h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Tomorrow is a momentous day for me. My boyfriend is moving in!

Thoughts, advice, suggestions?

be gentle................. he's not perfect

have fun tinker

Congratulations!

Read A1067825!

Living together is all about compromise. You will have both grown up in different houses, and then (probably) lived on your own or with other friends and learned how to 'keep house' in different ways.

If you're lucky, it'll turn out that you have similar levels of cleanliness and neatness. If you're unlucky you'll both have to learn to either accept the mess or to tidy more often.

If it's your house, try not to pull the "...but I lived here first, so it should be done *this* way..." card. If that's the case, then you invited him, warts and all. It belongs to both of you now.

But really, enjoy it! Appreciate each other, and let each other know that you do that with real gestures. My husband still buys me flowers every six months or so - just when I least expect it.

Good luck!

Oh - just because I mentioned that Mr Vip buys me flowers in no way implies that that's the thing that your partner should do - it should be personal and stuff. Also, I do get him things too, like random greetings cards that are wonderfully appropriate and so on. It's not a one way street.

Anyway, back to the ...

How Best of luck. I think one thing a lot of new couples fail to do is give one another some space. You don't have to do everything together. And just be generally considerate and affectionate.

crapper seat up................... aye capt

All brilliant advice, people thanks. (Rev, he has his own toilet, so not an issue Yay!)

It's been two weeks of smooth sailing so far. He needs to learn to shut the cupboard doors so a certain cat doesn't go exploring in there. Otherwise, it turns out we do have similar levels of cleanliness and neatness (I'm perhaps a little quicker at tidying up after myself). I'm able to let him do his thing, and me to mine.

Some things have to be done my way. ie. washing the dishes straight away, putting the recyclables that used to contain food in a container in the cupboard. All pretty much stuff because the of the cats. Don't want them licking the dishes or carting old food containers around the house.

Vip, that's lovely that you still get flowers. Mr. MacHead (wow, never called him that before!) has never bought me flowers. Not something, I crave really (though wouldn't say no). He does get me other gifts, and at the risk of sounding mushy, keeps telling me how awesome and yummy I am (hope that never gets old!)

I think it really helps that we're both 36 years old and have already learned from a heap of past mistakes. Also helps that we've been friends since we were 14.

It's great that things are going so well. Congratulations to you both. I wish you a long, happy relationship.

Thanks Hyp.