In today’s society, with many people in partnerships it is no surprise that many are choosing to move in with each other. In fact, in a study of several people 64.5 percent has cohabited with a romantic partner at some point outside of marriage. Although this can be an exciting step for many couples, it is also a daunting one.
If you are moving in with your partner, it is important to have a discussion prior to this move about your plans in terms of the spaces you will both occupy and where you will put your belongings. Do not forget that there may be steps you need to take before you even move in.
For example, there may need to be renovations carried out or you may want to decorate the house in a particular way. If you find that your old furniture is outdated or does not match with the house that you are moving into, a good idea would be to sell your furniture and use the money from this sale to put towards buying new furniture. It would be even more productive if both partners sold their furniture as they would combine their money for brand new furniture for their home.
One of the problems that many couples face is figuring out how to merge their belongings into one space together. Often, we are so accustomed to our own living arrangements that it is difficult to factor in another person especially if we do not want to get rid of some of our belongings for the other person. However, when moving in there are ways to make more space by putting your belongings into storage outside of the house. This means that your house will be free of clutter and your partner will not be frustrated with an overwhelming number of items in the house.
It is even more challenging to come to an agreement with your partner if you are moving into their house as opposed to moving into a new place together. The first step you should make if you are moving in with your partner is to assess whether the person already living in the space should remove personal items in the house. This means surveying all of the belongings already in the house and seeing if they could give some of them up. This will hopefully make room for your own belongings.
It is also important that there is a balance between the items that both people have. Allowing one partner to have more control over the space may even lead to friction and tension later on, especially if they are not willing to compromise with their partner. In this sense, there should be a high level of fairness and equality implemented when moving in with each other. However, this does not mean that you both need to share every room in the house.
Organizing your shared home as a couple is all about combining your lives, but it can be very helpful for you to each have your own area. We all need our own personal space too so if there is a particular room or space in the house that would be more suitable for one person to put their belongings, it may be worthwhile to come up with an agreement with your partner.
For example, if there is an office room and one partner is still studying for something, it may be fair to allow them to use this room more frequently. However, with communal spaces like the kitchen and the bathroom, there should be near enough an even split on the number of items and products that each partner has in these rooms.
In summary, although moving in with your partner can be stressful, there are always ways to make room for both of your belongings so that it does not lead to arguments in the future.
