Storage and Sorting LEGO

[splatman]

Sadly, this is the cleanest my LEGO room has been in months. Enjoy!

Yikes! How many minifigs were killed in that train wreck!?

[sok117]

I've just undertook the task of resorting my lego! I used to have everything more or less sorted by similar colours, but the system has since degraded. Now I have individual plastic bags and plan to sort by colour/piece/uses etc. It's coming along slowly but I'm definitely getting somewhere! I can't wait to start building again once it's all done though!

[happymark]

I've just undertook the task of resorting my lego! I used to have everything more or less sorted by similar colours, but the system has since degraded. Now I have individual plastic bags and plan to sort by colour/piece/uses etc. It's coming along slowly but I'm definitely getting somewhere! I can't wait to start building again once it's all done though!

I am afraid sorting never ends..

[snaillad]

I am afraid sorting never ends..

Agreed......

I hate finishing my sorting, then taking a MOC apart of about 2000 pieces and having to re-arrange it all again as my boxes and compartments run out of room!

[brickmack]

Question for people here:

With very similar parts such as these:

(note the difference in the clip)

where the parts are identical in function but have a slight difference in the way it's made, do you sort them together or keep each subtype separate? I personally keep them in the same container, and I'm guessing most others do as well, but does anyone here separate them?

[Follows Closely]

Question for people here:

With very similar parts such as these:

(note the difference in the clip)

where the parts are identical in function but have a slight difference in the way it's made, do you sort them together or keep each subtype separate? I personally keep them in the same container, and I'm guessing most others do as well, but does anyone here separate them?

Same. Actuall, all modified 1x2 with a clip are in a drawer.

[Zeya]

For minor variations like that, I keep them together. I'll sort of try to keep them sub-sorted, but for things where the variation isn't readily visible (e.g. on the underside of something) I don't even bother.

If you would ever need to part together a pure, canonical set with the official pieces, you would just have to dig through. But really if you're selling something out of the box down the road, the "bloom is off the rose" at that point anyway if you know what I mean - your buyer probably won't be scrutinizing it that much anyway.

For the particular case of a 1x2 with a clip like that, I'll keep it in a drawer that contains other modified 1x2 bricks, such as ones with a technic pin hole, or a 1x2 with a hinge on the side, etc.

[antp]

Agreed......

I hate finishing my sorting, then taking a MOC apart of about 2000 pieces and having to re-arrange it all again as my boxes and compartments run out of room!

Same for me. I feel that I pass much more time sorting than MOCing...

[Alasdair Ryan]

Here is my lego corner.

Edited March 23, 2012 by Alasdair Ryan

[Vindicare]

Anyone have a good and organized way of storing sets? An idea I had, but may not be best because I can't fit some into it is using those plastic clamshell to go containers. I've gotten a dozen or so, but not every set can fit. Take 10222 Winter Village Post Office just fits in the box. I really like those plastic drawer units that could work. Large piece count sets are my biggest worry though.

[brickmack]

Anyone have a good and organized way of storing sets? An idea I had, but may not be best because I can't fit some into it is using those plastic clamshell to go containers. I've gotten a dozen or so, but not every set can fit. Take 10222 Winter Village Post Office just fits in the box. I really like those plastic drawer units that could work. Large piece count sets are my biggest worry though.

Are you wanting to take them apart to store, or keep them together? Answers will likely vary based on this.

[Vindicare]

Are you wanting to take them apart to store, or keep them together? Answers will likely vary based on this.

I'm talking about apart, I'd just like to keep the pieces together as a set. I'm liking those Sterilite containers, but I'd need so many(almost 300 sets). I know I could put multiple small sets in one drawer with a divider or two, but I'd also like drawers big enough to where I can fit the bigger sets, like D2C stuff, in a single drawer as well.

[TypoCorrecto]

^Yes the Sterilite containers are nice, I use them for my own LEGO storage. The 6, 12, 20, 58, 73-quart containers are all at Walmart. The 58 and 73-quart are perfect for two assembled modular buildings or multiple Creator houses...

My current situation:

58-quart Sterilite containers:

Edited March 24, 2012 by typo

[mephistopheles]

Less important bricks/parts by color, more important ones by type.

[Follows Closely]

Anyone have a good and organized way of storing sets? An idea I had, but may not be best because I can't fit some into it is using those plastic clamshell to go containers. I've gotten a dozen or so, but not every set can fit. Take 10222 Winter Village Post Office just fits in the box. I really like those plastic drawer units that could work. Large piece count sets are my biggest worry though.

I found that taking sets apart then in a Baggie, then in a tub works best for us. We then tape a picture of the set on the tub. We also have a list posted on the wall with all sets and the tub #.

Edited March 27, 2012 by Follows Closely

[dr_spock]

I bag the set and then fill them in large plastic container.

[sok117]

I thought I'd take a picture to show you guys how I'm progressing with my sorting, God I hope it ends soon

Let the Sorting Begin! by sok117, on Flickr

[splatman]

I've had a few sorting adventures similar to that.

The open door on your entertainment center looks like you trying to decide what to watch while you sort.

[Sir_Basil_Ashton]

I thought I'd take a picture to show you guys how I'm progressing with my sorting, God I hope it ends soon

Let the Sorting Begin! by sok117, on Flickr

That looks a lot like what's going on at my house right now. Unfortunately on a smaller scale.

[LEGOman273]

Oh man, that idea is off the wall.

(Sorry couldn't resist).

[Slick Willie]

I store all my unsorted Legos in 32 Gallon Trash Cans.

My sorted Legos are in 24 Quart Plastic Storage Containers.

The bigger question is why do I have thousands of pounds of Legos.

I'll never use all these things.

I think I have a problem....

[TheLegoDr]

Slick Willie

It sounds like you have a fever and the only prescription is to buy more lego. Vicious cycle, I know.

I, too, have more lego bricks than I will ever use. And with the new sets coming out year after year, there is no end in sight. Sorting is forever. But everytime I look at my old catalogs or instruction manuals, it brings me back to when I was a kid and how much fun I had creating things. To me, that makes it worth while.

[tedbeard]

Actuall, all modified 1x2 with a clip are in a drawer.

There does come a point where sorting is too fine. I recently started dumping all my 1x2 bricks with "bits sticking out" into one bin. Much easier to sort and finding the right one is pretty quick.

[TheLegoDr]

I agree, similar shapes or uses can easily be put in the same category, even if different color (depending on how many you actually have of that particular shape/use).

Highly categorized sorting is very smart, but it may be more difficult to find certain pieces.

I have always had everything sorted by color (when I was younger). But with all these new colors and sizes, I have to have everything by color, then by size. I always end up dumping out my containers to find the one small piece I need. Oh well.

I do like seeing everyone's set-ups. Very impressive collections people.

[travisco_nabisco]

I thought I'd take a picture to show you guys how I'm progressing with my sorting, God I hope it ends soon

Let the Sorting Begin! by sok117, on Flickr

I wish I could make that much of a mess when I sort, it would get done a lot faster.

Having a 15 month year old running around the relatively small house doesn't allow for that. I am stuck pulling out smaller bins in the evenings and having to put everything away before I head to bed.