In your ^20s , you often leave home with your partner. Now that we've bought a house that needed a lot of work, we've mainly been poring over inspiration magazines and asking Google how much certain renovations cost.

We've also decided that this is OUR house and not someone else's, so all tips are welcome, and ultimately, we choose OURSELVES. It was also quite frightening for me when people said things like, "Yeah, renovations will definitely put your relationship to the test." Fortunately, it turns out we're a good fit, and I'm reminded of the reason we're together and why I love him so much. He's patient, and I'm a good planner. Whenever I'm stressed about everything that needs to be done, he reassures me. "Honey, thank you for taking care of everything so well," makes me grateful for a partner like that. When he then says something like, "It'll be okay, it's just a new adventure. Let those people talk," I'm reassured. We also created a Trello dashboard to keep all the tasks organized, and it's called "New House, New Adventure."

Taking such a step can be very scary and exciting, but you have to look at it positively. It also creates opportunities. Moreover, if you, like us, choose to do a lot of renovations to your house, it's still exciting, but you can do everything you want! For example, we're going to completely tear out the downstairs floor, re-insulate it, and install underfloor heating. It had to be done anyway because we want to insulate the house properly, and it's a lot of hassle, but you get something beautiful in return. The same goes for installing a new kitchen and bathroom. Try to remember that when you reach that moment when you think, "What the hell have I gotten myself into?" That moment will definitely come; the only question is when. Fortunately, even that will come to an end, and it's a good test of how well you support each other when someone is struggling. Luckily, we're doing pretty well, and we're now back in the rebuilding phase.