You’ve done it. You’ve found your person and now you’re starting a new life together. But as exciting as this phase of your life may be, it’s still going to be a significant adjustment period for both you and your new spouse.
Indeed, the first challenge you may face as you learn to blend your lives is making the transition into your shared home. This article discusses the four best strategies to help you and your partner seamlessly move into your marital home.
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Before you begin the process of combining your lives and sharing your living space, it’s imperative that you do some prep work. This means that you need to make detailed plans covering the key aspects of your move.
This should involve everything from settling on how household expenses will be shared and how housekeeping chores will be allotted.
When you’re setting up your marital home, it’s also good practise to resist the notion that your new home will simply be a variation on the house you lived in as a singleton. At the very least, you should collaborate with your new spouse to determine what items to pack, what to sell or donate, and what to discard. In general, if you don’t strategically downsize your belongings before you move, you risk turning your newlywed nest into a chaotic, cluttered mess.
Once you’ve determined what items will move with you into your new home, it’s time to schedule the movers and start organising and packing.
Moving houses is, unquestionably, one of the most laborious, time-consuming, and stressful projects you will ever undertake, no matter how lovely the payoff in the end. However, making good use of checklists can help you prioritise and keep track of tasks, manage your budget and schedule effectively, and ensure that nothing gets lost or overlooked along the way.
For example, in addition to using checklists to determine which of your existing belongings you will keep and which you won’t, you can also make a list of items you will need to buy to ensure you and your spouse will have everything you need when you move into your new home.
As we’ve seen, moving can be incredibly stressful, and that can lead to a lot of unnecessary conflict between you and your partner. So to salvage your relationship, not to mention your sanity, it’s imperative to be proactive in your stress management.
For instance, because setting up a home takes time, make the creation of relaxing, comforting spaces the first order of business. Taking the time to furnish and decorate your new couple’s bedroom is going to be time well spent because it will ensure that you and your loved one always have a serene space to retreat to when life becomes overwhelming — a space where you can reconnect as a couple and remember what truly matters amidst all the tumult of the busy world.
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Moving into your new marital home doesn’t mean that you can just leave the old spaces behind. There are also some essential obligations you’ll want to attend to as you and your partner prepare to vacate your old living space(s).
If you are renting, repairing any damage done to your home or apartment while you were living there can help you avoid costly fees and may even enable you to recoup any security deposits you might have paid.
However, repairs are even more vital if you or your new spouse are selling a home. Simple jobs such as replacing broken fixtures and tarnished door knobs or hardware on cabinets can significantly enhance the aesthetic appeal of the home. These fine details can be highly attractive for prospective buyers, who inevitably will be more attracted to properties that are well maintained and cared for.
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If you or your new spouse want to take your renovations to the next level in order to increase the property’s resale value, then you might consider upgrading your appliances. Installing a new water heater or energy-efficient kitchen appliances can be a major draw for homebuyers and that can provide a significant return on your investment.
There are few times in your life that are more exciting, more hopeful, and more memorable than when you and your loved one first move into your marital home. At the same time, however, blending households is by no means an easy process. Consolidating houses can be challenging and stressful, as can the process simply of transitioning from one home to another. To make the process as seamless and stress-free as possible, it’s important to plan ahead, focus on organisation, prioritise stress management, and remember to prepare your former homes as well as the new one for the move to come.