by Kim Remesch

Created on: August 16, 2010   Last Updated: August 18, 2010

You lived alone once, so you knew how to do it at some point. Dealing with a breakup throws the monkey wrench into the situation. You will live alone and happily after a breakup. You will be okay. Keep telling yourself: sometimes it is lonelier living WITH someone than it is living ALONE.

As with any grieving process, you have stages you must go through. Don't try to rush any part of this as it will only set you back. Here are a few ways to take back your life and learn to live on your own once again:

Reclaim Your Space. You made room in your closet and bureaus for the significant other, and now you wake up every day to gaping spaces where HIS things used to be. Break out all of the clothes you packed away making room for his.

Rearrange the Bedroom Furniture. You may go to bed, tired, only to find yourself waking up repeatedly. That's because things are exactly as they were when you were a couple. Take the room apart, making a few simple changes. Now the space is not a shared couple space. Instead, it reflects you as an individual. Any stuff animals or ultra feminine comforters you put away to make him feel at home should be brought out of storage. This is your space now. Goofy as it may seem, if it gets you through the beginning process, do it.

Take Time to Get to Know You. If you've operated as a couple for a while, you may have lost a sense of yourself. What is your favorite color? What is your style? In the sense of compromise, you no doubt rearranged things in your home or decorated to make things more neutral. Before you can make your home a reflection of you, you have to find out what you like. Spend time looking at old photos (pre relationship) to see who you were. It may not be who you are now, but it gives you a starting point.

Clean the Place Top to Bottom. Even if you've moved to a new space, do a thorough spring cleaning, regardless of the season. Spring cleaning is more a sign of new beginnings, and living alone after a breakup certainly qualifies.

Do Special Things for Yourself. When you get home from work, before you begin cooking dinner, light candles around your home (and it is a HOME) and put on some music. You are SPECIAL, a thing you probably lost sight of as your relationship deteriorated.

Enjoy a hot cup of tea and home-made cookies when you watch a TV show you never would have watched with the S/O. Soak in a bubble bath for as long as you like, candles lit, glass of wine in hand, soft music in the background. The end of a relationship brings

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