So you’ve decided to take that leap of faith, and move in with your significant other. Hooray! Sleepovers forever and random all-nighters with pizza and chocolate. There are so many things to be happy about and proud of when you decide to take that step into your future, but moving in together is literally taking two different worlds and clashing them together all at once. There are surely problems that arise and arguments that break out even over the smallest of details. It will either work or it won’t, and you’ll know if it will work within the first few months- maybe even weeks.

1. Mine VS. Yours

OK, so we’re in our new home with a ton of boxes waiting to be unpacked. We find two mixers for the kitchen, a mixture of towels and toothpastes, and one too many wall hangings. Deciding which items to keep, and which to give away is a project in itself. Sentimental value and family heirlooms become a discussion (or argument) that could last for days. A 50 year old painting from a great grandfather or a modern canvas painting purchased for $200 at Kirkland’s? Good luck winning that battle!

2. Cleanliness

My boyfriend is messy in some ways, and I am messy in others. So the first two weeks of living together was like testing our obstacle agility and Jenga skills all in one. After World War III almost broke out in week three, we finally decided it was time to start setting some ground rules. Here we are nine months later with a much cleaner house. OK, so we still both have our bad habits, but finding a balance between chores and cleaning early on is a must!

3. Temperature

Never in a million years would I have thought the temperature of the house would be a problem. But yet, here I am in my own home with sweatpants, a sweatshirt, and fuzzy socks on 24/7. Sometimes the heated blanket even comes out to fight the freezing cold-ness! My boyfriend insists that the thermostat be set to, what it feels like, an arctic tundra at all times of the day and all seasons. Beautiful 72 degree breezy day that’s perfect for opening the windows? HA! Forget it! I’m in my own winter wonderland.

4. Sleeping

Oh, do I even want to bring this one up? I like my sleep to be quiet, peaceful, and not bothered. I need to be the meat of my comforter burrito at all times and one foreign foot or arm on my side calls for war. But the one thing that sets me off like no other is the nails on a chalkboard, most annoying sound ever, SNORING. If my boyfriend wakes me up because of his snoring, it is fair game. And by fair game I mean elbows to the face and punches to the throat. No really, I’m not kidding.

5. Cooking

If the world were perfect and life was fair, whoever makes dinner shouldn’t have to clean up the kitchen and do the dishes. Yeah, right. Cooking is probably the root of many of our fights and bickering. I can’t stand when he hovers over my shoulder and watches me (or judges me) to make sure I’m not burning the house down. You call it tough love but I call it… Get out!

6. Privacy

All relationships have disagreements. It’s healthy to fight, argue and get mad at each other once in a while. So you’ve had an argument and you want to get away and have some space to yourself. Oh, wait. You literally have nowhere to go because “what’s mine is yours and what’s yours is mine” now. Setting some boundaries and recognizing that you each need personal space is so important to a healthy relationship.

7. Communication

Perhaps the most important struggle any couple will go through when they first move in is communication. Between work, school, the gym and any other hobbies, my boyfriend and I rarely see each other during the day. Short, sweet messages are a good way to let each other know your schedule for the rest of the day while also letting them know you’re thinking about them. Living together will make your lives connected to each other’s and will force you to accept and adapt to their daily routines.

If you’re meant for each other, moving in together will tear open your wounds and show your significant other your worst side before bringing you closer than ever and helping you to realize you don’t want to live without them anymore!