Moving in together is a great step in the right direction. It’s time to take your relationship to the next level and embrace the new life together. However, this joyous occasion also comes with its practical challenges. For starters, you have to deal with the move and combining the stuff both of you have into one cohesive space. This will require some effort on your part, especially if you value different styles. Not to mention that you’ll have to decide what things to discard and what to do with them. That said, make sure that you know in advance what you’ll be dealing with.
Do the Thorough Prep First
The more stuff you have, the more things you’ll have to pack, move, and then go through again as you together choose what fits your new lifestyle together. But, we all tend to hoard a bunch of things, be it clothes, décor, or old furniture, that don’t even make a difference in our own home.
So, before you start the actual moving process, make it a point to address every single item that you own. Think carefully whether you need something even as someone living on their own. Do you use all the furniture and tools? Do you wear every single item of clothing that you own?
It would be a lot better to organize a yard sale and/or donate some items that already don’t have a purpose in your life, and as such, definitely won’t have a purpose when you move in with your partner.
Choose the Style for Your New Home
Before you start packing and moving, it’s important that you discuss the matter of style with your partner. It’s crucial that the two of you come to an agreement about how your home should look and feel. That said, opt for the dominant style such as urban, cozy, sleek, and so on. Even if you can’t decide on just one in general, you can decide on the best mix as well as on styles for different rooms.
Doing this will allow you to make an even better selection of the things that you both currently own so that you can join the stuff that doesn’t fit your vision to the mentioned yard sale and/or donation.
Envision the Things You Own at the New Place
Now that you’re left with things you actually enjoy and like, it’s time to envision just how these things would look in your new place. You have to work together on this one and go between each other’s homes to make the best decisions.
For instance, you have to address the main furniture pieces you’d use but also other details such as decorative bits and bobs. Cushions, throws, and rugs may be mixed and matched, but the point is that both of you are satisfied with the result, or are ready to compromise.
In case you simply can’t reach an agreement on, let’s say, the sofa you want to use for the living room, the best solution might be to buy a completely new sofa that both of you will find appealing. If the situation requires an investment into new furniture, make sure to take things slowly and patiently. After all, both of you have to be 100% sold on the new item you want to introduce into your place.
Address the Duplicates Before You Pack
Obviously, both of you are bound to own items necessary for comfortable modern living. But that also means that you’ll have a lot of duplicates once it’s time to move in together. Before anything else, separate the items that you absolutely need to have and can’t live without. Then it’s time to compare.
Both of you probably own a TV so decide which one is better for your new home. Chances are that both of you have kitchen utensils, appliances, and gadgets, so check those out to decide which ones are more modern, more energy-efficient, fit better in your new space, and so on.
You’re Not on Your Own
After you’ve completed all the mentioned steps, it’s time to pack and move. This isn’t a simple process so don’t beat yourself over the fact that things are progressing slower than you anticipated. Just like Phoenix AZ residents can rely on a Phoenix moving company to offer additional labor to help with the lift and move of heavy boxes, there should be plenty of firms within the industry offering such a service that covers other geographical areas. That way, the whole ordeal will be over faster. Not to mention that you can worry less about handling fragile items when you can count on additional help.
Keep in mind that even with all the preparation and decluttering you’ve done prior to the move you’re bound to have to deal with a bit more decluttering once you transfer all of your stuff to the new place. After all, you’ll be able to decide what fits and matches the best, only when you start designing your interior for real.