I love living alone, am I ready to give it up and move in with my boyfriend?

Eight years I have lived alone, and I have never shared a bedroom. Even as a kid more than one night of sleepovers was a night too many. I love my space, I love my quiet, and my endless hours of “me time” in my manicured single sanctuary. Next week it’s all about to change… I’m moving in with my boyfriend! Don’t get me wrong, I love this guy, and very excited to be taking “the next step”…and so is my mother. But while the fuzzy feelings of finding the right one tingle around my heart, I can’t ignore the fact that my safe single sanctuary and “Single Sally” is just dying. And damn that’s sad!

I love my space, and my endless hours of “me time” in my single sanctuary

At 19, 11 months into shared living, I knew it wasn’t for me. I hated not knowing who would be at home when I arrived. Would I be alone or was I stepping into a midday drinking session with my roomies “closest mates”? So I moved out, into a 3m x 5m cube of an apartment smack bang in the middle of Melbourne. It was so small in fact that I had to climb a ladder up to my bed where I couldn’t sit up straight without hitting my head on the roof, BUT I loved it. It didn’t matter that it was smaller than a David Jones fitting room and DEFINITELY did not have enough room to swing a cat, because it was mine, and only I had the key.

After uni I had lived abroad, bunked in ski resorts and lodged in London to save cash, all the while with one thought in mind…save enough money and you will never have to live like this again. When I landed back in Australia and had saved all could, I took my piggy box to the bank and bought my own place, yep you guessed it, a ONE BEDROOM just for me. This time I not only had the key, but I also held the title.

Have you ever set up our own home from scratch? Filling it with everything that makes you smile? Shopping for furniture and whitegoods with only yourself to please? I tell ya, it is wonderful. Empowering is not quite the right word, because sometimes you crave a second opinion, but my 25-year-old self was in her element.

Three simple tips to make your house a home.

My 25 year old self creating a home for one

Why I have never looked back on living alone;

-Movie nights in, always get to watch my first pick

-Racing out to drinks leaving a trail of clothes on the floor and make-up in the bathroom, with NO-ONE to apologise to

-Home decorating whenever I feel, and never having to compromise on style or taste

-Sleeping on all sides of the bed, left, right and middle

-Uninterrupted PJs days and spontaneous crying attacks with no one but Jack and Rose to question why I am watching Titanic reruns midweek

And now, it’s all about to change. Just like the girls on Suddenly Single found themselves alone in New York City; I find myself Suddenly Not-Single.

All the things I have collected over the years will slowly be replaced with “our things”, mementos we find, the artwork we collect and photos on the fridge that we took.

As of next week, I will be sharing everything; my kitchen, my living room and my bedroom. All the things I have collected over the years will slowly be replaced with “our things”, mementos we find, the artwork we collect and photos on the fridge that we took. And you know what, I am so ready for it. Single living may be empowering but it can also be really lonely.  Never again will it get to Sunday night and I realise the only person I have spoken to for the weekend was the guy in the cafe. No more meals for one. No more cold nights in bed alone. Now there will be someone to eat dinner with me, make me a cup of tea or take the washing in. I now get to create a new home sanctuary with the man I love. Single life will be replaced, with a new shared life, and it just might even be better.

Meet Sally  or learn how to find peace in isolation, 7 Way You Can Embrace Your Home Sanctuary through lockdown.