Since our second daughter was born we have lived in two different houses and they were both two stories, with lots of space (we lived in apartments leading up to that). Our last house was a large split entry that was beautiful. But huge. We made the decision to move closer to our work this past Spring to work better with our schedules which are not the typical 9-5. Being only 3 minutes from the church allows us a lot more freedom.
The problem with moving closer was renting something in our price range would not mean renting a house. We made the choice to rent an apartment. It is a brand new complex (as in it was still under construction when we moved in). We were the fifth family to rent which meant we were able to pick from all but four units.
We made the choice of a bottom unit since our kids like throwing toys and themselves over things. We also picked a back unit that has a nice grassy area on the other side of our deck. So we get a lawn that we don’t have to mow!!
We went with a two bedroom plus den because it was cheaper than a three bedroom plus den and we didn’t want the extra space. Because we picked a corner unit our den has a window and a closet, which means it is just another bedroom.
We downsized a lot of our possessions, toys, and clothes so that we could live comfortably. Since we have four girls they each share a room with another sibling. We use IKEA loft beds since our kids are younger, and bunk beds scare me.
Our neighbourhood boasts of a sweet playground up the street that we go to daily, and a Rec centre next door (we live right next to the high school which is also the rec centre). So we can do activities all year there.
Part of living in an apartment that drew us in was the cost of living. We live in a fairly expensive area which limits our family on where we can live. Our apartment includes our rent and all utilities but our power. This allows us to budget better, to live in the community that we want to live in, and use the extra money and time we save from driving back and forth to spend with our kids and to do fun experiences with them.
Not every family will want to make an apartment their home. We love it however. We have heated underground parking, no lawn to mow, or driveway to shovel. We rent because we have no desire to buy a house currently and we have a great super who gets things fixed fast.
Our building has a gym so we save on memeberships and have a place to workout no matter the weather, which means a healthier household. We have our own laundry which was a must with so many kids and cloth diapers. We have a ton of closets (3 in the main living area, 2 in the girls rooms, our walk in closet, a laundry room with storage space, and storage with our parking spot). We also have two bathrooms which is great with kids. Downsizing has made us think about what we bring into the house and we have less toys to be scattered. If someone says they are coming over to my house I can clean it really fast because there is not a lot to clean.
Oh and our walls seem pretty thick so I don’t think our neighbours have heard the high pitched screams of our tiny people!! Stefan and I also spend more time together since we have less places to go and hide to watch Netflix. It was easy to go and watch our own shows when we had two living rooms.
If you have any questions that I didn’t answer let me know. We definitely got lucky with our apartment and for that I am very thankful.
I decided that instead of having one laundry basket for all four I would have one for each of them. But then came the realization that four laundry baskets would take up a lot of room so I scratched that idea. I went to Amazon and found these awesome 
