How to Create Your Own Space After You've Moved In Together

Trust me, there's not a better way to get to know your partner than by living together in your first teeny tiny cramped apartment. After the un-packing and settling in, how do you determine who's space is who's?

You have to get organized. The rule for clothes and everything else is if you haven't used it in 2 years, you don't need it. A lot of time your "collectibles" can be stored out of sight but still kept for whatever reason. Hide his baseball card collection inside a couple decorative boxes up on a shelf and decorate around them accordingly. Or you can hide your enormous Cosmopolitan collection (that you've kept since you were 16) inside a pretty trunk and throw some blankets and board games in there to get them out of the way as well . These things are still there, where you know they are safe, but they don't have to be out and strung around your already small and seemingly cluttered space. We decided that an armoire in our bedroom with a couple shelves would be sufficient for all of his golf collection. He was able to hang all of his clothing inside and keep all of his golf stuff inside it as well (golf balls from each course, score cards, tees, you name it). So every time he opened it up, there was all of his stuff, safe and sound. This also allowed for me to make use of the tiniest closet known to man to stuff all of my clothing into. We didn't have to share the closet, which saved us a ton of frustration.

You must find a middle ground. Sure, you wanted to toss his huge posters of all his favorite ball players (from his college days). But remember that hot pink, snuggly blanket that love so much? Maybe he's ready to burn it. You must compromise and meet in the middle. Nurture each other's interests and crazy color choices. Get him a small table side photo album with all his favorites in it. Put a few vases around the house with pink in them to keep your favorite color present without going over-board. You both have a ton of stuff that you are not willing to part with, but think of how much space you will save and how much money you can make if you sell your unused stuff on ebay or craiglist. Work with each other instead of against each other and you may be very surprised with the outcome.

Be sure to create a "me" zone somewhere within your home. In a small apartment all of it might be affected by a Sunday night football game -- or a tear-filled girls movie night watching The Notebook. Find a quiet area where one of you can zone out and find comfort not talking about much of anything. Set up a comfy chair that faces away from your TV and place a small table next to it with books, candles and an ipod or mp3 players to drown out the noise around you. Then, when one of you is taking over the main living space with a gender-specific interest, head to your chair for some "me" time. Or be sure to keep a dozen pillows on your bed and cozy up in your room with a good book, cross world puzzle, journal, or anything you can think of. The sky is the limit. Just keep things around that make you feel calm and relaxed.

The two of you will eventually get into the groove and figure out the way things will flow in your home. In tight spaces just try to allow each other as much space as possible and remember to try and stay as "clutter-free" as possible. It will help you both feel more comfortable in your home.