Storage and Sorting LEGO

[TheLegoDr]

I agree about the notion that when you want to build certain builds you will need a lot of one color; however, I've noticed sometimes it is easier (for me at least) to have all of my SNOT bricks and all of my headlight bricks separated from each other, but all of the colors mixed. As opposed to a separate container just for light bley headlight and another for dark bley headlight, etc. I can still find the pieces I need by having them separated that way. Now everyone will differ.

I am currently just using cardboard boxes to sort by color. Then I have some clear plastic drawers that separate out a lot of the smaller pieces I may use a lot while building. So far it has worked for me and doesn't take up a ton of space since I keep them on shelves underneath our bookshelf in the LEGO room. But it doesn't add a lot of flexibility for building since I have to sift through or sometimes dump out a box just to find some other pieces I may need.

I've recently also started sorting out all of my plates to find them quicker instead of sifting through the giant box of that color. It really is a never-ending process AND space/time consuming depending on your collection.

[Bookworm]

I picked up some of the plastic drawer containers at Sears yesterday, and I started sorting. I am using a combination of the color and brick type systems. All of my SNOT bricks go together, all black slopes go together, etc. I am separating the plates and regular bricks for most colors, though, to make it easier to find what I need.

[masterX244]

sorted a used lego lot in i snagged from a friend's friend who cleaned out his basement storage and was almost throwing the parts away.

Images linked are the state short before i got stuff finished

http://nplusc.de/sortintermediate1.JPG (small amount of boxes stored on desk. (the one box behind the joystick contains stuff scheduled for trashing (aka clone brand parts and other non-lego stuff that sneaked inside)

http://nplusc.de/sortintermediate2.JPG (that one red shoebox open with the inside box contains all those tiny parts that wouldn be a PITA to sift thru in large boxes, andt he empty box ontop of the package with the plates was the sorting tray used to keep the currently processed parts in one spot, (a few more boxes didn't find their way onto that pictur)

And the entire system i use is built around cardboard and paper boxesc ause you get shoeboxes and other boxes free as packaging material and paper isn't that expensive especially when you recycle misprints. and cardboard/paper can be made to fit much easier than plastic boxes

[Paul B Technic]

I have just published a blog post about a new carry case I purchased today for storing my spare LEGO pieces, it might be interesting for others who are looking to do the same:

http://paulstechnic.blogspot.com.au/2014/06/storage-kincrome-multi-pack-trade.html

[legobuttersstotch777]

awesome blog post Paul I will defiantly buy one of those

[Paul B Technic]

awesome blog post Paul I will defiantly buy one of those

Thanks. Since writing this I have found a small problem which is that one tray on each side has a small gap at the top with the lid on, I get around this by only storing the larger pieces in these.

[TheLegoDr]

^That's a neat case. I like how it is double sided. I would never spend that much money on one though. (I don't have any of those accounts on your blog, otherwise I would comment there.)

Edit: I have been using one of these.Here is another picture. It works really well for smaller pieces (it doesn't have the larger sections like the above case). So I just put minifigure accessories and pieces in there. It seems to work well. But I only paid $3 at Hobby Lobby for mine.

Everyone has their own systems and what works best for them. I'd like more organizers like the above, just at a different price.

Edited June 24, 2014 by TheLegoDr

[Paul B Technic]

^That's a neat case. I like how it is double sided. I would never spend that much money on one though.

I was tossing up on buying it, due to the price but the more I use it the more I like it. Between this and another case for $80 I have my storage sorted for the foreseeable future :)

[MikroMan]

I'm currently spread over multi-drawer system for tiles and special pieces, screws/beads containers for my Technic part and various random boxes. I'm currently thinking of separating and restoring my small sets from my childhood from pieces acquired via PAB and BL...

[MattieG7]

I love this thread as I love being organised so this is soothing for me

I have a considerable amount of parts that are scattered randomly in large boxes and stored under my bed, but as I want to buy more for MOCs, Brickfilms etc I figured I need some form of organisation and storage. I have bought a large amount of ziploc bags - 100 each of the 2x3", 3.5x4.5" and 4x5.5", which should be enough to hold my pieces if they're sorted well enough. They're so cheap on Amazon (UK) - £1.18 for the 2x3.5" bags, £0.81 for the 3.5x4.5" bags, £1.61 for the 4x5.5" bags, all with free delivery, and I had enough left over on an Amazon giftcard so it was free anyway.

Once I've sorted out all the parts into the ziploc bags then it will give me a clear view on what the best storage method/s would be. I'm geared towards:

• ​44 drawer organisers for £22.99 in Maplin - for most/all parts, would prefer these as I can easily access the parts without searching through picking up box after box looking; having drawers that I can see that just slide out would be so much easier. There are also different size draws if I have more/larger parts, but they are the most expensive option.
  
• Compartment boxes with removable dividers from Maplin for £5.99 - mainly for 1xN plates, studs, tiles, bricks, cheese slopes etc.
  
• Really Useful Boxes 0.07l for 60p for 0.14l for 70p from Hobbycraft - also mainly for 1xN parts
  
• 500ml plastic takeaway boxes, 8 for 99p from 99p stores -
  
• A mixture of these (most likely)
  

I would love to have a room devoted entirely to LEGO but hopefully I will in the future

[-Horizon-]

I love this thread as I love being organised so this is soothing for me

I would love to have a room devoted entirely to LEGO but hopefully I will in the future

Ditto on both of these. Literally, almost every night I dream of waking up and having an Amazing Lego Room

If your looking for Storage drawers I would recommend these. I have one and it works great.

Edited June 29, 2014 by lego3364

[fred67]

.... I have bought a large amount of ziploc bags - 100 each of the 2x3", 3.5x4.5" and 4x5.5", which should be enough to hold my pieces if they're sorted well enough. They're so cheap on Amazon (UK) - £1.18 for the 2x3.5" bags, £0.81 for the 3.5x4.5" bags, £1.61 for the 4x5.5" bags, all with free delivery, and I had enough left over on an Amazon giftcard so it was free anyway.

Yes... always trying to get organized, I took this approach. I started with a large number of plastic shoe-box containers: Sterilite 6QT "shoe box"; at Target they are less than $1/each, and I have about 40 now, with about 10 waiting to be used. I also have the much larger 16QT version.

For a while, I'd been using these to store sets I'd previously built to make room on my shelves for more sets, but at the moment I'm taking everything out of my Stanley suitcase style organizers, and Akron Mills storage units to sort by color and part type.

I'm still now sure how I'm going to handle greebles and other pieces. For example, I think I'll keep all the wheels together, regardless of color. In order to keep the pieces organized, they go into one of the small ziploc style bags for pieces I only have a few of, and larger (sandwhich to quart to gallon sized) for bricks I have a lot of.

Eventually, though, I will put them back into the other storage units, just keeping the shoe-box containers for "overflow."

It really is an art and not a science.

[Bob De Quatre]

Hey Bob, I have some labels made. If you want them I can PM them to you.

Oops forgot to check this thread....Go ahead, PM me

[-Horizon-]

Oops forgot to check this thread....Go ahead, PM me

Ok

[Paul B Technic]

More storage of sets than parts:

http://paulstechnic.blogspot.com.au/2014/07/lego-room-display-cabinet-july-2014.html

[jaumeBCN]

Back at the time had it on a wooden box, ordered by stratification. now before I got any important quantity, plan to clasify it by colors using empty pineapple salad containers

[TheLegoDr]

I originally wanted to use those Sterilite shoebox containers because they seem like they'd be good enough quality while maintaining enough room to store the pieces. But at least on Amazon they are too expensive. a 12 pack for $27 and a 12 pack of the 16 quart for $50. I'd rather spend that money on LEGO itself.

I've looked at Target before and I've never seen them that cheap, but maybe I'm not looking at the right time of year.

[mdoupe]

I originally wanted to use those Sterilite shoebox containers because they seem like they'd be good enough quality while maintaining enough room to store the pieces.

Shoeboxes, IMO, are not big enough. If you have a dollarama near you, you may want to take a look there. They have large flat tupperware containers that hold almost twice as much. And since they are wide, they provide more room to dig. :)

http://i.imgur.com/XWjEfEr.jpg

Edited July 8, 2014 by mdoupe

[Andy D]

I originally wanted to use those Sterilite shoebox containers because they seem like they'd be good enough quality while maintaining enough room to store the pieces. But at least on Amazon they are too expensive. a 12 pack for $27 and a 12 pack of the 16 quart for $50. I'd rather spend that money on LEGO itself.

I've looked at Target before and I've never seen them that cheap, but maybe I'm not looking at the right time of year.

I use these 15 qt Sterilite bins with latches from Target they cost about $4.50 each. I currently have about 30 of them in use along with 2 Akron Mills drawer systems and a bunch of Plano 3700 series boxes that I got on sale.

My total investment in storage containers is about $250 which is less than the cost of 2 modulars and it really helps to keep my studio organized and neat.

Andy D

[TheLegoDr]

Like I said, I like the idea of them. So far I've been using sturdy cardboard boxes I get from work. They are all the same design and size/shape. I have a few variance in sizes which work well. The only downside is them not being clear and the fact that cardboard will break down over time with constant use. I do have them labeled, so it hasn't been a big deal for me so far. But I like the idea of clear plastic to make it look nicer/neater. But with that, I'm OCD enough I'd want all of them to be the same brand/color lid/etc. That hinders me to an extent since I would hate to have a lot of one type and then not find them anymore and have to switch to another color or brand...I know, I'm silly.

But with those 15 qt containers, do you also use plastic bags inside to sort out certain elements within color schemes or anything? I've seen that on here before, so that might be a good idea too. I prefer keeping like colors together, so that could work for me.

EDIT: I also recently recycled all of my old school notes, so I have 3 ring binders to use for instruction manuals. I considered getting these and organizing my manuals this way instead of stacking them in boxes. I wouldn't separate the sheets individually, like I've seen, but keep them intact, just organized in binders for easier searching. Has anyone done this before for manuals?

Edited July 8, 2014 by TheLegoDr

[Andy D]

But with those 15 qt containers, do you also use plastic bags inside to sort out certain elements within color schemes or anything? I've seen that on here before, so that might be a good idea too. I prefer keeping like colors together, so that could work for me.

I do sort different elements and colors within the bins. In some cases I use plastic bags, in some cases I use the Glad Entree food storage containers inside the bins to separate parts/colors. I had an advantage of completely overhauling my storage system last year, I really wanted neatness and usability and cost was sort of secondary, but of course I did look for the lowest cost within a storage category.

For instruction books I just use a couple of the storage bins, not as orderly as the binder approach, which sounds really nice, but for me the bins are more compact, requiring less space.

I just remodeled a spare bedroom last year to be my studio for LEGO and other (mostly LEGO) so neatness counts. Unfortunately I have almost outgrown my space, but my wife told me "no expanding into other rooms" (like her hobby room), so I need to remain as organized as possible.

Andy D

Edited July 8, 2014 by Andy D

[fred67]

About those containers... I'm a really cheap guy, if I wasn't getting them for cheap, I'd find something else. I do not know why they cost so much elsewhere, but I've been getting them for less than a buck each at the Target I go to for quite some time, it's not a sale price.

About those containers... I'm a really cheap guy, if I wasn't getting them for cheap, I'd find something else. I do not know why they cost so much elsewhere, but I've been getting them for less than a buck each at the Target I go to for quite some time, it's not a sale price.

[alphachild]

I have purchased all types of containers but still as yet to finish with sorting all like items. Have many ziploc bags also. I love the time when sitting down at a table and sorting the lego bricks. Anyway the best way that I sort is using a dish container for the lego bricks when I get them from all different sources and then I sort them in the glass jars that Nestea had come in. Over the past 3 years that I have started getting into Lego's especially for my grandson, anyways the jar's are handy in holding them till full and then put in the ziploc bags. I have approx. over 100 jars now, may even use them to store the bricks and then I could put them on shelves till needed. It's a solution at the moment.

[Mowikan]

I use to have different kinds of storage. Now i only use Raaco. There expensive but good and have always the same dimensions and you can always buy new inserts.

[glendo]

jeez they look better than Akro-mils shelves!