Kristin van Ogtrop
Kristin van Ogtrop
Kristin van Ogtrop was named Managing Editor of Real Simple magazine in 2003. Since that time, Real Simple has grown to include books, special issues, products, international editions, television shows, mobile apps and, of course, realsimple.com. Kristin began her career in magazines at Vogue, and has also worked at Glamour, Premiere, and Travel and Leisure. As the editor of Real Simple, she does a lot of things that don't look like editing: going on professional panels, making speeches, going on t.v. very early in the morning. She has a B.A. in English from the University of Virginia and an M.A. in English from Columbia University. She also wrote a book, Just Let Me Lie Down: Necessary Terms for the Half-Insane Working Mom, which was published in 2010 and is now available in paperback. Kristin lives in the New York suburbs with her husband, who is also a magazine editor, their three sons, a shedding dog, a hamster and a handful of fish which, unfortunately, never last long.

Posts written by Kristin van Ogtrop

April 24, 2012 at 11:15AM | Kristin van Ogtrop

Books You Definitely Should Never Read in Bed

My family thinks I read in bed to relax; to learn something; and to make everyone stop talking to me (i.e. asking me for things). And they are right—but only partially. I mostly read [...]

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April 18, 2012 at 4:47PM | Kristin van Ogtrop

How Do You Handle a Determined Lip Kisser?

As far as I’m concerned, there are two kinds of people in life: those who kiss you on the lips, and those who kiss you on the cheek. ACCEPTABLE LIP KISSERS Your spouse/romantic partner [...]

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March 21, 2012 at 11:52AM | Kristin van Ogtrop

How I Spend My Day: the Dream vs. the Reality

Do you ever get to the end of the day and ask yourself, “OK, where did that one go?”  I feel like I do frequently, and not just when I’m particularly sleep deprived or [...]

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March 7, 2012 at 12:00PM | Kristin van Ogtrop

Let’s Put an End to This

Ellen Seidman is a woman I worked with years ago when we were both editors at Glamour. While we were working together (well, not actually during work hours, but during the years we were [...]

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February 7, 2012 at 11:28AM | Kristin van Ogtrop

Wanted: “He Is Such a Role Model for Men”

Over the weekend I was reading a story in the New York Times about Sheryl Sandberg, she of Facebook fame, Silicon Valley royalty, and—soon—more than a billion dollars. The article was about how Sandberg is [...]

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February 1, 2012 at 2:32PM | Kristin van Ogtrop

The Hardest Decade in a Woman’s Life

The other week I had dinner with a dear friend and her daughter, who is 13. My friend’s daughter is interesting and sweet and charmingly quirky, and I’ve known her since she was born. [...]

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January 27, 2012 at 10:00AM | Kristin van Ogtrop

The Drum Teacher Says I Remind Him of the Mother on “Modern Family.” Is This an Insult?

My middle son has a wonderful drum teacher. His name is Josh and he is a musician and seems to have boundless energy. He is also a lot of fun, and really appreciates Middle’s [...]

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January 23, 2012 at 11:04AM | Kristin van Ogtrop

Five Battles That Aren’t Worth Fighting With Teenagers, and Five That Are

A highly subjective list, from this mother of three boys: It is not worth fighting over… 1) Wearing a winter coat instead of that flimsy springlike thing, even though it is 25 degrees. 2) [...]

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January 11, 2012 at 1:49PM | Kristin van Ogtrop

Kindness Online Starts With You (and We’re Here to Help)

Have you ever had someone write something horrible online that was to you, for you, or about you? You know, the sort of thing that most people (either out of a sense of politeness [...]

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January 4, 2012 at 1:31PM | Kristin van Ogtrop

What’s Better: To Start the Year With a Bang or a Whimper?

In other words, do you embrace your postholiday, back-to-work funk and stay in your pajamas for as long as possible, eating leftover cheese fondue and wondering how early in the day you can start [...]

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