5 years of marriage - a survival guide

Yesterday, Kyle and I celebrated 5 years of marriage.  I would venture to say we didn't have a normal first few years of marriage, but all of those experiences have given us knowledge far beyond our years. Now I'm not saying we're some kind of experts here, but I've learned a few things that make things easier, so I'd like to pass on those little tidbits to you! 

1. You don't always have to compromise.  For instance, one of you likes mayo, one likes Miracle Whip?  Buy both.  Who cares?  Do you really want to fight over a condiment?  Same with toothpaste, shampoo, etc.  You're not going through any more because one of you is using one and one uses the other.  Save your fight.

2. Divide up the duties.  When we were first married, we would try and do laundry together and clean the pool together.  We always fought about it, and we couldn't coordinate both of us getting stuff done.  Finally, we split it up.  Kyle took the pool, I took the laundry.  Even though we don't have a pool now, he takes care of the mowing, I still do the laundry.   No more irritation.

3. Spend some time apart. I love spending time with Kyle, even more so when I've had some time away from him.  My girl time is priceless.

4. Have dinner together.  We may plop ourselves down for the night in front of the tv, but not after we've shared dinner and had a good talk.  You need some great talk time!

5. Whatever happens, nobody leaves.  Stick in it.  The crap can be tough, but if you make it through that, you'll be better on the other end of things.

So there you go, 5 lovely tips.  What are your favorite marriage tips?  Leave them in the comments!