Hi all. I have a bit of a problem. Sometimes I get the urge to stick some Lego bricks together (who doesn't?), but then I remember that my Lego is stored in a number of crates that I'll have to unpack all over the room and then pack away when I'm done. So I end up not sticking any bricks together.

I don't have the budget (or space) for a better storage system right now, but I have an idea. A small jar of essential bricks that I can keep on my desk and use for on-the-spot building.

The question is, what bricks to put in that jar? They have to be versatile and not too big.

Here are my ideas so far.

Headlight bricks. Extremely versatile.

Cheese slopes. Small and good for decorations.

1x2 plate with 1 stud. Good for making things symmetrical.

Aside from that I'm thinking a 6x6 or so plate to use as a baseplate, and one or two minifigs.

What are your suggestions? If you could only bring 50 bricks to a deserted island, what bricks would you choose?

50? That's an insanely small amount. Anyway, I'd recommend an 8x8 baseplate, or at least two 4x8s. 8x8 seems to be the standard dimensions for a small minifigure vignette.

25 pieces of 33172 and 25 pieces of 33183

Ever since I started collecting 2x4 bricks, I basically stopped building, and I've sold most of my LEGO. But like you, I still get the urge to play every once in a while.

My solution is Mixels. They are cheap (if you buy them as they are released), they offer a huge variety of parts/colors, and you can fit all 6 series into a single bin.

I'd have to have at least two full minifigs. That's 8 parts right there.

Ever since I started collecting 2x4 bricks, I basically stopped building, and I've sold most of my LEGO. But like you, I still get the urge to play every once in a while.

My solution is Mixels. They are cheap (if you buy them as they are released), they offer a huge variety of parts/colors, and you can fit all 6 series into a single bin.

I'd agree with Mixels. They mix and match beautifully. My son does more free building with his mixels than anything else. So we mostly keep them separate from the rest. (they'd be hard to find in the larger mix!)

Favorite minifigs + LDD, that's what I brought going on a one year road trip :-)

Fifty generic (but colorful) bricks, nothing to situational and maybe only two minifigures max. Probably one decent sized plate for display. Or I'd choose bricks with some functionality on the desert island - maybe some large spherical bricks to double as cups, one large baseplate to double as a plate, etc. And one brick separator.

Definitely headlight bricks. Maybe some 1x4 plates and corner plates?

Corner plates are a great idea, they are quite versatile.