Most married women have enough of a battle when they clean the man cave (that’s the vernacular term for the room in the basement where husbands often go to hide). But as a newlywed, I will have to deal with an entire house of man caves, that’s because I’m moving into his place.

At one time, the house was a home. My fiancé grew up in it. Since then his parents have moved out and he bought the place from them. Enter Animal House. Okay it’s nowhere near that bad but it’s definitely not sterile. The house has good bones and it’s spacious, it just needs some love. I’ve noticed that bachelors love dark furniture, dark floors and dark paint. They also don’t seem too concerned with dirt in cracks, crevices and corners. What they consider “clean,” most of us consider extreme filth.

Don’t get me wrong, my fiancé is a pretty clean guy. But since buying the house, he’s played host to a handful of college buddies. Some stayed for just a month or two, others for several years, one is still there. These are some of the greatest guys I’ve ever met but that doesn’t mean they lead spic-and-span lives.

My strategy is simple: ease my way in. After all, I don’t want to scare the guy before we even get married. Once I finish all of the deep cleaning, then comes the spackle and paint. Luckily the wood floors were just redone, so that’s one bridge I don’t have to cross.

I’ve also enlisted the help of my fiancé’s mother. She helped me convince her son that he needed new kitchen appliances. Since he doesn’t cook, he had no idea how bad they were. I got tired of pulling dinner out of the oven and one end was burnt while the other was still raw. And the dishwasher was in bad shape too; even if I pre-rinsed the dishes they still came out dirtier than they were when I put them in. Mission accomplished, he’s got new appliances. (Thanks Evelyn!)

Fortunately, I think our styles will blend well together. But I have to be careful how I go about this. I don’t want to be the girl who just moves in and takes over. I want the house to reflect both of us.

Who knows, maybe someday I'll be brave enough to invite company over!