Storage and Sorting LEGO

[Legofan4ever88]

duct tape residue could probably be taking care of w/ warm water and elbow grease or some sort of "Goo b gone" product.

[Follows Closely]

I am leaning this direction. I was going to make a trip to the http://www.containerstore.com, but to may have to stop at Target and K-Mart first. Thanks for the input guys.

Edited June 1, 2011 by Follows Closely

[Edmond Dantes]

I am leaning this direction. I was going to make a trip to the http://www.containerstore.com, but to may have to stop at Target and K-Mart first. Thanks for the input guys.

The only problem there is the opaque nature of the drawer.

[fred67]

The only problem there is the opaque nature of the drawer.

I don't think so... out of all my complaints of using small bins in my sterilite drawers, that's not one of them.

I mean, it's true you can't see what's in them, but with dividers you likely wouldn't be able to see everything anyway... and the usefulness of being able to pull the bins out for working makes it better, IMO, than fixed dividers in the drawers.

I will admit, though, that I'm trying to move away from those sterilite drawers for storage of parts taking up small volumes... I'm preferring these kinds of Stanley Organizers, the tops are clear, there are two kinds - shallow with smaller bins, and larger with deeper bins, all removeable (which is becoming a prerequisite with me).

However, now having about a dozen of those, they are getting hard to keep track of, and it's not always easy to label and organize them well using space optimally. For example, if I have slopes in one, my basic 2x2 slopes take up an entire large bin... but my cheese slopes take up a fraction of the smallest bin that fits in the same case. But if I want to keep slopes together, I have no alternative. I have another one with inverse slopes, and as you would expect, I require the largest bins in the case for the basic 2x2 inverse slopes, yet require little else for the other inverse slopes I have. As such, there's overflow from the regular slopes into the inverse slopes case... so it's just not really "optimal."

I'm also investing in the the Akro-Mills "cabinets." Only the ones with large drawers, at this point, since you can divide them (although they don't give you enough dividers). I have two of them and a similar style one with both small and large drawers from another company.

I should take newer pictures... but essentially I want the sterilite drawers, without dividers or bins, for the parts I have a lot of. I have a three drawer one with basic 2x2, 2x3, and 2x4 bricks that works really well. Smaller drawers for parts I have a lot of, but not requiring as much space. Then the Akro-mills and Stanley cases for smaller parts.

I have several of these that I'd like to get rid of... the worst part is they have no catch at the top, so drawers slide completely out without any resistance (== too many messes for my clumsy old ham-fisted self):

I guess that, while I think the little bins are a good solution to the organization-within-a-drawer problem, I'd like to move away from that myself.

Edit:

It seems to me that the most annoying thing to store are large single-purpose or <insert that tiresome argument> pieces, and also things like horses or the kraken/squid animals. I like to stack up my things when sorting and storing. I've also got a lot of sloped pieces that need sorting and storing. Even my minifigure accessories have filled up their little drawer. And I've only been buying Lego for less than a year already! I can see how people end up with bins and bins of this stuff as the years go by.

Yeah... it's not an easy problem.

For example, I have a Stanley Organizer (link above) for tiles, but then PAB wall had 1x8 black tiles... so I got about 150 of them, and while I have a few uses intended for them, in meantime they will not fit in the organizer, so I have to keep them separate.

Then there's one-offs that I have no idea what to do with... like one faucet (whole faucet, not just a tap). One winch. One string. One cat. One backpack. Even when there's more than one... am I going to give a whole drawer to 3 lightsaber hilts?

What about my printed pieces? They're mostly all one-offs. One keyboard. One extra compass from POTC....

So, it's a game, it keeps evolving.

Edited June 1, 2011 by fred67

[Andy D]

I use the Akron Mills for studded LEGO, and the Plano fishing tackle boxes like this one which has adjustable dividers for my Technic, although I may start using the Plano for some of my studded LEGO as well.

Andy D

[Legofan4ever88]

I don't think so... out of all my complaints of using small bins in my sterilite drawers, that's not one of them.

I mean, it's true you can't see what's in them, but with dividers you likely wouldn't be able to see everything anyway... and the usefulness of being able to pull the bins out for working makes it better, IMO, than fixed dividers in the drawers.

I will admit, though, that I'm trying to move away from those sterilite drawers for storage of parts taking up small volumes... I'm preferring these kinds of Stanley Organizers, the tops are clear, there are two kinds - shallow with smaller bins, and larger with deeper bins, all removeable (which is becoming a prerequisite with me).

However, now having about a dozen of those, they are getting hard to keep track of, and it's not always easy to label and organize them well using space optimally. For example, if I have slopes in one, my basic 2x2 slopes take up an entire large bin... but my cheese slopes take up a fraction of the smallest bin that fits in the same case. But if I want to keep slopes together, I have no alternative. I have another one with inverse slopes, and as you would expect, I require the largest bins in the case for the basic 2x2 inverse slopes, yet require little else for the other inverse slopes I have. As such, there's overflow from the regular slopes into the inverse slopes case... so it's just not really "optimal."

I'm also investing in the the Akro-Mills "cabinets." Only the ones with large drawers, at this point, since you can divide them (although they don't give you enough dividers). I have two of them and a similar style one with both small and large drawers from another company.

I should take newer pictures... but essentially I want the sterilite drawers, without dividers or bins, for the parts I have a lot of. I have a three drawer one with basic 2x2, 2x3, and 2x4 bricks that works really well. Smaller drawers for parts I have a lot of, but not requiring as much space. Then the Akro-mills and Stanley cases for smaller parts.

I have several of these that I'd like to get rid of... the worst part is they have no catch at the top, so drawers slide completely out without any resistance (== too many messes for my clumsy old ham-fisted self):

I guess that, while I think the little bins are a good solution to the organization-within-a-drawer problem, I'd like to move away from that myself.

Edit:

Yeah... it's not an easy problem.

For example, I have a Stanley Organizer (link above) for tiles, but then PAB wall had 1x8 black tiles... so I got about 150 of them, and while I have a few uses intended for them, in meantime they will not fit in the organizer, so I have to keep them separate.

Then there's one-offs that I have no idea what to do with... like one faucet (whole faucet, not just a tap). One winch. One string. One cat. One backpack. Even when there's more than one... am I going to give a whole drawer to 3 lightsaber hilts?

What about my printed pieces? They're mostly all one-offs. One keyboard. One extra compass from POTC....

So, it's a game, it keeps evolving.

You could put the cat together w/ small animals and the BP w/ minifigure accessories or have a designated drawer for misc pieces.

[Follows Closely]

The only problem there is the opaque nature of the drawer.

I just picked a few of these up at Target, white though. I'll post a picture tonight.

Edited June 1, 2011 by Follows Closely

[Follows Closely]

...

What about my printed pieces? They're mostly all one-offs. One keyboard. One extra compass from POTC....

...

This is exactly what prompted me to get bins inside my drawers. I have a few hundred printed 2x1 tiles that kept spilling out of there baggie into the rest of the 2x1 tiles.

I also like the ability to pull the bin out of the drawer. The process is always evolving. I have a 33 gallon tub tha t Iput all my large BURPs and others.

Edited June 1, 2011 by Follows Closely

[Vindicare]

I have a question about stickers in storage. I have Lego in ziploc bags in a big plastic bin in a storage locker. Will the applied stickers stay on right, or will it peel like if it were in the sun/heat?

[Lego Otaku]

Stickers from early 2000 will fail even if you kept them in climate controlled environment. Something about the type of material not being nice, causing the sticker to crack and fray at the edge. Most other stickers will stay on fine if the part was clean and you didn't peel and re-apply at all.

[Follows Closely]

I am unhappy with baggies inside my drawers, so I moved my tiles to the bins inside drawers. I am still not comfortable with my setup. First of all (like Edmond Dantes stated) I don't like how it looks from the front.

Also a lot of space is wasted, I had to use 5 drawers for what use to take only two drawers when the tiles where in baggies. I am also concerned about the drawers getting bumped and the contents all mixing together. With 5 kids and a dog this happens all too often.

I do like the largest bins, that take up abot 40% of the drawer, the smaller ones are just too small to be useful.

I think I am going to have to stick to the tackle boxes for smaller (in quantity and size) pieces, like the following:

[fred67]

The problem is that even with transparent bins in the drawers, you still wouldn't be able to tell everything that was in the drawer from the front.

I'm moving away from the bins in the drawers for most pieces to the Akro-Mills organizers. The problem with the AM organizers is that they don't have a lot of depth (less than half the depth of a sterilite drawer), which means they "waste" depth space since putting one in front of another is not a reasonable proposition.

Still, I'm getting better organized with the AM organizers I have, so I'm ordering a couple more. Still need to make dividers, though.

I will also continue to use the Stanley Organizers with labels. Like the drawers, when I have them stacked up you can't see what's in them, but when you take one out you see immediately all the pieces you have. That's one of the reasons why, if you've organized well, I don't think the problem of transparent bins is a big one... if it's a drawer of slopes, you open it up and see all the different slopes you have... no problem.

[horizon]

So... this morning I sorted the last parts from big box 1. (Big Box 2 is mostly the '80's train system).

Everything by sort of brick.

Everything in a bag.

Now I need to find a good sorting box. It needs to have good access so my kids can actually do something with the LEGO. haha.

[Bearded Castle Guy]

I have restarted sorting my collection (collective even?) Some parts are in a 'Final sort' stage i.e. have their own bin for the particular part style and color. Others are partway thru a very rough sort (slopes here, 1 by x bricks there, tiles there etc) or a mid grade sort. And of course there's the parts that were gutted out of a box and (Usually) dropped into a ziplock style bag or whichever sort was handy and available OR in a couple of cases a built set in a storage tote.

I've had a couple of designs of various plastic shoeboxes for a while but they mostly hold unsorted or semi sorted parts. The problem with this is over time the companies change the designs and make stacking them STABLY very difficult and I'm unwilling to chuck out the old style or the odd-ball styles and re buy more, especially since I see myself switching away from every thing being in these.

I've started getting some of the Stanley organizers with removable bins mentioned earlier in the thread, this is where the items that have reached the 'Final Sort' level have come to reside. I need to order some of the deeper depth ones and see how I like those, some far I have just the 'standard depth' units.

Plastic Shoeboxes.

PRO's for these, I made sure the ones I bought had lids that latch to at least some extent, tipping on the side or a mild drop will not spill the contents. Widely available. Inexpensive. Many design choices available.

CON's for these, designs change over time, take a lot of space if you have quantities of them.

Stanley organizers with removable bins.

PRO's for these, you can swap the bins around or even made a particular organizer have all the same size bin, *IF* you own enough of them. Bins are removable. They latch securely and have a clear lid. They stack stably and are fairly widely available.

Con's for these, Price, essentially I am trading away the equal to a PaB cup for each one I get, but I have to organize.... Latch's sometimes are a bit hard to unlock. Have to unstack to see what's in them (eventually labeling will help with this but I need to be closer to a more complete deciding of what goes where and how much space I need for what).

Storage Totes, 12 to 18 gallons in size.

Pro's for these, Big, opaque to avoid sunlight penetration (UV bad of course). Widely available, variety of manufacturers make version that are similar enough to stack. Can hold a lot (did I mention big?). Interleaving lids (on most anyways) allow you to ziptie the lid shut to contain parts if required.

Con's for these, Big, take a lot of space. Rounded, sloped or curved shapes 'Waste' space especially if you trying to store smaller squarish shapes inside (inefficient use of space at times). Opaque, have to open (or label) to know what's inside. Can medium level costly.

Ziplock/slidelock/zipperlock/recloseable bags.

PRO's for these, Inexpensive (cheap!) Highly available. Clear. Softsided, can conform to odd or unusual spaces if parts allow.

CON's for these, Cheap! aka closures can break and/or wear out easily. Softsided, don't always protect pieces from damage. Clear, no UV protection. Can easily be torn or develop a hole.

Comment, I use the recloseable bags inside other containers usually and rarely as the permanent external container but some folks might use or consider them for such useage.

Arko mills style/type drawers- I don't use these for my parts, I've seen what happens if it tips.....

PRO's for these, Widely available, affordable, many sizes and varieties. Wall mountable. Trays can be sub-divided and usually come with blank labels.

CON's for these, Trays do not have lids/tops. Can be unstable if loaded top heavy or on uneven surface. Potential for part spillage if tipped.

Comment, I avoid these as I have spilled stuff out of ones used for other purposes.

Iris/Sterillite Drawer units- I don't use these for my parts, I fear what happen if it tips.....

Pro's for these, Widely available, many varieties and sizes (and colors). Can be found affordably aka on sale on a fairly regular basis. Hold decent to large amounts. Usually stackable, wheels (casters) available for some varieties. Most have clear drawers for seeing inside.

Con's for these, Can be bulky, not always inexpensive, designs change. Drawers have no lid/top !!Spillage danger!! Some varieties have no drawer stop !!!Extreme Spillage Danger!!! Not always easy to see everything inside. Most drawers have no dividers, works for bulk parts but you have to use smaller containers (lose of storage space, inefficient use of space) or custom build dividers to sub divide.

Comment, I avoid these primarily due to potential Spillage Danger, but don't care much for the drawer fit and/or slide action on various types used for other purposes.

[Eilif]

Bearded Castle Guy,

One more option you may not have considered is cheap microwave food containers.

Pros

1)The longer versions are great for stacking on shelves. and are not as shallow as Akro style units.

2) Easy to remove and build from and then replace.

3) Really cheap

4) Easy to tell what's in them.

Cons

1)Styles change over time, so it's best to buy a whole bunch at once.

2)Not as deep as the chest of drawers style organizers seen above

3)Don't look quite as need as drawers.

I have about 144 of this kind that I bought at a dollar store a while back. They are on a shelving system and work quite well. My bulk basic brick and plate is mostly in LEGO tubs and suitcases, and special pieces are in akro style organizers at my desk, but most everything else is in these containers. My experience is that it's best not to tie yourself to one style of organizer. Rather, different types and quantities of pieces will require different organization solutions.

[Hoboman]

3)Don't look quite as need as drawers.

To be honest, I do nto think thy look bad at all. I like the fact I could pick up a few and take them to my work area, then return them once I was done working.

Nice picture to show how they would look.

[lorax]

I am in the process of changing my lego storage (it is a long and slow process).

This is what it looked like earlier this year.

I am now sorting more into colour than type of brick. I am also looking at getting large (and tall) garage storage shelves to hold it all (after hard rubbish day when I can throw the old cupboards out).

I am looking at the garage shelving because they are big, sturdy, strong, deep and cheap.

[Brickdoctor]

To be honest, I do nto think thy look bad at all.

I agree, stacked containers don't look that bad, and if you maintain the stacks they'll certainly look just as neat as drawers in my opinion. My main gripe with them is that unlike drawers, you have to pick up the containers on top to access the ones on the bottom. Like trying to get that orange at the bottom of the pile that's better than all the others.

[Mythos]

heres a couple of pics of our sorting table taken just now:

[Moz]

Finally got round to writing up a bit about my storage setup. I build with Technic so there's a lot of small compartments and rather a large number of different parts that I use often, as well as the hundreds of small connectors in each model. I built my own containers out of plywood so I can get exactly what I want, but I also have a numnber of plastic compartmented trays stacked next to my desk. The wooden trays are 600x400mm and 50mm or 80mm deep. I have a towel over the open part of the desk which is really handy for Technic builds because there are so many small parts that roll easily. The towel stops that, and also helps with bouncing. So, my desk:

Technically it all packs away, but in practice I rarely get around to doing that.

More details at http://moz.net.nz/lego/storage.php

[Seluryar]

went to walmart this morning, searched around for possible storage options, wanted something like the akromills stiff, but didnt see them(which seemed odd to me since the area is home to akromills), i did find tackle boxes and large tubs/lids and drawers like these:

http://www.brickleaks.com/uploads/FollowsClosely/Junk/P1070499.JPG

(would like to work up to a similar setup)

but they were out of my budget for this trip, but i did pick up a 10 gallon storage tub which fits my needs currently

fits all of my 5300 parts nicely, im sure i can fit in possibly 2-3 more large technic sets before needing more room.

tub was around $5 including lid.

Edited July 6, 2011 by Seluryar

[Zeya]

Arko mills style/type drawers- I don't use these for my parts, I've seen what happens if it tips.....

PRO's for these, Widely available, affordable, many sizes and varieties. Wall mountable. Trays can be sub-divided and usually come with blank labels.

CON's for these, Trays do not have lids/tops. Can be unstable if loaded top heavy or on uneven surface. Potential for part spillage if tipped.

Comment, I avoid these as I have spilled stuff out of ones used for other purposes.

I just got my third Akro Mils cabinet. I can confirm that it's a little scary having them stacked. Sometimes I go to pull a drawer out and it tilts and wobbles a little bit. You have to be careful and not move too quickly. I'm thinking about either mounting them to a wall or making up a sort of bracket/frame that will solidly attach the top one to the bottom one.

Another problem I have with those is that if I overpack a drawer, I end up with some elements sticking up and making it a pain to open/pull out a drawer.

I'm reaching a point where all of my elements of a certain mold will not fit into their assigned drawer. For example, 2x2x1 slopes are getting plentiful. I plan on getting a sterilite bin and using large ziplocs to start holding overflows of common mold types. Then my Akro mils drawers will just hold a sampling of the collection, with bins/ziplocs for "deep storage". I might put a marker (maybe a sticker) on the drawers where there are bricks in deep storage.

Oh, my maturing Lego collection...

[Bearded Castle Guy]

@eilif, I have some of the 'disposable' styles of plastic food storage containers, I was just getting tired when I posted my big post and skipped them. If you are stacking them on shelves directly (and you've paid attention to your ascetics of your storage area) I agree they look alright and would be no worse for stacking purposes than the Stanley organizers I've been working of sorting into currently. I don't have a permanent build/storage area and will not have one for the foreseeable future so have a number of stacks of small containers isn't going to work for me. I have the ones I have already, at least 3 different brands/styles in my storage totes. I tried a number of sytles in an attempt to find a solution that I liked, I didn't find it. Some of my issue with them is the fit of the lids and sometimes lack of ability to get a good seal, some of it is the ones I found tend have rather wide rims which waste space in between them while nested inside the totes that most of my collection resides in.

@moz, I have done the same at times when working on sorting thru sets, tho I used a a micro fleece sheet on a larger table, I liked the shorter nap of the microfleece and the ability to cover the whole table.

@seluryar, not a bad deal at all, I prefer the one with attached lids (one less thing to track and/or set aside). I took to heart that storage I can sort into (that wasn't just a big bin) was going to have some cost to it, while I am acquiring it in piecemeal manner I am going for a unified/compatiable system (with itself, I don't care if it matches anyones else's, that'd be THEIR issue, not mine ). Still it a good start there with your tub.

@zeya, agreed, one way of mounting it WITHOUT putting holes in the wall would be to be a board and but it to the size of the back of the cabinets you have and just attach the cabinets directly to the board. The cabinets will hold the board up and the board will hold the cabinets in place and it's simple and changeable. You'd want some thing sturdy enough to bear the weight of the upper cabinets just in case, so I'd go with maybe a thin plywood or the like (masonite or pegboard would likely be too thin, the weight would bend it without a frame and that's getting away from simple). Another plus to this is it'd be essentially hidden behind the cabinets.

General comment, I need to sort more now, I've heard our Lug's Lugbulk order shipped this week, at least that will be sorted when I bring it home. Sorting it out at the meeting should be 'interesting'. I've saved some now re-purposed food containers (washed of course) to sort into when we do this, I've collected enough I should be able to share some of these with others if they are short of containers to transport their parts home.

Edited July 6, 2011 by Bearded Castle Guy

[Zeya]

@zeya, agreed, one way of mounting it WITHOUT putting holes in the wall would be to be a board and but it to the size of the back of the cabinets you have and just attach the cabinets directly to the board. The cabinets will hold the board up and the board will hold the cabinets in place and it's simple and changeable. You'd want some thing sturdy enough to bear the weight of the upper cabinets just in case, so I'd go with maybe a thin plywood or the like (masonite or pegboard would likely be too thin, the weight would bend it without a frame and that's getting away from simple). Another plus to this is it'd be essentially hidden behind the cabinets.

Instead of a large thin board, you could use two thinner boards, one for each side, just something big enough to put a couple of nails into. So you would have two smaller boards running vertically and that should link the two cabinets together well enough. You might still have a problem with the whole thing falling over. And adding more cabinets would add more stability issues.

I'm starting to think it might be better just to mount them to the wall and not stack them at all. That would have the added benefit of buying a little more table space. (My lego table is packed away in a dark corner with not much space. I wish I had the amount of space some people post on this thread. I would love to have a basement, but nobody has basements where I'm at due to seismic activity - yet another reason to get these things stable!)

[Brickdoctor]

Instead of a large thin board, you could use two thinner boards, one for each side, just something big enough to put a couple of nails into. So you would have two smaller boards running vertically and that should link the two cabinets together well enough. You might still have a problem with the whole thing falling over. And adding more cabinets would add more stability issues.

I'm in basically the same position you are. Three overflowing Akro-Mils drawer sets and looking for a place to put a fourth. For the overflowing drawers, I got some Sterilite three-drawer bins for the more basic types of bricks (1xns, 2xns, medium plates, larger slopes, wedge plates, tiles, BPPs, etc.) Then as a specialized Akro-Mils drawer overflows, I buy a new Sterilite set instead of a new Akro-Mils set, and the Sterilite sets are a lot less scary to stack. I don't really want to mount the bins, because every now and then I get the urge to rearrange my whole building area for one reason or another, so I've started to stack some off to the side on the floor.