So far, we have moved his dresser into the bedroom and hung his clothes in the closet. The closet is not at all finished, clothes are just sort of hung haphazardly, and there are far too many things hanging in there anyway (time to get rid of things!), but at least it's usable. There are two exploding duffel bags of clothes on the floor, and a big box of shoes and hats (yes, his) on top of the dresser. It's kind of a mess. But, like I said, I'm trying to stay calm about it. I know things will get put away eventually.
The living room is an explosion of camping gear, but at least it's a bit more contained than it was when we brought it in (in several grocery bags) on Sunday. Soon, it will all go downstairs to the garage for storage. And speaking of the garage...it currently contains: 5 plastic storage bins full of everything from winter coats to spare electronics, boxes of books and photo albums, luggage, backpacks, two storage/book shelves, sleeping bags, skis, spare full-size bedding (our bed is a queen), and a few miscellaneous things I can't recall at the moment. It's not very well organized - we just kind of piled it all in there - but it will be! Free storage!
This Sunday, we are tackling the rest of the stuff...his desk and many boxes of books and things are still in storage, as well as the kitchen table and bookshelves that are going to the garage. And more, I'm sure.
I think my new goal is to have everything put away and settled by the end of the month. That gives us 3 weeks (and Will is out of town for one weekend) - maybe that's not enough time? Eh, it's good to have goals, anyway.
I did have a few questions for those of you out there who are also cohabitatating...How do you divide your household chores and finances?
Some ideas I've heard so far:
- Make a chore chart/rotating chore wheel (which feels a little like college roommates to me)
- Each person picks a few chores and sticks with them (this sounds like the best option so far, right now - mostly - he does dishes and I do laundry...haven't talked about the other chores yet)
- Just do things when you notice they need to be done (which may end up with one person doing most of the work)
- Joint credit card for household expenses: food, cleaning supplies, etc (not quite ready for a joint credit card)
- Every month, tally up how much each person spent and whoever paid less pays the other person the difference (maybe the best option? What about groceries that are not shared? Split 'em anyway?)
- Split things as you go, go over receipts every time you go shopping (sounds annoying)
We are not married, and a joint bank account is really not really an option. Neither is hiring a maid. In the past, I did most of the housework, because it was my house. We sort of split the food costs (I bought my own groceries, he paid for most meals out), and I think it usually evened out. However, now that everything is communal, we want to figure out an easy and fair way to divide it all.
So...how do you divide things up with your live-in significant other? I'd love to hear your stories about how you make it work, and if/how things have changed over the months/years. Did things go as expected?
