When you have reached a point in your relationship that moving together makes good sense, there are some things you will have to remember. Two can usually live cheaper than one, but two takes up more space than one. While it may some planning and a little elbow grease, you can make small changes that have a big impact on your space.
Step one – if you don’t use it, lose it!
Now is the time when you must be brutally honest with yourself. When you live on your own, you have the option of dragging along your rock collection from the 6th grade, but when two are trying to live in the same space, it is illogical. Look at everything and categorized it into three sections.
Category 1 – things you use and need often
Category 2 – things you seldom use, but that means enough to you to pay for storage to keep it
Category 3 – things that you don’t use and won’t miss that you are willing to donate to charity
Once you have donated everything you are willing to let go of, re-check the remaining pieces.
Make sure you are only moving things that will benefit you.
Step two – he loves it/you hate it stuff
Say he has a recliner that managed to get past the donate step. It is old and smells funny and sits a little crooked, but he loves it. You can try telling him it does not go with your other furniture or you can try to ignore it and cringe every time your mom visits. But, the best way to handle this is direct honesty. If you just cannot live with it, say so. But give him options. You can add this item to your wedding registry.
That way you set a time limit on how long the chair remains and you agree that the funds on your wedding registry will go toward a new recliner. Or, you can use the money that you save when people gift you with other items you need to purchase a recliner.
The costs of your wedding come first, but you agree on anything remaining. This is a gift to both of you and it will keep the peace.
Tips to make the most of the available space
- Pegboards
- Install pegboards as a backsplash in the kitchen. Use screw-on hooks to allow you to use the space to hang pots and pans, measuring spoons, strainers and other things.
- Tension rods
- Place several tension rods vertically across a shelf. This makes tall and thin cubby holes that allow you to store platters, cookie sheets, and plates. This opens up a lot of your shelf space.
- Slanted drawer organizers
- Starting at the lower right corner of a kitchen drawer place a small drawer organizer in a slant, work your way to the upper left corner. Small items fit in the corners and the center accommodates long sparklers, salad servers, and other long utensils.
- Over the counter storage
- If your kitchen cabinets have a space between the top of the cabinets and the ceiling, do not lose it. Purchase storage boxes that have slide out drawers. This allows you to store things you do not need every day.
- Back of door organizers
- Use the back of your closet doors to hang organizers. This is a great way to store scarves, gloves, shoes, make-up, game pieces, and other objects. This is a great help in the bathroom. An organizer can store toiletries, tissue, shampoo, and many other things.
- Dual purpose furniture
- Take advantage of footrests by getting them with a removable top. This gives you hidden storage for books, magazines, television remotes and such. A futon sofa allows for more room and easily folds out for a guest bed. Build shelves under stairs for additional storage.
There are plenty of other ideas for making the most out of your space. Work on it together. Choosing a property you’re about to spend a good part of your life is not an easy decision. Whether you are in for buying your first property, you could also earn from it, learn from it and learn to live together in it! This will be a bonding experience. You will respect each other’s desire for items when you see how hard you work to keep it.