I had a similar situation a few months back when I acquired two five gallon pails of used Friends sets.
First, I did a rough sort by size. Larger plates, windows and doors in one pile. Brick and medium to smaller plate in another pile. Then all the little stuff in the third.
Second, I sorted it by my normal method -- colour and piece type.
With so much brick that you have, I would do several sorts to get the lot into manageable chunks. You don't have to accomplish everything at once. Be patient and do a bit at a time.
Hope that helps.