by Hannah Stevens
Photo by Alexandra Gorn on Unsplash
Whether you’re newly engaged or well into the wedding planning process, you’re probably already dreaming about your new home and sharing a living space with the love of your life. However, with all the planning for your dream wedding and honeymoon, it’s easy to put other things on hold. You most likely will do most of the organizing and decorating of your newly-wed home after the honeymoon. If time allows, however, it’s a good idea to get a head start on turning your new, shared house into a home.
Preventative Measures
Declutter
Keep your home as tidy as you can prior to the wedding to avoid stressful post-honeymoon clutter. This is especially true of the bedroom. Undoubtedly, you will enjoy your honeymoon immensely, but the truth is that travel can be exhausting. This means that you both will be happy to settle into sharing a sleep space – but only if the space is comfy and inviting after tiring travels. Also consider getting all of the wedding gifts organized and in an appropriate place before the honeymoon and avoid putting off decluttering until you return from your amazing honeymoon destination. You will want your home and bed to beckon you with irresistible comfort. This will help prevent silly arguments or hasty, regretted words.
The Great Divide
If you and your fiancé weren’t already cohabitating, there’s a good chance that the two of you are going to have two (or three) of everything. Dividing personal property and deciding on what stays and what goes can be a delicate endeavor. This is another task that should be taken on as soon as possible, preferably before the wedding and honeymoon. Even if you don’t get to the garage sale or posts on Craigslist to get rid of unwanted items, the two of you can sit down and make a “Stay” and “Go” list.
Now that we’ve covered the pre-prep, let’s get down to the details of taking the stress out of setting up your new home so that the honeymoon phase stays strong.
Create a Budget
You probably got plenty of practice setting up a budget from planning your wedding and your honeymoon. Now that you and your fiancé are melding your lives together, you will need to talk about your newlywed finances and how each of you will allocate for bills and household expenses. Remember that this budget is a long-term commitment and will require open communication to avoid arguments.
Follow Through with the Stay-and-Go List
Now that you know whether you’re going to keep, sell, or give away items, it’s time to actually follow through in getting them to the appropriate places. Try to avoid putting this task off and storing things in your shed or garage instead – you want your home to be a clean slate.
Enjoy Yourselves
Remember that you are newlyweds, and that this time of your life should be full of fun and excitement. Play around with designing and decorating your home and designate a day to shop together or organize one room. You may not know it now, but you’re going to miss this. It’s important to be able to look back and remember how much fun it was moving into your new home together.
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