Combining two households into one is never easy. I have worked with dozens of couples who have come together later in life after living in their own homes. And I did it myself just one year ago.
- Before you do anything, please sit down and take some time to be sure you are both on the same page. You may need to let go of a lifetime of stuff in order to live comfortably in your new space. It is important to have one or several discussions about who is willing to let go of what, what is negotiable and what isn’t.
- Create a plan for the next few weeks or months depending how much time you have and consider helping each other instead of working alone as you go through and downsize. Working with someone who is not attached to what you own is always helpful. Hopefully this will strengthen your relationship before you tackle the stressful task of moving.
- If you run into disagreements or roadblocks consider renting a storage locker to store the items that you can’t bring yourself to part with but that are not necessary to keep in your new space. Set a deadline following your move for clearing out the locker so that you are not spending money for months or years storing things you don’t need.
- You will probably have a lot of furniture, artwork and knickknacks. Keep in mind that it can’t all go with you so choose what really brings you joy. You may decide you want to buy some new pieces that will suit your new life together rather than bringing all those pieces from you past life into your new home.
Moving is definitely stressful but this is an exciting transition so embrace the challenge and don’t forget to try to enjoy the process of letting go and moving into your new life with less.
Check out this post I wrote about my personal experience with combining households. https://getorganizedbydesign.ca/lessons-from-combining-households/