10 Rules for Living Together as a Newly Married Couple

1. Communicate about your expectations for living together

What does living together mean to you? Is it sharing everything all the time, or is there a more independent element to it? You should spend time together, but also grant each other some alone time. Everyone needs their time to take a breath and be by themselves.

2. Discuss having a household finance fund

This will be useful for buying household items that you are both sharing in the home. When you need more toilet paper or detergent, one of you can just go and get it without discussing whose turn it is to pay for it.

3. Be willing to compromise

You might be an extremely type A person but when you’re sharing your living space with another person, you’ve got to tone down your diva tendencies and be willing to not get your own way all the time.

4. Split cleaning responsibilities

Unless you’re paying a person to clean for you, you’ll have to figure out who is taking care of which chores. Once the cleaning is done, you can celebrate your spotless home with a much-deserved glass of wine.

5. Keep things tidy

Yes, a lot of these points revolve around hygiene but there have been far too many cases of a slob and a neat freak living together for the first time and nearly coming to blows. A dirty pile of dishes in the sink for a week is not okay anymore. Do your best to keep your living space spick and span.

6. Come To An Agreement About Guests

While some people may be happy to have friends or family popping in at 11pm on a Wednesday or at 6am on Sunday, others may be less so inclined. Have a conversation with your partner about guests and make sure you're on the same page about this.

7. De-Clutter and Redecorate Together

Now that you’re moving in together, it's a good time to get rid of the things that have outlived their purpose. Collaborating on the decor and combining both of your styles could be a great bonding experience, resulting in a living space that belongs to both of you, equally.

8. Continue To Have Date Nights

It can be really easy to slip into a pattern of staying home, making dinner and watching a movie, and while everyone loves a cosy night, doing it every night can become a little bit stale. Set date nights throughout the month to get out of the house and do something different, unexpected and spontaneous.

9. Express Appreciation

'Please' and 'Thank You' go a long way to make someone feel appreciated and not taken for granted.

10. Remember that you love this person

Even though the little frustrations of day-to-day life can feel overwhelming, remind yourself that you’re sharing your home with your best friend, and the person you love the most – so forgive them their odd habits and peculiarities. You’ll get used to them eventually.