Combining households comes with a lot of change which can be very stressful with all of the planning required and emotional attachment to items and places.
Here are a few ways to combine households successfully with less stress.
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Forget the Past
If you are combining households by moving into another place or someone is moving into your place, you must stop thinking of your home as yours and their home as theirs.
Don't call it "my home" or "your home". It is now home to both of you so you should share in the decorating.
Stop Thinking Single
You were independent and did what you want when you wanted.
Now, instead of you making all of the decisions about your home, you should talk to your housemate about things first.
Whether it is which rug to purchase or the person you hired to mow the grass, the decision now affects another person and you should consider them when making decisions.
Having a 30 second conversation will ultimately save hours of disagreements.
Have a Solid Plan
Before trying to cram everything you both have combined into your new home, you must have a solid plan as to what will stay and what will go.
You also need to know exactly where each furniture piece will go in order to lower stress.
Have a solid plan that is written down so both parties are clear about where everything is going.
Don't Force Your Style
If you are lucky, you and your new housemate will share the same decorating style.
Most likely, you will not. Work together to come up with a style that is a blend of both of your styles to make your new home unique and special.
Be Sensitive to Sentimentality
Your new housemate will likely have some items that are not up to your decorating standards, however they hold sentimental value to the other person.
Try to be sensitive to their sentimental side and give them some grace when it comes to those items.
Purge
Before throwing everything in a moving box, purge duplicates in order to lower stress.
You do not need two toasters.
Consider selling those extra items online or having a garage sale before you move so you don't have to waste time and money moving them and the items won't be cluttering your new home until they are sold.
