4 Things to Consider Before Moving in Together

Things have been going great. That next step is waiting. You two were made for each other. It’s time to move in together, but there are some things you should think about first before you take that next step. Living together is a tremendous change: you will now be splitting finances instead of sharing the burden with roommates. You will now need to learn to live with another person who has different habits and routines than you. But before you get the chance to play house and see if this relationship will last forever, there is a lot of planning before that life event goes underway. Here are 4 things to consider before moving in together.

Your Place or Mine? Of course, your first consideration should be where the two of you will live. You will need to consider things like, do either of your living spaces have the capacity to hold a couple? Will you need to move into an entirely new place together? How far from work will the new place be for each of your respective jobs? What does the commute look like? Do either of you work from home? Where is the most affordable place to live? These questions and more are discussions you must have with your partner and come to an agreement.

Prepped to Perfection Preparing to combine households will be a pertinent part of the moving process. You and your significant other will need to inventory what you both have, what you don’t have, and what you have duplicates of. Take this time to measure out your furniture, so you know the dimensions you will be working within the new home. You will also need to take measurements of the new house or apartment. This way, if you happen to have duplicates of larger items, say you each have a dresser, then you can plan out which dresser to use and where, and if the other dresser can go into another room or be packed away into self-storage.

The Purge When combining households, the stress of moving in together might tempt you into throwing everything into boxes and dealing with it later. However, it would behoove you to go through all of that stuff together before you settle down in your new place. Take the time to go through everything and decide what to keep and what you can get rid of. Sell big-ticket items like furniture and electronics that you don’t need anymore. Donate old clothes and shoes to your local shelters. Go through all those miscellaneous things like kitchen gadgets and bathroom belongings and other ins and outs and think about what you can do to downsize together. If you can’t part with certain items and you don’t want to clutter up your new home, consider renting a self-storage unit to keep your things secure.
It’s important to take this step before the move. This will save you time, as you waste a lot more time packing it, unpacking it, and then going through it later. You also save money: if you plan to hire a moving company, that will be less expensive. If you plan on moving yourself, you save money on gas, but you also save yourself the wear and tear of lugging everything around.

Moving On! Alright, it’s move-in day. All of your belongings have been picked through and sold and donated and stored and packed. Time to roll up your sleeves and get some work done. Consider the layout of your new home and work together on the decoration and organization. Start with the simple things, like what sort of decorations you want to display and what colors you want throughout your shared space. Divvy up the shared spaces and compromise on things like bathroom routines, and work and sleep schedules. Layout your kitchen and living room together, and work on moving around the big furniture to maximize space. Consider storage options like shelving, hooks, and cloth bins for storage and organization.
There’s a lot to consider when deciding to take that next step and move in with your significant other. Careful planning and rigorous preparation will eliminate a lot of the stress and headache of uprooting your current life and starting a new one together with your partner. Although you can’t plan for everything, easing into a new routine with careful consideration will smooth down a lot of the rough patches you and your significant other might encounter.