5 top tips for moving in with your partner

 

If you’ve just decided to move in with your partner for the first time, you could be experiencing a wide range of emotions, from excitement to even feeling a bit nervous and apprehensive. What if they leave wet towels on the bed or have a chair from university that they’re in love with but you’re not that keen on…? Of course, there’s plenty of fantastic reasons to move in with your partner, some are emotional: you both want to spend more time together and be there to support one another. There are also many financial benefits: sharing the costs of living, such as rent, bills and groceries.

Hopefully by this point you’ve had some important conversations and realised there’s a lot more to moving in together than just finding a new home together and moving your belongings in. You both need to have sorted through your both of your belongings to decide what stays and what goes, had the potentially awkward conversation about money and how much rent you both can afford and generally preparing to share a space with each other 24/7. Plus, conversations around your approaches to chores can really affect your relationships, in fact, figures from energy provider E.ON reveals that 10% of couples argue about the washing up on a daily basis!

Well don’t fret, here at Masons Self Storage, we’ve been there so we had a chat with our team, and some of our Vale of Glamorgan based customers who have recently had the same experience, and compiled a list of our top tips to make moving in with your partner a little easier and a lot less stressful.

1. Take a good look at your belongings

Most likely you’ll find things that are duplicates between your two current homes, for example, two lots of kitchen objects like cutlery, plates etc. Or perhaps bigger items like furniture, maybe you both own a bed, sofa or coffee table. There’s never been a better time to sort through your belongings. Plus, as we’ve discussed before, there’s lots of research coming out recently that suggests a decluttered home equals a decluttered mind!

So, we really recommend sorting through your things and deciding what to keep, what to sell, what to donate to charity and what to throw away. If you really can’t part with your belongings, there’s always the option of keeping things in storage until you’re ready to decide too!

2. Declutter decisions

For some, the pre-move de-clutter might seem like the perfect opportunity to get rid of their partner’s ugly or seemingly useless stuff. However, you need to remember that your partner might have emotional attachments to certain belongings. If you really want to get rid of this stuff, you’ll have more success if you use gentle suggestions and open communication.

Always remember, sharing a space is all about compromise and communication with your partner. Think about creative storage solutions, reorganise the space or maybe take advantage of a local storage facility like Masons Self Storage where you can access you or your partner can access things easily, 24/7, 365 days a week.

 

3. Your place or theirs?

The next question is: will you move into their place, stay in yours or find a new place together? This might be an easy decision if you both live at home with parents still, with housemates or in an area that doesn’t work for you both. Plus, maybe one of you has a pet that needs to have an outside space? Talk about your must-haves for your new home, if either of your places doesn’t work for the other, start your search for a new home together.

Often, the decision whether to go or stay might have less to do with the actual property and more to do with a fresh start in your relationship together where you’re starting a new chapter.

 

4. Money & Moving in Together

One of the more awkward aspects of living together for many couples is discussing money and how you’ll split bills. Some people may feel a loss of privacy and control of their individual finances which can create tension or resentment in your relationship. Again, communication here is key. As soon as you can, make some time to sit down and address fears and worries about money. Talk about what you can afford and decide how to pay shared expenses.

We recommend laying out your complete financial picture: income, credit score, any credit card debt or student loans, assets like savings and investments, and other financial obligations. Communicate, be open and honest and be prepared to have those more awkward conversations.

 

5. Moving Day: Do it yourself or hire professional movers?

Finally, you’ll need to decide if you’re moving yourself or hiring moving professionals. For some people, this is simple. Maybe you’ve moved a few times and have a perfect system. You know where to hire a van, friends to help and where to pick up sturdy moving supplies. However, this becomes a bit more difficult if you can’t drive, the two of you live further apart and so becomes a bit more difficult. Also keep in mind that large, fragile items such as televisions, fragile items such as artwork or mirrors may need special packing materials and expert handling to ensure it arrives in one piece!

Here at Masons Self Storage, our mobile storage options could be the perfect solution. Pack up your belongings into one of our mobile units and let us pick it up and drop it off at a pre-arranged address.

 

Whilst this can all seem daunting, living with your favourite person should be a lovely thing to look forward to. Cooking dinner together, having them there if you’ve had a stressful day at work and generally having them around should outweigh all of the stress and hopefully our five top tips help you to get started!

Masons Self Storage offer a range of affordable and flexible self storage options. With rooms starting from just £5 a week in a huge range of sizes that you can access 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, whether you’re looking for a short term solution as you go through the de-cluttering process or a place to store larger items that you’re attached to but don’t have the space for, we can help. We’re based on the edge of Barry, Dinas Powys and Sully and just 10 minutes from Cardiff Bay, Penarth and Cowbridge, with a wide range of rooms and state of the art lifts.