Moving with your partner to a new house is a life-changing event. Regardless of whether you are about to get married, are already married, or are simply in a relationship, you will need to make a few major decisions before moving with your partner.
It's safe to say that the entire moving process will be busy for both you and your partner. Initially it might seem stressful; however, it’s going to fetch you a lot of benefits in the long term. We have a few tips for you that will be helpful before, during, and after your relocation with your spouse or partner.
Benefits of moving with your partner
Moving with your spouse requires reasonable planning, coordination, and money. It can seem stressful, but there are a lot of advantages to moving together.
- Emotionally, you will get more time to spend with each other and support each other.
- Financially, you can help each other by sharing the rent and the grocery bills. Also, you will save both time and money to commute and meet one another. Moreover, if you are a married couple, you will at least not need to bear the expense of traveling often to spend quality time with your spouse.
Here are a few things that you must keep in mind before you go apartment hunting on Craigslist:
Plan your move in advance
Now that you know you are moving in with your partner, it’s be a great idea to decide where you will move to and when you will move since there will be a lot of factors to consider. For instance, if you are in a long-distance relationship, you’ll need to choose if you will move to your partner’s city or if your partner will come to your city.
Pets and children
It’s also important to discuss with your partner if you have a place for pets in your new house or if you are ready to welcome children in the days ahead.
Get rid of unwanted items
After you have decided to move with your partner, there you are going to have lots of questions that you’ll need to ask. For instance, what you will do with your furniture and heavy appliances? How will you decide on the items you’ll want to keep and items you want to get rid of. How are you going to deal with having two house-worths of furniture if you and your partner both have a house prior to moving?
Tip: Don’t just randomly throw away your unwanted possessions into the trash. Think about alternatives that can help you earn some cash.
- Donate furniture you haven’t used enough to a charitable organization. By doing this you can get a tax break at the end of the year. It’s better to give things you don’t need to less privileged people rather than have those things be scrapped.
Tip: Check with charitable foundation regarding what they accept and what they don’t. Some charities might not accept used mattresses or specific types of furniture and appliances.
- Give any unwanted furniture, appliances, and other items that are in good condition to your family members or friends. College students who are moving to a dormitory or people who are relocating to their first apartment are those who will want to save money which makes them great candidates as buyers.
- You can also sell your used furniture, appliances, and more through a garage sale or through online means.
- If your possessions are seriously damaged or torn out, we suggest you dispose of them. There’s no point in carrying broken items that will increase both your load and moving costs. Alternatively, you can take them to a recycling center and get them recycled free of cost.
Divide the living space and time
Though you and your partner will be living together in your new house, you and your spouse will need your own personal spaces. To gain a clear idea about this, answer the following questions:
- Do you need a separate working space for yourself and/or your partner?
- Will your spouse need an entertainment space or a room to pursue their hobby?
- Is one closet sufficient for both of you or do you need to buy an additional closet?
With the answers to these questions, you will know if there’s any need for you to have an extra room for studying, pursuing a hobby, and more. If your answer is to any of the above is yes, you may need to search for a bigger house with two or three bedrooms that offers all the space you need.
Check your finances
Keep track of your finances before you plan to move with your partner to a new house. It’s unlikely that both you and your partner will be earning the same amount, so we suggest you consider the following while dividing the bills.
Here are a few tips:
- If income is roughly the same for both of you, we suggest you divide bills and other monthly expenses equally.
- If one of you earns more than the other, it’s a good idea to distribute the expenses accordingly. For instance, if your income is $50,000 and your partner’s income is $24,000, bearing two-thirds of the expenses while the remaining one-third is contributed by your partner is a fairly reasonable arrangement.
- While distributing expenses, we advise that you divide the bills equally between you and your partner. Alternatively you can calculate the amount of money needed from either you or your partner and have that money transferred to the other person so that they can pay the bill themselves.
- You may need to create a joint bank account where both of you can deposit money that will be used later to pay the bills.
- It’s important to generally discuss spending habits as well in order to eliminate the chance of any controversy if one of you prefers to save while the other enjoys spending profusely.
Professional movers vs DIY move
Another major decision you may need to make would be the choice between moving by yourself or hiring a moving company.
- If both of you plan to leave your individual houses and move into a new house, you can hire professional movers who will help both of you make the process smoother and easier.
- Even if one partner is moving into the other partner’s house, you might need to still hire a moving company in case either of you don’t have the time and energy to contribute towards the move.
- If you don’t have enough time to prepare for the move due to your busy office schedule and no friends who can help with packing, hiring professional movers should cover everything for you.
If you still opt to make a DIY move with the help of those you know, be prepared to serve plentiful pizzas to those who have helped you prepare for moving day! Also, you should be ready to help them out too in case they need help relocating in the future.
Manage your schedule
Don’t forget to think about the daily schedules for the both of you during the rush of dealing with the various parts of the move. For instance, if your partner is a night owl and you are an early morning bird, we suggest you sort out these differences before you even move in together.
It would be wrong to expect your partner’s complete attention if he or she has parts of their personal life that needs to continue. You both should value each other’s time which will make helping each other easier while making the time you spend with each other even more special and close.
Select a new bed
Here are a few crucial decisions you need to make regarding the bed and mattress before you move to a new house with your partner:
- Discuss the type of mattress that you and your partner have or prefer. You’ll likely need to purchase a new mattress that will help the both of you sleep comfortably in your new house. We suggest you both visit a mattress store and try various models in order to pick the one that gives the most comfort to the both of you.
- Ensure you choose a big model that will provide sufficient space for both of you to sleep comfortably.
If you manage to get a new bed with enough space, both you and your partner will be able to enjoy a good sleep as a couple. Moreover, proper rest will make it unlikely that there will be irritation or tension between the two of you which will serve to make acclimating to your new home much easier.
Divide the household chores
If you plan to live with your partner, make sure you divide the chores necessary to maintain the house. When living with your partner, you will have to do more cleaning and laundry as compared to when you were living alone since twice the people means twice the maintenance. You will also need to cook more food and wash more dishes.
Here’s what you can do to make the workload less for both of you:
- Talk with your partner about the chores you can do by yourself and what tasks you want them to do. For instance, if neither of you are interested in cleaning the bathroom or doing in-depth cleaning, we recommend you look for a person or professional who can do the cleaning for you. Or the both of you do the task together to even out the displeasure.
- Discuss the level of cleanliness that is preferred by your and your partner. For instance, ask your partner if they would mind having the utensils stay in the sink until the next morning before they get washed.
- If you or your partner don’t have sufficient time for household chores, we suggest you hire a professional cleaner if your budget allows you to do so.
Take time for yourself
Though by now you should know a lot about moving with your partner or spouse, you might not be aware of how to deal with your emotions. It’s undeniable that moving to a new house will bring a meaningful change in your life, however your stress could increase if you decide to move with your partner. Taking too much stress can create an impact on your sleeping pattern and your mood. Make sure you try mitigating such effects on both you and your partner.
You may need to make a lot of adjustments if you move into a new house with your partner. Both of you would have left each other's old house, family, friends, and habits so that you both could share each other’s lives together, and it will take time for the both of you to adjust to such an arrangement.
Be prepared for the worst
In the excitement of living with your partner, don’t forget to have an 'escape route’ ready in case you fail to adjust with your partner while living together. Before signing the agreement, you both must decide who will live in the house and who will move out if you separate from each other. You must put the name of the person who will stay in the house in you’re the rental agreement.
What’s Next?
While the moving date nears, you can add some creativity to your moving chores to help reduce your moving stress. You can decide upon the house design, paint color, wall arts, furniture, and decorations that the both of you might want to use in your new home.
Conflicts of interest may happen, however if both of you make some adjustments, you can easily live happily together with your partner.