Nevermind

Edited August 4, 201014 yr by Ambo100

I store my legos at an underground cellar which I call the "Floor № 0"

My house has 4 floors.

01-01-01.jpg

sheep brickshelf

look on my brickshelf account

and then look for that one google thingy and then you'll find it.

I've just recently come out of my dark age and luckily my parents kept all my Lego, so I had a nice start!

All of my bricks were sorted into margarine dishes and shoe boxes but they were all pretty bent and battered. I got some clear plastic containers about the size of a shoebox from the dollar store and they stack very nicely, even when there's stuff in them. For now my collection needs to be semi-mobile, as we're in an apartment and my fiance uses the living room for work purposes once or twice per week. All of the boxes stack up well with each other into a large cardboard box that gets hidden away. Soon we will have a house, and I will have a basement to do what I want with!

Here are a couple pics. The first is where I do my building. it's not the most efficient, and I've dropped a few pieces that are probably under the couch now. :)

The second spreads straight out from my computer desk, so that I'm no more than a few steps away from any given part.

nice storage

nice storage

it will be a lot nicer once I buy a house. :)

I'm thinking of getting some sort of compartmentalised storage system for my lego... currently it's in a few huge boxes, all mixed up together. Makes MOCs very time consuming. As I understand it, I have been in a "dark age" for the last few years... have I got that right? Anyhow, it was all in the attic, in storage. Now I'm building trains again, I wondered if y'all had any reccomendations for storage compartments.

Stuff I can get at ASDA or IKEA would be helpful! :p

Since I am back from my dark ages and currently aquiring set after set, I am in need of some sorting. I cannot keep the sets all assembled at the same time because I have not a lot of space. And I cannot make some huge sorting thing, because I am lacking space for that either. So sorting is only needed for my new sets, which will be the base for my future MOCing.

My old Lego from when I was a kid is stored in some boxes in the attic and some sets (like all the space stuff and pirates) is still assembled in my old room. So, until I find a new flat for myself, the old stuff stays where it is.

Currently I have a box with small drawers which holds all kinds of small and special parts and all my Minifigs. And I have a sorting case (which I originally bought for my Mindstorms set), which holds bigger parts, plates and bigger wedge and slope parts. But I still have a few sets that need disassembling and the space is already pretty filled. So I need some new sorting box, which I am searching right now. In our hardware stores, nothing suitable is available, so I have to search further.

My Technic, which I got out first before buying new sets, is sorted in a old drawer box which I already have for approximately 15-20 years. This was available from Lego back then. It holds all my Technic (except the Mindstorms kit) and some additions from regular Lego which I needed regularly for my creations.

I will post pics of my current sorting later when I am back at home.

Struggling to make my own model I decided to make a collage for my brick shelf. It's made out of Lego Club magazines, Catalogues and set instructions

This shelf has basic coloured bricks and plates :)

Inside one of the drawers, I made my own crude dividers out of spare cardboard and brown tape :p

Other parts of my Lego storage are strongly inspired by the examples shown in this topic.

Edited August 9, 201014 yr by Ambo100

Hello world,

I've started a little project of getting an exact inventory of the sets I own and eventually adding to it. Its been a several years since I've even looked at LEGOs because of school and work. I am about 75 percent through inventory and I'm up to 72 sets ranging from 6399 to 6898. I've found that for storage, using Sterilite 6 Qt/5.7 L containers for the larger sets is the perfect answer. They're durable, secure, and stack-able. I purchased several from Walmart for $1 each and recommend them to anyone who needs a storage solution.

At first, I sorted my Lego by color. After using that system for a few months, I realize that going by color is not a good sorting solution. I have now started to sort my color bins into bricks, plates, tiles, and Other. I sort the other category by element, or elements that are very similar into a small bin with a lot of dividers in it. So far I have only sorted my yellow into other categories. I will hopefully get a picture up soon of the containers I am using.

Hey Guys,

I have recently started something where every color will go into a zip bag (A very large one) And every type of different bricks goes into a smaller plastic bag and the zip bag goes into a box. Has anyone got anymore suggestions.

I got loads of transparent boxes from ikea, they're really handy! Easy to stack and you can fit 2 small ones on a medium, 2 mediums on a large etc...

They can hold the weight as well, some are pretty heavy! These are just my spare bits, I've got over 200 sets in boxes, and those pieces aren't in this lot.

I guess I've got about 1M pieces, but could be way off, difficult to say!

There are some more boxes behind the small ones of course.

(PS: is it OK to have large pictures when they're hosted on a different site?)

-Marky

-- Made my picture smaller

Edited September 6, 201014 yr by Marckeyh
Picture was huge!

http://launcestonlegotechnicbuilder.blogspot.com/

My Lego collection is so vast I have to share it with the kids. They have a tendancy to strip anything I build for the minifigs

Anyway, I have one of those "spread bag" mats - although mine's not the Lego brand one from the 70's... I got mine a couple of years ago from Identity Direct (they do personalised stationery, etc for kids). This is where all our "unsorted" Lego goes...

only drawback is, it'll only hold so much, and ours doesn't quite "tie up" at the top

That's in addition to the stuff that is mostly sorted...

Stackable Placcy containers with lids FTW!!

(yes, that handsome fat bloke with the beergut is me.)

For those who don't want to spend squillions on containers, I have a tip: you can buy stacks of 4 or 5 containers (like Chinese food containers) in the supermarket for about $2. Some of them have 2 separate compartments, and the best part is, they stack up. You can see some in the next pic. I don't have any "completed built" Sets or MOC stuff at the moment, but I do have a "rebuild/in progress" shelf: (and more sorted containers)

You can also see in there I have a couple of stacks (about 20) 15-compartment clear plastic containers for small parts. Each container is for a different set of similar parts... (round bits, Tiny-Turbo and other car body bits, Boat bits, Minifig utensils, SNOT bits, etc)

Edited August 17, 201014 yr by Cadder

Yeah I also use containers that were actually meant for food ( R&M "tuppers" ) and they are FTw. The food industry is a blessing for the AFOL. They are inexpensive and since they are meant for food, they close hermetically so your pieces will be protected from the elements, and the stacking cannot ever be forgotten. Plus they come in all sizes.

My relatively-small collection keeps changing in size and also in what specific kinds of bricks I have the most so it is nice to just be able to buy more containers if needed and also to just move to a bigger/smaller container for a piece kind when its availability varies.

Edit: My current worst worry is the sun. How do you guys protect from UV lights? Is just avoiding direct sun light enough? Or is light reflected from the sky also as harmful? I have some space but most of it is close to a source of natural light.

Edited August 15, 201014 yr by vexorian

Yeah, i started out using old takeaway containers, but the creaky lids got to me after a while, not to mention the time i accidentally knocked a pile of containers over and some of the lids popped off... So i graduated to small 17 compartment tackle/screw boxes - i now have 7 of them, plus a couple of 3 tier drawers that have 8 compartments each. The tackle boxes are great for the small and fiddly peices (i sort by size and type, mainly) and the tier drawers for larger plates, bricks and panels etc. I have a seperate box for minifigs too.

Mind you, i only have about 3000 pieces atm, and i can already see the limitations of my current storage setup. I'll be heading off to Bunnings (Aust hardware store) soon if i keep up aquiring lego at the rate i am now...

After a lot of thought and working out how much space I have, I've decided to go with several of these LINK and also a large drawer container for large plates and bricks. Now comes the actual sorting

I have a question...

So, having received some bricklink orders where the sellers organized their inventory by putting bricks together (which minimizes the space requirements, too), and after reading in various locations about how others do this as well, and sorting my inventory by type instead of color (it's easier to find a red 1x2 in a bucket of various 1x2s than it is to find a red 1x2 in a bucket of a bunch of other red pieces), I decided to store my LEGO like that.

So, for example, my 2x4 brick drawer has groups of 10 bricks of the same colors. That way, if I need 6 red ones, for example, I can just grab a stack of red instead of fishing around for them. Some bricks are just stacks of 5 (like 1x1s), and plates I offset by one to make them easy to take apart.

Now I was thinking about this thread, and wondering if perhaps storing them this way is a bad idea. If you look at the pictures of willy_poodle's MMV (in this post), it's downright scary.

To be fair, I've had my MMV sitting on a shelf for at least a year with no problems, personally.

Right now, I have them in plastic bags, according to sets. I am, however getting good ideas from this thread. I have a question..isn't quite off topic. Other than a simple box, how do people sort the instruction manuals? I'm thinking of getting an accordion file or something of the sort.

Here are some pics of my storage. Not much at the moment. But my new sets force me to enhance my sorting since it is much too many parts and the storage I have now is nearly full :) So I guess I get me one other of those lower boxes at least for now. This should do for a while I hope.

Some of the compartments in the upper sorting box have 1 or 2 separators. And the lower box has a upper and lower compartment. The upper compartments are smaller and the lower compartments are bigger for the big parts.

Edited August 19, 201014 yr by Balrog

I find those compartments to be too small. I had something similar but ended up ditching it because those compartments filled up way too fast. I just don't need to sort that specifically. There becomes a point where you can't find things because they are too sorted, if you know what I mean.

Anyway, I've been on a massive crusade of sorting. I'm using those 7 drawer towers you see a lot of, with office drawer separators in some of the smaller drawers for my really tiny bits. I'm guessing I should have around 6-8 of these towers full by the time I'm done. It's a heck of a lot of work, but it's rewarding to see it come together.

I will for sure post pics when I'm done.

yeah. i use that.

Hello world,

I've started a little project of getting an exact inventory of the sets I own and eventually adding to it. Its been a several years since I've even looked at LEGOs because of school and work. I am about 75 percent through inventory and I'm up to 72 sets ranging from 6399 to 6898. I've found that for storage, using Sterilite 6 Qt/5.7 L containers for the larger sets is the perfect answer. They're durable, secure, and stack-able. I purchased several from Walmart for $1 each and recommend them to anyone who needs a storage solution.

The blue lid containers on the left are Mainstays 5 cup containers. They come four to a pack for around $1.75 at Walmart. I'm using them for smaller sets. I am still collecting and storing my sets until I'm able to set up a permanent display.

Edited October 2, 201014 yr by typo

I am not looking forward to sorting my collection. 30 years across 2 large 6 gal (22.8L), 4 of 4L tubs, and half dozen cardboard boxes. I had to make 6 trips to move all of my Lego out of storage,the whole lot are too big and heavy to do in 1 trip.

I plan to separate all technic and non-technic first. Then by part type (1x1 brick, regular, 1x1 brick, round, 1x1 brick, cone, etc) Colors will be ignored.

I did have some free small tubs for uncommon parts. They are Gerber tub that is about 1 cup (about 240 mL) so if you know someone who has a baby and feeding him/her Gerber food, ask them to save empty tubs.

Now to figure out about storing the rest.

I am sorry i dont have any pics, im at college right now with only a few chosen minifigs

I have my bricks all sorted by color, I have a pretty small collection but it gets the job done. They are all in container store plastic boxes, which are all in a bigger box. I have general minifigs in a tackle box, along with their accessories. Medieval and Pirate minifigs/accessories are in their own respective boxes. I have 3 large shelves with sets on display, pirate ships, cc buildings, etc. Lastly, i have several unused sets broken down and placed into ziplock bags, in a fairly small box. My instructions are in a filing box, but I fear I need to get another one its getting cramped!

I had all of mine sorted but have now put them all back in to a single tub :( I was having problems keeping them sorted and it was getting hard to remember which tub had which parts. As I am mainly buying new sets at the moment to build up I don't need to get any parts out of my tub at the moment.

Paul

Glad I saw this thread. I forgot about it for a while.

I'm doing a lot of resorting on my current 'stock' of pieces. I had them sorted fairly well, but had some visitors this summer (Copmike, Quarryman, and ISC all said some not so nice things while searching for parts, mainly 1x1 tiles, plates, and round plates) and decided that I really need to refine a few of the sorted drawers. My problem is space, which is a problem for many of us. Since midsummer, I have improved my storage and sorting techniques. I'll work to get some photos up within the next few days.