We love looking back at our “Day One” photos from our previous house, so we took a moment to tour the new place on its own Day One — the day all of our large furniture finally arrived — and snapped a few shots. It already felt like home. What do you think? Pretty lovely, right? Our work that day was mostly about getting the big pieces into place and starting to settle in.

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 were frantically finishing it so she would have a comforting space to sleep and play. We wanted her to feel at home right away.

This is how her room looked a few hours later:

I can’t describe how grateful I am that she loves it so much.

Here’s our bedroom on Day One while I was screwing the headboard back on. Helpful tip: using a power drill can deliver an accidental bouffant — every gal should experience one.

For this move we tried a different strategy because we had some overlap between the old house and the new one. Instead of packing everything into a single big truck and moving in one hectic day, we simply ferried small and medium items in our cars each time we visited the new place. When we were laying flooring, we took a load of tools and materials. When we were prepping a room, we drove over the decor and small furnishings. It looked chaotic at times, but it worked really well for most things.

Carrying items in the car cut down on packing time and waste. Driving a few miles in the family car is lower stress than cramming everything into a shaky moving van, so we didn’t feel compelled to meticulously wrap every single mirror or frame. That made packing and unpacking quicker, and it prevented the mountain of boxes that can linger for weeks after a move.

We also staged a one-evening “Family Caravan,” when John’s parents brought their larger vehicles and we ferried bigger pieces like dining chairs and consoles in a three-car procession. It was surprisingly efficient — a small parade that hauled a lot of items in a short time.

We still needed a big moving truck for the largest items — beds, dressers, the sectional, our dining table, daybeds and several armchairs. For that we hired movers John’s sister had recommended: four strong helpers to handle heavy lifting. Since we paid by the hour, we did most of the prep ourselves, disassembling furniture and packing boxes ahead of time. That kept costs down and meant the hired crew could focus on loading and unloading big pieces, getting everything across by lunchtime.

Using hired help just for the heavy stuff was our most budget-friendly option: handle roughly 80% of the work yourself and bring in professionals for a few hours to move the large items. It’s efficient, economical, and avoids exhausting the people you care about.

With the big pieces in place, we still had plenty of time and energy to start arranging rooms — we concentrated on Clara’s room first so she felt settled. John was recovering from a weekend of refinishing hardwood floors, so he was glad not to be doing as much heavy lifting that day. I also felt lucky: our U-Haul bore the name of my home state, which I took as a good omen and did a little celebratory fist pump before loading began.

One practical trick I always recommend is using small zip-top bags and a permanent marker when you disassemble furniture. Bag the screws, label the bag with the furniture name, and tuck it into your purse or a clearly marked box. That little extra step prevents the inevitable “Where do these screws go?” panic at the new house and saves valuable time on moving day.

My other tip is to take moments to enjoy the process. We paused to take a few goofy, proud photos throughout the day. Those little breaks are great morale boosters during long stretches of hauling and arranging.

Yes, I even discovered a hidden talent as a windowsill ninja.

So that was our Day One: a mix of big trucks, car-loads, family support, hired movers for heavy pieces, and a lot of small, thoughtful decisions that made the move smoother. The sofa is reassembled, the office finally looks less like a chair convention, and while the house still needs work, it already feels like ours.

We’re excited to keep sharing photos and updates as the house comes together.