When you share an apartment with someone, you don’t always agree on everything. Maybe you like minimalist decor, while they’re a hoarder. Differences in home decor preferences can be really annoying. But coliving means you have to accept your differences and try to find common ground. But that doesn’t mean you have to be unhappy with your apartment. Changing up your home decor can be great for your mental health.

But in order to revamp your home decor, you need to declutter first. I’m sure you’ve seen enough Marie Kondo videos to know what I’m talking about. So how do you do it? How do you declutter when you share an apartment with someone? You can’t just get up one day and throw away half the stuff in your house because you want to take your home decor to the next level. You and your roommate need to be in this together- that’s what coliving is about.

This is why today, we’re going to show you how to declutter when you share an apartment with another person!

See also: Why Natural Sunlight Is Apartment Decor & Therapy In One

Share an apartment, Share the burden

When you’re coliving with someone, you need to divide up chores evenly, it’s only fair. You can’t share an apartment with someone and not do any of the work (and vice versa). So if you’re dividing up everything else, then why should decluttering be only one’s person’s job? Get your roommate with you one weekend and just start sorting through all your stuff.

Decluttering can be really difficult for some people, so having another person to do it with is actually a great idea. Pick one day where you declutter your part of the house and another day for your roommates. You can sort through your common items one afternoon, it probably won’t take a lot of time. Let your roommate know that if they want a cute new home decor, they need to get rid of the old stuff!

Roomi advice: We know you’re probably very enthusiastic about decluttering your home. But be careful when you’re dealing with your roommate’s stuff. Some people have a very strong emotional connection to the stuff they own. Don’t force them to throw out anything that they hold near their heart!

Here’s a helpful guide to help you decide what stuff to keep and what to throw away.

Focus on what you have in common

When you’re deciding on what to keep and what to throw away with your roommates, make sure you keep in mind what you two have in common aesthetically. If you have a hot pink lamp that they hate, throw it away. Similarly, if they have a painting you hate, ask them to get rid of it. That’s just how it works when you share an apartment with another person. At the end of this process, you will start to see what your shared aesthetic really is. This step is really important to figure out what your home decor is going to look like. Coliving tends to bring out some eccentric home styles and we’re here for it!

Roomi Advice: Set a number of things that you both will need to give up- nothing more and nothing less. This way, no one will feel like they’re being forced to get rid of more stuff than the other person.

Related: 5 Simple Tips From NYC Interior Designers To Ramp Up Your Home Decor

Stay Decluttered

Once you’ve gone through the painful process of throwing stuff away, don’t go right back to buying more stuff to fill the empty space! It defeats the whole purpose. Because you share an apartment with them, make sure your roommate is on the same page as you on this one. Make a pact, a coliving pact, if you will. No one buys more than two new things a month. If you and your roommates are avid shoppers, this might be hard for you, but you’ve got this! This is how your home decor will remain coherent and uncluttered!

Here are some really helpful tips if you have a hard time giving up shopping.

Maximize your space

Oh, one of the great joys of home decor- maximizing your existing space! When you share an apartment with someone, your place can fill up so fast that you forget just how much space you actually have. But now that you and your roommate have decluttered, all that space is back. Maybe you can install new shelves or rearrange your living room just to change things up. Get your roommate and strategize about what to do with all this new space! Isn’t coliving so great sometimes?

Related: How To Create & Organize Your space While Coliving in NYC

Here are some great DIY projects you can do to revamp your house and maximize space!