Today’s blog will help you organize your home and your “stuff” before moving in together. I am excited to publish this blog because it is something most people don’t think about until it’s a little too late.
If you are about to move in with your partner, this is very important and practical information that needs to be considered before the move to help create an organized and harmonious blending of lives.
For the best advice, we tapped a 4-time Bucks Happening winner, fellow Central Bucks Chamber of Commerce Women In Business member, and a true professional in this field. So proud to have as our guest blogger Audrey Cupo, professional organizer and owner of A Better Space in Bucks County to get you organized and off to a happy start!
How To Create An Organized Home
Audrey Cupo, Professional Organizer and Owner of A Better Space
Are you recently engaged to be married? Have you recently “tied the knot”? Congratulations!
The prospect of a new life together can be very exciting. However, it can bring challenges. One of them being blending two people – or families – into one.
As a professional organizer, I am often contacted by people who have recently married or have moved in together and are now struggling with trying to fit two households into one.
As we all know, we can’t keep everything we own and still have room for someone else. It takes compromise, a concept we become so familiar with when in a relationship.
Just how do we make it all work?
- Communication is key. You need to discuss what is going to stay and what is going to go. You cannot expect that one person is to give up everything in order to move into the other person’s home. It requires “blended organization”.
- Avoid duplication. You might have double the furniture. You have to decide which sets of furniture will stay and which will go. Will they be sold, given to other family members or friends or perhaps donated? NOTE: I discourage using a storage unit long term to solve this problem. It is an expense we don’t need to incur if we make some decisions.
- The kitchen is a very common area in which blended organization comes into play. Double the dishes and cook wear, this must be sorted through prior to the move.
- Closet space. It is possible that you might both need to weed out your wardrobe to reduce its contents to make it fit into the designated area.
- Just too much stuff. You might have lots of artwork, nick knacks, collectibles. Do you have enough room to incorporate all of it? Does some of it need to be eliminated? I find that if someone is that passionate about something, you should do whatever you can to keep the collection in tact, but within reason. If it’s a large collection, it just might need to be downsized in order to make it fit into the home. Discuss solutions that work for everyone involved.
Remember, we need to own our possessions, not have our possessions own us!
The bottom line is that when you are combining households, you need to be sure to take the time to communicate about how each other’s possessions will fit into the living space.
It might mean eliminating things altogether or it might mean reducing the amount.
The other factor that comes into play is how each of you function, but that is a discussion for another day. (Be sure to read my next blog entitled “Why Is My Partner Causing Clutter?”)
If you have questions about how to blend your home to accommodate each other, don’t hesitate to contact me at A Better Space at (215) 491-5193 or visit my website at https://www.4abetterspace.com. I would be happy to show you how you can achieve the home you envision for you and your special someone.
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Audrey Cupo is a full-time Professional Organizer and the sole proprietor of A BETTER SPACE based in Bucks County, PA. She specializes in residential organizing and focuses her business on helping people eliminate clutter, get organized and stay organized with her in-home services. Audrey is the creator of the “U Can Do It” information product line, writes blogs, articles, and guest blogs. Her public speaking and workshops throughout the Bucks and Montgomery County areas focus on various topics including eliminating clutter, residential organizing, time management, paper management and household budgeting. To learn more about what A BETTER SPACE can do for you and to sign up for her free monthly newsletter “Organizing News You Can Use”, visit https://www.4abetterspace.com/.