Store as much as you like for as long as you like
Store as much as you like for as long as you like
There comes a point in every serious, long-term relationship when you decide the time is right to take the plunge and move in together. It’s an exciting time for everyone, but it’s also one of the most stressful things you will do in your life. And depending on when you do it, it might have an impact on your relationship. According to psychologists, cohabiting couples are actually at an increased risk of divorce if they do eventually get married, compared to those who move in together after marriage. So to mitigate that nasty sounding risk, there are a few things you can do to get your cohabitation off on the right foot – and keep each other happy in the process.
As human beings, we are natural collectors. Living alone, you accumulate everything you need in a house – along with a lot of other ‘stuff’ that’s personal to you. When you move in with another person, the odds are they will have a lot of this essential stuff too. All of this adds up to a scenario where you have eight sets of identical saucepans, towering stacks of plates, four TV’s and mountains of duplicate furniture. So before you move in, take stock of what you each have. You don’t necessarily have to get rid of anything (after all, extra plates are incredibly handy, especially if you’re clumsy!), but that doesn’t mean they should live in the house. Instead, take out a dedicated storage space with Blue Box and use it as a way of storing all those extras. You could also donate some of the bits you don’t want to keep to charity or recycle them!
Everyone is different, especially when it comes to interior style. Moving in together is basically an exercise in compromise – finding the middle ground between your two styles to create your ideal ‘couple’ space. That doesn’t mean that one party should just submit to whatever the other wants – that will only lead to arguments later on. Instead, spend time discussing all of your preferences, hobbies and likes/dislikes, and experiment with ways to present both of those things in your home. That might mean you play mix and match with furnishings for a while, but it will be time well spent.
It doesn’t matter how close you are as a couple and how much you love being around each other – everyone needs some personal space every now and then. When you live apart, your entire home might be your personal space, and it can be difficult to go from having all of the personal space you need to absolutely none. With that in mind, make sure you carve out some room for each of you to be alone in – a space that is just yours. That could be an individual room each, or if you don’t have that much space, it could be the garden (this is my space), or just a nice spot to sit and read without interruption. Whatever form it takes, those spaces for ‘me time’ should be there for each of you, and understood by each of you.
We live in a hyper-connected, technology-filled world, and that has seeped into almost every aspect of our lives. Nowadays, many couples are reporting getting less sleep, mainly due to technology in the bedroom. Whether it’s keeping each other up with late-night texting, or getting sucked into a Netflix binge without meaning to, the tech shouldn’t belong in the bedroom. In fact, studies have shown that keeping technology away from the bedroom can reduce arguments between couples by 60%! So leave the tech downstairs when you head to the land of nod, and you’ll be well on your way to a successful cohabitation.
At Blue Box, we are in the business of helping people get along by freeing up space and hiding away unsightly or bulky items they don’t need every day. A large number of our storage units are used by couples and families who need space in their homes but don’t want to throw away everything they own. For more information about our storage options, just get in touch with us today for a free, no-obligation quote.