Half of British couples are having regular fights over their clutter, arguing 32 times per year according to Big Yellow Self Storage. In London, the situation is much worse with couples arguing over once a week over 'unnecessary' items in their homes.
Relationships on Female First
As a result Banner Homes have found that women are ruthless when it comes to their living space. They have just got all their own things in order, then their partner moves in with their man stuff and they inherit an excess of items that have sentimental value and so 'must be kept'. The answer? Women get rid of things secretly so that their men won't moan or find a stupid reason to keep the random piece of their past. Unfortunately if he finds out- arguments do arise.
Commonly arguments over such as this result in women throwing way £241.50 worth of possessions that their partner would ideally like to keep such as clothes, furniture and books.
Some women will get rid of their partner's things via a charity shop or the bin, and some will go to extreme lengths like 'accidentily' breaking something of theirs.
In worst case scenarios- couples will move back to their separate homes or even break up.
Some loved ones still see a 50/50 share of space as being important and many state that they have never had this equality in their areas of their home, some have had an imbalance all long and have the instinct to 'guard their territory' with little or no success.
TOP 10 PARTNERS ITEMS THAT WOMEN THROW OUT
Magazine collections- They're probably porn mags anyway and what does he need with them when he has you?!
Old hobby collection/toy cars etc. - You're a couple- not playmates.
Clothes- That t-shirt with the vajazzle like decoration on it- the one that made him look like you were his pulling buddy rather than his partner- gone.
DVDs/CDs- You have Netflix and Now TV with his entire collection on and all of his music is on his phone- what-is-the-actual-point?!
A sofa- Lord knows what disgusting things have happened on that thing- there's probably remnants of his ex on there! Ewww!
Sports memorabilia- The house is not a museum, nor is it an excuse to brag about past achievements to every new guest that sets foot through the door.
A painting- It's hideous and everyone thinks so but him. If you don't put it up for a while and he'll forget it ever existed.
A chair- It was bound to have been his masturbation chair of choice at some point and it was also used for gaming; ingrained food and sperm is not your idea of a somewhere cosy to sit.
Stereo/ sound system- All you need is an I-pod dock- that-is-all.
Sports kit/ equipment- He hasn't attempted to get fit in all the years you've known him so why clog up the house with aspirational ab equipment?!
Anjula Mutanda, counselling psychologist, comments: "Moving from 'my own space' to 'our shared space' can be thrilling, but this big step can also cause emotional stress. Why? Because your home is your sanctuary and reflects who you are, so inviting someone to live with you can feel a bit like being invaded by someone else's belongings. This could result in subconscious 'space guarding' where you use your possessions to mark out your territory and any perceived violation of this by your partner could cause tensions.
"The key to a harmonious relationship is to work as a team. Communicate by discussing practicalities out in the open, negotiate what stays and what goes and be willing to compromise. Deciding together how to create an equal and shared space will help to ensure that living together is an enjoyable and positive experience."