Moving in with a partner is a monumental step in your life. It combines the emotions of committing to a relationship, the excitement of a new home and the logistical challenge of relocation. While this is undoubtedly a happy time, for many couples it can also be highly stressful. Often the planning and practical aspects of the move can distract you from all the wonderful advantages. That’s why we’ve created this guide to moving in with a partner. By putting all the things you need to do in one place, you can clear some space in your head to remind yourself why you’re doing this in the first place. In this moving in with a partner checklist, we’ll cover all the benefits of moving in together, from the emotional, to the practical and financial advantages. Then we’ll run you through the most important steps you need to consider in both the decision-making phase and the moving phase.
Benefits of Moving In With a Partner
Emotional
There are a wide range of benefits to moving in with a partner, but first and foremost should be the emotional connection. Moving in with each other is committing to a new stage in your relationship. This decision signifies an acknowledgment that you want to be with one another and it’s making a tangible move in that direction. Beyond this symbolic value, moving in with your partner means you get to see each other everyday. It eliminates the need to coordinate schedules just to find time to see the person you care about and makes that a part of your daily routine.
Practical
There are many practical advantages that can make moving in with a partner a very sensible decision. You can save a lot of time in your schedule without having to arrange times to meet up with your partner. All that time spent travelling between your houses and the effort put into the planning can be turned into extra time to have quality time together.
In addition, if you’ve been living on your own, or with housemates, you have likely been carrying the brunt of household chores and cooking duties. Living with a partner can mean splitting these duties down the middle, or sharing them in a way that works for both of you. If you love cooking and they prefer cleaning up, work to your strengths.
Financial
Saving money through shared rent and split bills is a massive advantage of moving in with a partner. When you only pay for one room for two people, you can start to put that extra money towards a fund for travel, a house or even doing the things you both love. Alternatively, splitting the rent can be an excellent chance to improve your living standards and move into a nicer place or a more convenient location.
Just remember, it’s always important to discuss how you want to go about splitting bills and whether you want to combine finances
before you move in together. This is an essential discussion to have to make sure you’re on the same page and there isn’t a financial source of tension that can build over time.
For some couples, splitting everything down the middle works.
For others with different salaries, it can be better to pay an amount proportionate to what you earn. Whatever method you choose, decide on it together beforehand and make sure you’re both comfortable with the solution.
Deciding Where To Live
Purge unwanted/needed items
It might sound strange, but doing a purge of all of your unnecessary belongings before you decide where to live can be a really useful approach. Not only will it remove a lot of the clutter from your life, but it will also give you a better idea of how much space the two of you will need. Understanding how much of your stuff is essential and how much isn’t can really help you narrow down the type and size of home that will suit you. While you may need to repeat this exercise again before or after your move, removing the clutter can also save you some money when it comes to your moving service.
Keep, sell, donate or discard
You essentially have four options when assessing what you’ll do with each of your items: keep, sell, donate or discard. While there are sub-categories of the ‘keep’ option - which we’ll get into below - these four options will help you quickly decide what to do with all of your belongings. If you end up with a particularly large ‘sell’ pile, you can organise a garage sale or put them up on Gumtree, Facebook Marketplace or eBay to start putting some money towards your moving fund.
What to do with excess items
If you’ve gone through your purge and still have an excessive amount of items in your ‘keep’ pile, you may need to look for other options so you still have
space to move into your new place. Some people like to get creative, potentially using beloved items as art fixtures on the wall or finding ways to store them out of place. If you have extra furniture that you don’t want to get rid of, this probably won’t work. In which case,
short-term or
long-term storage can be a perfect solution. If you plan on moving into a bigger home in the future, or hope to start a family, keeping those extra items in storage can end up saving you money down the line.
Moving into one of your current homes
Once you have cleared away all the unnecessary items in your life, it will be much simpler to decide the right place for you. There are two main options to choose between: moving into one of your current homes or moving into a new home. If your current places don’t have the space or you are both wanting to move out, that makes it simpler. If you both love your own place, then it might be a tricky decision. Choosing one of your current places can save a lot of time and effort looking for a new home, moving both of your stuff and dealing with real estate agencies.
Moving into a new home
Choosing to move into a new home together can be an exciting way to have a fresh start for both of you. If you both know what you want and agree on it, that’s ideal. If you have different ideas, try writing up what qualities you’re both looking for and starting with the areas where you overlap.
The Moving Process
Set a date
Making a plan and making it early is the secret to a successful move. Setting a date gives you a nice time frame to work with that allows everything else to fall into place. If you’re moving to a new home together, make sure the date works with the notice period for both of your existing leases.
Organise movers
Once you have chosen a date, you can start to organise logistics with your moving company. Whether you’re just renting a moving truck, getting movers to help, or having a whole
valet packing and unpacking service, the date will help you to lock in these plans. If there are any parts of the moving process that you’re unsure about, ask your moving consultants as they’ll be able to give you the best advice from their extensive experience.
Provide notice
Make sure you notify your current landlord and tenants of your upcoming move. It’s important to do this with at least the amount of time required by your lease agreement, though even earlier can be kind.
Pack early
Start your packing process as early as possible to give yourself enough time to do it properly without stress. Begin with your least essential items first and source yourself some high quality packing materials so that your items will be protected during transit.
Get in touch with our moving consultants if you need any assistance with packing materials or packing itself.
Organise storage
Before you move, organise your storage of any excess items so that you’re not paying to have them moved. Whether you’re doing
short or long term storage, you can have your items picked up and taken to the facility for you so that you can keep focusing on your move.
Update your details
Make sure you’ve contacted your utility companies, subscription services and the post office to change your details. This will ensure a smooth transition into your new home.
Start Planning Your Move Today
Throughout all of this it’s important to remember that you don’t have to do everything yourselves. Getting help from friends or a moving company can help to make a smooth transition and ensure you get off to the best possible start in your new home together. To learn more about any of the tips covered in this guide, or to start planning a successful move, get in touch with our experienced moving consultants. Reach out today on
13 25 54 or simply
click here to request a free quote.
