I wish I could stand inside your home and look out the windows: that island of JM/dogwood/shrub in the center of the lawn may have been placed to screen out an unsightly view or add needed privacy along a busy street.

I’d start by weeding, working on the lawn, and pulling out any shrubs you really don’t like the look of, or are dead. It looks like there are things you could keep, just edit them. Like the red maple is pretty - but right now it’s all crowded with other shrubs. It’s hard to tell but there doesn’t seem to be a lot of repetition - having a few of each type of plant will look better than one of each. Can you still buy and plant shrubs where you are? Or do some research on what you have and like, and wait for spring. Don’t forget to consider how things look in each season - I would want a mix of spring flowers, summer flowers, fall foliage, and some plants that are evergreen.

Agree with Cecily that inside out view should be considered when pruning. It appears the setting for this house is either rural or on larger property - basing that on no sidewalk & looks like large trees around house. Also agree that many of the plants close to foundation could use shaping and clean up at very least. No clues about your level of plant knowledge or the planting zone you live in. But, for starters & before cutting anything, a solid ID of each plant is needed. That info will determine how much to cut off & time of year to do it. I’m not a fan of the power trimmer & resulting ball shaped shrubs. Rather, a grab & snip method will result in more natural and prettier shrubs, often without sacrificing any bloom periods & also usually prevents a wild & fast regrowth. You want to avoid a cycle of repeated & frequent pruning to keep a shrub / tree at a certain size. Best time of year to prune anything except broken or diseased branches is in the dormant season. If some of those trees need pruning, an arborist may be needed. A consult from a landscape design pro may be the first step to ID plants and give advice. Well worth the $. At the very least, a visit to large nursery with close up pics & samples of branches in hand and also ask nursery for recs on landscape design person. Looks like a great house setting - congrats on new home!

I'd identify what you have. Get a book from the library with shrubs for gardens, then look on the web. LeaLeaf shape, how the leaves are arranged on the stem are 2 important characteristics.

Most shrubs can be pruned or moved.

At some point in the past, there was a gardener living in your home. I see some nice shrubs, trees and garden beds that have simply been neglected for awhile. I think that with a little help, your yard could look very nice. Don’t go yanking things out or making rash decisions … especially about shrubs or trees that would take years and vast amounts of money to replace.
Take some photos and head to your nearest nursery or garden centre. Do NOT go to a big box store. Tell them what you told us. That you’re new to gardening and that you would like to get your yard back under control. Could they recommend someone who does gardening work? That is, could properly prune your bushes and trees so that you can then assess what needs to be done to tweak your yard back to its former self. Plus, someone who can visualize extras that could be done.
Be suspicious of anyone who wants to remove trees and shrubs and then plant others in their place. I think your yard is not that far gone. You appear to have good things that are in need of a trim … not replacement.
The lawn is a separate issue. There are lots of lawn companies that can help get it back in shape. See if your neighbours can recommend someone.
When you do find your expert gardener, ask them lots of questions and observe what they do. Most are pretty happy to share their knowledge.
Best wishes with your yard!

Yes, I think you are right about a gardener in the past, this is not even half of what we have on the property, there are beautiful magnolia, rose of sharon, other dogwoods and lots of lillies, hostas and hyrdranges in our back yard. It is rural New England, zone 6, and we are on a private road so there really isn't much need for screening. I do like the idea of what it all could eventually get back to. I've done a lot of googling but I like the idea of going to a nursery with photos. I tried to enlist the help of a local expert but we never got our timing right, so I will have to reach out again. Three landscaping companies quoted me over 10k to get the property back into shape, each one had a different idea of what to do in regards to removing, moving, pruning etc. I don't want to make any rash decisions. Truth be told my husband has already gone in and removed a bunch of stuff. I hesitate to show you the photos from before we moved because I am sure you'll all tell me what amazing things he got rid of! Needless to say I am overwhelmed!

Another thought occurred to me. Is there a gardening club in your area? I belong to the one in my neighbourhood (I live in a zone 3 location.) I have found that gardeners are pretty nice folks and always happy to provide advice. Perhaps someone could recommend a gardener or actually take a look at your yard and make suggestions. It’s been my experience that gardeners like to share their experiences and are happy to welcome a newbie into their group. Not sure if this is possible, but thought I should mention it.

Excellent idea @B T ! Gardeners really love to share their knowledge and talk plants & ’soil’

To me your new location has a bunch of unplanted space, a "just getting started" look rather than overgrown - what to do will always be a matter of what you yourself happen to like. With a couple of my relatives both having backgrounds in real estate sharing the idea that an attractive property is a house sitting by itself in a bunch of lawn, with damned few shrubs and pretty much no trees anywhere around it. Never mind that the planet is in the process of burning up.

Consider geytng a certified arborist to tin out uour trees. Sadly people plant things without regard to the acrual size theywill grow into.