Combining his and hers

Eventually I'm going to have to come to grips with sharing my living space with a man. Whether it be a marriage situation or before then, at some point, my stuff is going to have to mix with his stuff. And that terrifies me.

It's not that I wouldn't enjoy a man's company. It's just that he'll probably come with his hands full of items that I simply don't deem worthy of being displayed in a home, things that he holds close to his heart that I would want to throw in the trash.

I mean, sometimes guys just keep weird stuff. Like a giant traffic cone. And sometimes they keep juvenile stuff. Like posters of hot celebrities. And then there could be action figures or swords or who knows what else that's hiding in the back of their closets.

To be fair, surely any man wouldn't be too thrilled with my own current decorating choices, which consist of bright colors, including a lot of pink. But that's OK. I can change that. I'm not married to pink. There are lots of gender neutral colors that, if chosen in appropriate patterns could be chic and nice, not too girly and not too bachelory. (Yes, I made up that word.)

What would be the appropriate way to mix his and hers without catering too much to one person? How do you decide what stays and what goes? What kind of things does your SO have that you would not want in your house?

Off topic: Thought some of you would find this Ask Lynn relationship advice column interesting.

Here's a summary of the question:

I am a 27-year-old, single, highly educated female. I can honestly say I have never had a boyfriend. ... I’ve read the books, and I’ve tried EVERYTHING (online dating, getting set up by friends, being friendly, going out and about, church)... including not trying. ...

I currently live in a smaller, semi-rural city. ... Everyone I know thinks I am a great person — I have a great personality, I’m fun, I’m fairly easy to get along with, and I even have a pretty decent body — there just isn’t anyone out there who even looks at me. ...

What am I supposed to do? ...

Read the answer here.

What do you think of Lynn's advice?