Day One in Our New House: Photos, Moving Tips, and First Impressions

We love looking back at Day One in our previous house, so we couldn’t resist doing the same at our new place. These photos were taken on the first day all of our big furniture arrived, and we stopped to capture how each room looked as we started to settle in. What do you think? Pretty lovely, right?

The living room:

The kitchen:

Other side of the kitchen:

The office:

The dining room:

The guest room:

The hall bathroom:

The spare room:

Clara’s room — we scrambled to make it feel like home right away, so she had a comfortable place to sleep and play.

Her room a few hours later — she quickly made it her own, which was the best welcome we could ask for.

Words can’t describe how grateful I am that she took to it so fast.

Here’s our bedroom on Day One while I was reattaching the headboard. Quick tip: power tools and hair can create an accidental bouffant — a surprisingly glam moving accessory.

Our Moving Strategy: What Worked

This move was easier than our last because we had overlap between houses. Instead of forcing everything into one day and one truck, we took advantage of multiple trips in our car whenever we were working at the new place. If we were installing flooring, we’d bring a load of materials and small items each day. It looked a little chaotic, but for small- and medium-sized pieces it worked brilliantly.

Driving a few miles with car-loads cut down on packing stress, bubble wrap, and wasted boxes. You can load a car more casually than a rattling moving van, which means less time meticulously wrapping every frame. Unpacking was faster and created less waste, too — definitely no box graveyard this time!

We also organized a Family Caravan evening — my in-laws drove over with their larger cars so we could move bulkier items like dining chairs and console tables in a three-vehicle parade. It was surprising how much we transported that way.

For the largest pieces — beds, dressers, our sectional, dining table, and a few armchairs — we still hired a moving truck and four strong helpers that John’s sister had used before. Because we did the disassembly and boxed smaller items in advance, the crew only needed to carry the big stuff. That meant we paid them for a few focused hours instead of an entire day, which saved money and time. The strategy: do about 80% yourself, and hire professionals for the heavy lifting.

With the heavy items moved by lunch, we still had energy left to start assembling rooms. We concentrated on Clara’s room first so she could feel settled. Plus, John was recovering from laying hardwood floors and appreciated being spared more strenuous work. I also had a good luck moment when our U-Haul proudly displayed my home state — I may have done a little celebratory fist pump before loading.

Practical Tips That Helped

One of my favorite moving tricks is small zip-top bags and a Sharpie. When you disassemble furniture, bag the screws and small hardware, label each bag with the piece it belongs to, and put them somewhere safe (I tucked mine in my purse). It saves time and avoids the usual post-move scramble looking for missing screws.

Another tip: take moments to enjoy the process. We took a few goofy photos along the way to keep morale high. Pausing to laugh or appreciate small wins breaks up the long chore of moving and makes the day feel memorable.

And yes — I discovered I can be a windowsill ninja.

Wrapping Up Day One

So that was Day One: furniture mostly in place, a few lingering messes, and plenty of progress. Highlights: the sofa is back together, the office no longer looks like a chair warehouse, and Clara is happy and settled — which made everything worth it. I’m no longer sporting the accidental bouffant, I can climb on top of a car if needed, and we’re excited to keep sharing updates as we get this house feeling like home.

Can’t wait to show more photos as rooms come together.