Moving in together? Don’t let it ruin your relationship!

So you’ve decided to move in together, and it’s SO exciting. You buy new bed clothes and cutlery, and pick your favourite couple photos to put on the mantelpiece – but before you get carried away, remember: living with someone isn’t easy. Even the most charming prince may leave his toe nail clippings on the coffee table, or his beard shavings in the sink. It’s good to be aware of the realities of living with your other half. Here are some tips on make the transition as smooth as possible!

If possible, move somewhere neutral
If you move into his current abode, or he moves into yours, it won’t actually feel like it belongs to both of you. It’s better to find somewhere new. That way, you won’t feel like you have to ask if you can have shower or use the oven.

Agree on payment methods
Moving in together means sharing the bills. Make sure to agree beforehand about how you’re going to split them. If you’re not married, it’s better to keep your finances separate and agree that you’re each going to put a certain amount towards groceries etc. There’s nothing romantic about arguing over money.

Be aware of his bad habits
You’ve probably spent quite a lot of time together beforehand, so you’ll know a lot of his bad habits anyway. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that he’ll miraculously turn into a clean freak once you move in together, it won’t happen!

Compromise
The beauty of TV nowadays is that we can record what we want to watch and watch it later – but this doesn’t mean the end of fights over the remote control. If he wants to watch Ice Truckers on Sunday evening and you just want to watch Friends all day, be prepared to compromise!

Don’t storm out
Now that you live together, you can’t storm off after a fight. And if you do, you can really stay out for a couple of hours before running out of things to do.  Try and find a better way to resolve conflict. You don’t want to be that couple that the neighbours hear screaming at each other in the dead of night.

Make time for each other
It’s easy to get complacent about spending quality time together when you’re living together. Remember to dedicate at least one night a week to quality time. Even if you don’t go anywhere, it doesn’t matter. Just make sure you don’t fall into the rut of reading your book in the bedroom while he watches Storage Hunters every night of the week.