Heidi: Wow, what a double blessing! Maybe your twins will decide to come earlier than 38 weeks. Best of luck to all of you!
Kristin: It would probably be MORE costly to eliminate the tearouts and blow-ins from subscription issues, wouldn't it?

I thought I was doing fairly well by going out to shop for Thanksgiving/Harvest decorations the first week in November. All I could find was Halloween clearance on one side of the aisle and Christmas decorations on the other. I am not sure when exactly you are supposed to find Thanksgiving stuff...but I guess I missed it this year!

Heidi, good luck to you! What a joyful Christmas you're going to have.

We call those Yuletide pumpkins. We always forget to throw away our pumpkins and since we live in Wisconsin by time we notice that they are still out, it is usually snowing and really cold so the pumpkins are frozed to the front porch. I have been known to put Santa hats on them and leave them out until the spring frost. (By then I change the Santa hat to Bunny ears.)

Love the blog!

I'm replying to this post much to late (in the spirit of doing things late--ha), but this is my complaint as well. What's the hurry? In a world of rush, rush, rush, us working mothers have to stick together. Why must we have to rush through and get our Christmas decor up 2 hours after the Thanksgiving plates are put away? I just want to cry sometimes with the pressure! Thanks for sharing this exasperation!