Hi all, so I'm almost done with the sorting of my Lego. I started with two large bins and now have tons of tiny containers! No more loud-time-consuming searches for me! My problem now is that after I have sorted all the bricks that make sense to sort I am still left with a decent amount of the "unsual" pieces.

I'm talking about things like Trash cans, Castle walls, stretchers, nets, rocks, cabinets, fire, springs, mailboxes, strange angled pieces from an alien set, street sweeper... sweeper, battery box.. and much more that I just don't know what to do with! For now I've settled on sticking them in a big bag for all unusual pieces. I'll probably sort them out into two bags later, one for large unusuals and another for small.

Anyways, my question for you all is how do you organize all these strange pieces?

And just for fun, attached is a picture of all the containers full of my now-sorted non-standard Lego:

Wasn't that a fun task?!! I remember when i first sorted my LEGO out. I used margarine containers until i could afford real organizers. Anyhow, to answer your question, i have all those odd pieces sorted by use and relativity.

i keep all my "castle" walls, large "wall" pieces in one container. I then put all the pieces i would typically use to "finish off a build, say like a cone or domed pieces. Well i hope this gets you in the right direction. Really its more of a preference thing, trial and error. good luck

Fun.. Ya that's it. Took me way longer than I wanted it to. Also realized how few of some pieces I actually have. It's funny cause some of the smaller pieces I only have a few of yet everytime I dug in the big bins I always came across it somehow.

That's an idea to group them by general use.

I also sort those types by use. For example, I have a box (with compartments) called "furnishings" which includes those pieces that I commonly use to decorate the inside and outside of a building. It has the trash cans, crates, cupboards, lamp posts, dishes (lamp shades or umbrellas), clear minifigure heads, printed tiles, cash register slopes, etc.

I normally try to sort things using the Bricklink categories. That makes it easy to find the part i need when I use BL to look it up.

I have a bin labeled "SPUDs, BURPs, etc.". I just toss all of those bricks in there: ship hulls, big solid plastic wheels, really large basic bricks, larger slopes... It's one of those larger drawers that comes with a set of drawers, impractical for sorted LEGO because they're too deep to be able to find anything in when filled, but I use those pieces so rarely that it doesn't matter. (Plus they're all so big that they're easy to dig through if I absolutely had to.)

I don't like using prefab parts of any kind, (and like probably everyone else I'd rather be building that sorting) so this is a quick and easy solution for me.

Thanks all! I like the furnishings idea.

I don't really like bricklinks categories. For one, it's too specific in some cases, and two, I can't find anything on that site as it is :)

FWIW....

Containers

trash cans

cabinets

mailboxes

Pre-fab:

Castle walls

rocks

strange angled pieces from an alien set

Minifig stuff

stretchers

fire (don't know...just works for me )

Hoses, string, rubber bands

nets

springs

Electric

battery box

street sweeper... sweeper....you've got me there!! I would have to make a 'Misc'

Cheers,

LLL

Hi all, so I'm almost done with the sorting of my Lego. I started with two large bins and now have tons of tiny containers! No more loud-time-consuming searches for me! My problem now is that after I have sorted all the bricks that make sense to sort I am still left with a decent amount of the "unsual" pieces.

I'm talking about things like Trash cans, Castle walls, stretchers, nets, rocks, cabinets, fire, springs, mailboxes, strange angled pieces from an alien set, street sweeper... sweeper, battery box.. and much more that I just don't know what to do with! For now I've settled on sticking them in a big bag for all unusual pieces. I'll probably sort them out into two bags later, one for large unusuals and another for small.

Anyways, my question for you all is how do you organize all these strange pieces?

Separate parts by function. Trash cans, mailboxes, cabinets, crates, and barrels, for instance, could all go together in a bin for "assorted minifigure containers". Castle walls could go together with BURPs and other "special panels", and so on and so forth. Depending on how much you want your parts sorted out, once you've broken up this collection of "unusual parts" to a certain extent you can always just reserve one bin for parts that can't really be categorized.

This is roughly the system I've always used for "oversized parts" that can't fit in plastic drawers, though over time parts began to simply be put wherever they fit, making it a lot less systematic!

Your solution of just separating unusual parts into "large" and "small" could definitely be effective as well for a smaller collection, as long as you can remember where you drew the line!

Edited March 28, 201311 yr by Aanchir

I am also in the process of sorting, some of it is fun (the discovery part) but mostly it is, well, not a lot of fun, but it does help me to know what I have available. Without realizing it I aso have a category like furnishings. I think I will make furnishings and decorator pieces a conscious category.

Good luck with your sorting project, but a I am finding sorting is a never ending pocess, hence the movie poster in the new cinema "Forever Sorting", it's true!

Andy D

Thanks everyone. I think I definitely have some ideas now. My collection of this stuff isn't huge at the moment so shouldn't be too hard. Now I just need to get some more containers so I can do away with these big bags.

street sweeper... sweeper....you've got me there!! I would have to make a 'Misc'

Look at that I stumped you! and you were on a roll too! :)

FWIW....

Containers

trash cans

cabinets

mailboxes

Pre-fab:

Castle walls

rocks

strange angled pieces from an alien set

Minifig stuff

stretchers

fire (don't know...just works for me )

Hoses, string, rubber bands

nets

springs

Electric

battery box

street sweeper... sweeper....you've got me there!! I would have to make a 'Misc'

Cheers,

LLL

I use this method. Plus I also have one bin for just the big ugly pieces, boat hulls, supports, BURPS, etc, etc.

Now I just need to get some more containers so I can do away with these big bags.

Hope this isn't straying off topic too far...but here's what works for me:

SMALL: One of the national electronic chains (here in Aus.) has some little drawers (5x4)

MEDIUM: Cheap storage bins that stack or go on racks... from hardware store - that look a bit like this:

LARGE: Some storage tubs with lids from the $1 shop

LLL

Good luck with the sorting. Maybe try ziplock bags inside a larger bin?

Well, I use a product called 'Really Useful Box.' and for this sort of thing they are really useful. I have color coded system (As the boxes are in multiple colors but the same sizes.) so for things that are left over I have a green set of boxes. It is the Mini-figure range (In my mind.) so stuff that Mini-figures would use such as weapons, containers, trash cans get a box each, other Mini-figure tools get a box and then various odd bits of Mini-figures another.

For larger bits i have larger boxes, so all large wheels have a large blue box, whereas the smaller ones have their own blue box.

That still leaves lots of other bits as yet un-parted as there are just so many. I try to sort these by color though and then into the type of part for example brackets (They get small blue boxes.) but at the end there are still an odd few. As much as I can these are color sorted and put into pending boxes which are usually clear. If then I need a part that is not yet sorted but of a certain color I know I may find it in those boxes.

I think you have to realise that there will always be some parts that do not sit comfortably in whatever system you design for your sorting, so there will always be an 'anything else' box.

I have all my stuff sorted mostly by piece type. I don't have an "anything else" box as such, just various boxes and compartments of various sizes where I have placed multiple piece shapes in the one container (in some cases they are piece shapes that are logically related such as all my animals in one box and in some cases they are just parts that happen to be similar sizes or otherwise make some sense to put into the one box because they all fit)

I am sorting my lego too

seperated in to colors, then type

but as I get down to odd parts I seem to be putting them in groups, eg hose reels

or maybe combine them with similat parts of a different color

and as I get to the one off's, I am thinking of just one container of 'Odd bits (Yellow)

Depends on how many of those odd pieces you have. When I started, I just keep them in a separate shoebox type container. Now that my collection has grown, I have them in separate zip lock bags if I have multiples. I may have to re-think my current sorting strategy that if my collection gets any bigger.