The rationale is that your house is a reshut hayachid (private dwelling) while the street is a reshut ha'rabim (public place) and one is not allowed to carry in a public place.
As for moving around every stick of furniture in the house, nobody does that.
"As for moving around every stick of furniture in the house, nobody does that."
Ah, but it is permissible. Which is really labor, and which is not? The Creator of the universe and all in it is more rational than the laws the rabbis have foisted on His chosen people. Christians and Jews cannot agree on keeping the Sabbath because they can't even agree on which day IS the Sabbath. At any rate, look to the list of proscribed labors on the Sabbath. Some are sensible, some are not. There are biblical jews who will carry a handkerchief, but will not do labor on the Sabbath. They also do not accept that the proscription against "seething a kid in its mother's milk" forbids them having a cheeseburger. Why are they considered as less spiritual than the Chassidim?