Storage and Sorting LEGO

[Maniac4Legos]

I'll have to look through this further for some ideas to sort my lego.

I started by sorting out colors. Then I moved on to elements. I have a Sterilite 3-drawer cabinet to store roof pieces, basic bricks and plates. I put all my animal figures in a large bag. I've bagged lots of my already built sets and am still finding space to store the bags, which include Minifigures, pieces to the set, and instructions. Polybags have all that and the polybag too if possible to fit in. I keep my CMF figures in the round Minifigure storage containers that have each series printed on them. My waffle baseplates are in a yellow suitcase which originally contained a green 32x32 baseplate. My bionicle figures are kept in their canisters, same with Hero Factory. If from a box, the figures are bagged with instructions. I still have plenty more to go through, despite what I wrote.

[glendo]

Can anyone recommend good quality, but not to expensive, erasable labels that I can use on plastic drawers? I have 6 of the 6 drawer(12 inch x 12 inch) sterelite drawer units and I really need some labeling for some of the drawers.

i use a roll of masking tape and a texta

[Cara]

Incase any one is looking for small piece storage..

The compartment bins I use to sort my small or special pieces can be bought (one item only - I normally buy in store) with a 50% off coupon for today and tomorrow at Joann in the US. (normal 9.99 with coupon 4.99) I use them because they are a reasonable price when a coupon is applied and the dividers are moveable.

Coupon here: http://www.joann.com/coupon/?icn=Home&ici=hs0-1

Bins I use (but you can use the coupon on anything not already on sale): http://www.joann.com/artbin-solutions-box-4-48-compartments/3457447.html

Edited March 28, 2014 by Cara

[meyerc13]

The compartment bins I use to sort my small or special pieces can be bought (one item only - I normally buy in store) with a 50% off coupon for today and tomorrow at Joann in the US. (normal 9.99 with coupon 4.99) I use them because they are a reasonable price when a coupon is applied and the dividers are moveable.

Those look the same as a Plano fishing tackle box, but the fishing boxes are a fraction of that price. For example, a local retailer, Mills Fleet Farm, has a Plano 3700 3-pack on sale for $11. Each box is 14"x9"x2", the same as your link. The regular price at Fleet Farm for three boxes is $14, which is still less than the $5 with coupon price at JoAnn. I'm not sure if the fishing boxes are 'acid-free' but since you aren't storing paper in them I don't think it matters.

[TheLegoDr]

Those are neat bins, but that does seem a bit expensive. I've never seen great prices at JoAnn though. Another place that is usually higher priced is Hobby Lobby, but I know I purchased a similar sized box like that from them for $3.00. Now the bins aren't moveable, so that is the only problem, but the lid snaps tight and it seems to be of a thicker plastic/good quality. I haven't been back to look for anymore in a long time though.

[SweetiePie88]

I managed to find reusable labels! I can't think of the name off hand but I got 4 packs of 8 at 2 bucks a piece at Walmart

[Andy D]

The thing with legs is that they generally lack prints and there are a finite number of colors. I store legs, torsos, and heads all separately, generally sorted a certain way. The legs I stack together by color. Printed legs have their own stack. Torsos are the most painful to sort (odd shaped buggers); I've all but given up on sorting them, just keep them in the same bin with matching ones kind of stacked. Heads I try and sort by color and then by facial expression and beard status, lol. Female heads go together. Gray bearded ones go together. Shades of green monster heads go together. Etc.

This is a great idea (I think??) I am just starting to sort and organize my mini figs so I came here to see what others have done to get ideas to help me. My tentative idea is to keep some mini figs together that I know I will use as they are. Keep dresses together (unless it is just a plain slope as the skirt), but separate torsos, legs heads and headgear (which includes hair, but separate hats/helments from hair).

My only concern about keeping hair separate from heads is that hair looks different not on a head. Just one more trial and error... Or what have others done with hair?

I like the idea about separating printed vs. non-printed legs, and short vs. regular length legs and organize the heads by color and type (male/female/maybe expression)

One more step, maybe, just maybe one day I will be able to look at my collection of parts and say to myself "I can find part I need" (assuming I have the part in the first place)

Good luck to all you (like me) continual organizers and sorters.

Andy D

Edited March 30, 2014 by Andy D

[sithewok]

I've gotten some great suggestions reading through this thread. Luckily (and unluckily at the same time), as a new collector it is currently easy for me to store and sort my collection for the time being. Hopefully soon I will have to follow some of this great advice. Anyone use Plano tackle boxes for storage? I use them for my action figure collection and thought they might work well for Lego also with their adjustable sections.

[Andy D]

I've gotten some great suggestions reading through this thread. Luckily (and unluckily at the same time), as a new collector it is currently easy for me to store and sort my collection for the time being. Hopefully soon I will have to follow some of this great advice. Anyone use Plano tackle boxes for storage? I use them for my action figure collection and thought they might work well for Lego also with their adjustable sections.

I started out using exclusively Plano boxes. They are a good storage solution, but I quickly outgrew Plano boxes as my only storage. Now I use a multi-pronged solution. For most stotage I use 15 quart Sterelite bins with snap-top lids, with parts in freezer bags or Glad Entree storage containers. I also tried the Akron Mills drawer bins, but I quickly outgrew those as an only storge solution. Plano boxes are a very good and necessary part of my solution, along ith all the other things.

For me it has come down to where the parts will be, the type of part and the ease of access I want/need for building. For some parts the Akron Mills systems on my build surface is a good solution, most of my other storage solution involves keeping the parts in cabinets or the closet on shelves, all out of sight. My build space (room) is also my display room so "neatness counts" both from an astectics point of view and a comfort point of view for a relaxing build space.

Andy D

[fred67]

I'm not going to quote Andy D because it's already the post right above this one (as I'm writing this, anyway).

I have a handful of different solutions going, including the Akron Mills drawers and Stanley "suitcase" style organizers (the ones with removable bins, which I think are awesome for when you're actually building).

I should note that I have dozens of sets stored in plastic shoebox size sterilite containers, but I was only using kinds of bins for bricks that I had a large quantity of.

I have always eschewed sorting by color for smaller collections because I stand by the belief that it's easier, for example, to find a red 2x2 in a bin of 2x2's than it is to find a red 2x2 in a bin of all red bricks, so for years my collection has largely been sorted by type - but I'm man enough to admit I may have been mistaken, at least as collections grow. Now it seems building uses largely one or two colors, with maybe a couple others for accent pieces - a gray castle, a white house, a yellow submarine... so I found I was going to a million different bins to gather up all the different types of pieces I wanted in the same color.

So I've gotten larger bins (the 15 quart ones), but also use a lot of the shoebox size ones, and I've been sorting different colors into each - using some small ziploc type bags I got on Amazon (like 500 of each kind); if I need bigger, I use sandwich or gallon size bags. So now most of the bricks of the same color are stored together. But I intend this to be a first step, as I will re-put them back into the Stanley and Akron Mills storage by color now, instead of type. The problem is if I have 500 white 2x4s they don't fit into a single (or even several) drawers... so I need to keep the shoebox size (and larger) containers for overflow - but at the same time, if I have a SINGLE 2x2 white tile, it ends up getting an entire drawer to itself? I can keep them in their little ziploc bags in the same drawer as similar items I only have few of, I suppose, but I don't really like that option in the grand scheme of things... but it's probably the only tenable option there is, and is where I'm headed.

I still keep some elements separated out, sometimes with the colors mixed together, like wheel holder bricks, axles and a lot of other technic parts - mostly things I consider to be more functional, I guess, and not "building" bricks.

[Andy D]

As I continue to sort and store and categorize (but not catalog) my LEGO collection I have come to a conclusion. I know it has been said before that sort and store is a never ending process. I did not want to believe that, however, as I continue to sort and store I now realize several things...

1. Sorting ** is ** a never ending process.

2. Defining a storage solution is a never ending and iterative process.

3. I will never know exactly what I LEGO parts I have.

With this in mind, as I continue to sort and store I now realize that just as good as a comprehensive and complete sort, store and categorization is just knowing, that when I decide to build something, I need to have an idea that if I have such a part I need to know where it might be located in my collection. So I can go look through one area before I rush off to Bricklink to buy the same parts over and over again.

So this is my new goal... To know approximately what I have and more importantly where I might locate the parts (in my collection, not just on Bricklink). I continue to sort and store and categorize.

I continue to read and contribute this thread as I feel it is a very important resource for the members of the Eurobricks community.

Just today I ran across this thread... http://www.eurobrick...showtopic=94299

in which Eurobricks member “cosmicpurr” posted a link to a site I don’t remember seeing in this thread. It has information on sorting, storing and cleaning LEGO and as such I feel that a link to this site... http://thebrickblogg...w-to-sort-lego/ belongs in this thread for completeness of this resource. While browsing the thebrickblogger site I came across a link to a Flickr group... https://www.flickr.c...ps/1043272@N22/ which as photos of more storage solutions than I have ever seen in one place. I believe both are well worth a read.

Check out thebrickblogger site and the Flickr group for some very good info.

Andy D

Edited April 8, 2014 by Andy D

[trippybrowneyes]

I continue to read and contribute this thread as I feel it is a very important reWhile browsing the thebrickblogger site I came across a link to a Flickr group... https://www.flickr.c...ps/1043272@N22/ which as photos of more storage solutions than I have ever seen in one place. I believe both are well worth a read.

Check out thebrickblogger site and the Flickr group for some very good info.

Andy D

Thanks for the link. I know what I'll be doing for the next hour...

As for my storage solutions, I have a mix. Mostly I have the Sterilite wide clearview drawers that many people on this site also have. Some are divided with the Itso organizer from Target, but since those are no longer made, my current solution is this:

http://www.joann.com/insert-for-12x12-protect-and-store-box/10021335.html

It fits perfectly inside the Sterilite wide drawers. The plastic is kind of flimsy to pay full price for, but if you can get it during a sale it's not so bad.

I also have Plano boxes and the Stanley organizers, but I'd like to transfer the items in there to drawers some day. I don't like having to open the boxes every time.

My parts are organized by type, not by color - with the exception of a huge lot I acquired 2 summers ago. It contained the Eiffel Tower, among other gems, and I found it easiest to sort out all of the bley pieces first. So now I have a tower of modular latching Sterilite boxes containing the pieces left over from that acquisition, sorted by color.

I also have a ton of Sterlite latching containers for built sets not currently displayed and sets in progress.

[fatmui11]

I didn't store them well

So I always miss some of them ....

[figgycity50]

Right now I store all my spare LEGO in a Duplo bucket I had, but I plan to make draws out of LEGO to organise them, then buy more PAB cups.

[SweetiePie88]

I recently began reorganizing a lot of my collection. Bricks and plates have been divided up by size or share a drawer with baskets and different parts that were cramped in misc categories have their own section. I've found categories for transportation, tires, slopes, overall almost anything in my collection. Minifigures need a reorganize but until i can afford another 6 drawer sterelite unit and another tote to hold baskets and containers not in use, i'm out of luck.

However, i am dealing with the challenge of "oh great, where did i put (insert part name here)". i mean seriously! I can find countless parts categories that they can work in but now i can't find specific parts that need to go into a new category! For example, i know that i saw the 1 x 3 tiles b4 but now i can't find them now that i now have a little tackle box thing(like the individual containers) for my 1x2's and 1x3's. I found a 1x3 white tile hiding in the old 1x2 container but i know i had more then that!

About the only thing i can think to do is try my 10 drawer rolling unit that i have in the living room since all sorts of stuff seems to hide in that thing!

EDIT: no luck on the 1x3 tile hunt. Found 4 1x3 blues in my cart but i know i have more. The color loops storage case i got from dollar tree that was used for the 1x2's in the past didn't stay empty for long. Just divided up my small 1x1 round tile collection into it. Then the spot it used to take up in the 10 drawer case that i got from lowes a while back now holds the 5-point gold nuggets.

Edited April 19, 2014 by SweetiePie88

[Andy D]

However, i am dealing with the challenge of "oh great, where did i put (insert part name here)".

This is exactly the challenge I am dealing with right now. I just need to sort and catagorize until I have some idea where such a part might be if I have it. I do not need to know exactly what I have, but where it might be if I do have it... That is my goal!

Good luck!

Andy D

[SweetiePie88]

does anyone else feel that their minifigures are multiplying on their own? I just sorted out most of the minifigures I have in my room into a 6 drawer, 12 inch by 12 inch by about 2 inch deep and they're taking up the better part of just shy of 4 of the drawers in the baskets and that's not even all of them! There's a 5th drawer that holds about a dozen more figures plus loose torsos, legs, hair, heads(including blanks) and one for the space helmet collection i'm trying to complete. then on top of that, i can still think of no less then about 4 areas that have stashes of even more figures!

plus on top of that, there's another 6 minifigures and a minidoll in my post dental work pile and then I did a small lego shop order so there's another 2 minidolls on the way(the free bakery one and the Rapunzel poly code)!

they are multiplying faster then bunnies around here! I've got to get another sterelite unit and cut out the co-ed baskets. Started doing it but i'm almost out of space to do it and i only have one more drawer that'll be useable after I move over a few items from the top drawer. Never thought i'd be thankful for the extra baskets and short containers I got.

[333watch3r]

[...] but the lid snaps tight and it seems to be of a thicker plastic/good quality.

I bought the cheaper bins (Store house) from Harbor freight ($3.49), the only problem I have with them is that it IS cheaper quality and thin plastic. I returned a couple because the lock broke easily. Bins are movable plastic, however I plan to make this fixed using superglue. I do like its concave shape when pulling out tiny items, so I can slide it off easily.

http://www.harborfreight.com/hand-tools/bins-containers/24-divider-storage-container-94458.html

[333watch3r]

I have always eschewed sorting by color for smaller collections because I stand by the belief that it's easier, for example, to find a red 2x2 in a bin of 2x2's than it is to find a red 2x2 in a bin of all red bricks, so for years my collection has largely been sorted by type - but I'm man enough to admit I may have been mistaken, at least as collections grow. Now it seems building uses largely one or two colors, with maybe a couple others for accent pieces - a gray castle, a white house, a yellow submarine... so I found I was going to a million different bins to gather up all the different types of pieces I wanted in the same color.

What I am getting here is that the sorting is dependent on the type of building you are making. I agree with your first line that finding a small piece on a sea of the same color is a lot painful. So I sort by type. I collect mostly star wars sets and when I build, I like knowing the pieces.

Lastly I like your tag "Builder not a Hoarder" .. I have to keep reminding myself of that :)

[333watch3r]

I also have a ton of Sterlite latching containers for built sets not currently displayed and sets in progress.

Thanks for the tip trippybrowneyes! I found your comment helpful and instead of disassembling my lego sets and put them in "sorted bins" I will put them in a ziplock or a storage bin. I have been thinking of what to do with my duplicate sets. And realize that its in the "building' where the fun is. Sorting is the next hobby. But by storing the set as a complete set then I can easily just rebuild them without the hassle of searching for every piece.. :)

[badbob001]

Has anyone used an Ikea Alex drawer cabinet for LEGO storage? The shallow drawers combined with drawer organizers or bins seems like possibly a good fit for a reasonable price. And it looks classy compared to regular all-plastic drawers. It would ideal if IKEA sold larger map/blueprint storage drawers.

$119.00

Product dimensions

Width: 26 3/8 "

Depth: 18 7/8 "

Height: 26 "

Width: 67 cm

Depth: 48 cm

Height: 66 cm

[cmartin911]

My 5 and 7 year old sons and I have been sorting by color for a couple of years but we have so much now it's time to sort piece by piece. We went with the Akro Mills system and I'm printing my own labels. It's going well so far and they are enjoying it.

[sithewok]

Picked up my first Akro Mills units today at Menard's - these really are very nice. I've sorted by color and some by type (windows, jumper plates, tiles, minifigure parts, etc...) already and am really liking how easy these are to use so far.

[Oakey]

I started sorting my old bricks out today using Really Useful Boxes, so far each colour has it's own box with each brick type in each compartment. There aren't enough compartments for each brick type so I might need to rethink how I'm going to sort some of the bricks.

[TheLegoDr]

^How deep are those boxes? Do they all come with individual compartments like that? That looks like a perfect solution for how I sort. I'm going to have to look into these. Where do you get them?