Moving Two Households Into One: Merging Homes After Marriage

Two fridges, two sofas, two beds and four generators' worth of opinions. When two people with full flats decide to share one home, the hardest part of the move is not the driving. It is deciding what two households' worth of belongings becomes when it must fit in one set of rooms.

The move goes smoothly when you decide before the truck arrives, label each load by origin, and plan the two pickups into one drop-off.

Decide what the new home needs

Sit down with a plan of the new place and a list of duplicates. You almost never need two of the following:

• fridge and freezer
• cooker and gas cylinder
• sofa set
• bed and mattress
• television
• washing machine

Pick the better one of each pair, or the one that fits the space. The other goes to family, gets sold or stays out of the move. This single step usually decides whether you need one truck run or two. The same sorting logic is in downsizing your home before a move.

Measure before you promise space

Take the measurements of the new rooms, doors and stairwell. A big wardrobe from one flat may not fit the bedroom of the new one, and no amount of pushing will help. Write down the width of the front door and any corridor, and compare it with the biggest pieces from each side.

Label by origin

Use two colours of tape or marker: one for each household. Write the destination room next to it. "Blue, kitchen" and "Red, bedroom" will save you from standing in a pile of identical boxes asking whose they are.

Do the same for furniture. A sticky note on every large piece with the colour and room takes five minutes and saves an afternoon.

One truck or two pickups

If both flats are close to each other and the new home, one truck can do two pickups in sequence. The driver loads the first flat, drives to the second, loads there, and then goes to the new home. Put the sturdy, frame-type items at the back so the second load can go in front.

If the flats are in different cities, move each household separately. Do not try to combine them on the road unless the pickup points are close. For long-distance planning, see preparing a household load for a long highway trip.

Order of loading

1. Heavy appliances and bed frames from the first flat.
2. Wardrobes and cupboards.
3. Mattresses and soft items to fill gaps.
4. Second flat's items on top, in the same order, with fragile things last.

Mark one box from each household "open first": bedding, toiletries, chargers and a few plates. You will need it the first night.

Give someone the job of deciding

On the day, appoint one person to say yes or no to every item in the new home. Two decision makers produce arguments, and the movers stand around.

If you have a spare room that is not ready, say it is a storage room and stack things there. Do not unpack everything at once. Place the big furniture first, then the boxes, then the details.

How to do this on Sphere

Open Sphere, pick the truck, and add each pickup address and the new home as the drop-off. Describe the load for each address: "from flat one, 1 bed, 1 wardrobe, 20 boxes; from flat two, 1 sofa set, 1 freezer, 15 boxes". Propose a price, and nearby verified drivers will accept or send counter-offers. Agree loading and offloading help with the driver before you accept an offer.

You might also find moving a two-bedroom flat in Lagos useful, and house moving in Lagos explains the service.