My system seems elaborate but for me a system is necessary and it's easy to set up & maintain.

I use manila wallets - booklets are thrown in as I collect them, and not arranged in any particular order. On the front of each wallet I write set numbers as they go in. I move on to a new wallet once the previous is full, and I code each wallet by letter. I record the contents of each wallet in an excel file. The excel file is also my main inventory/database and helps me locate everything - for me this is the key to maintaining some semblance of order amongst the growing chaos.

Hope that's helpful.

I keep all my instructions in 3 ring binders. The clear sleeves work perfectly for large manuals, and I've found out that picture album refills work perfectly for smaller ones The same 4x6 photo sheets are used in these photos for 3 different sized manuals:

[...]

The only manuals I have a hard time with are the square manuals from some sets.

For extras, they are stored in an Rubbermaid clear container.

Also for my sticker sheets (I haven't applied stickers to a set in years!) I have them all on their original sheets in a picture album as well (the albums with the pull back sheets). Keeps them nice and clean and uncreased.

Great Topic btw.

That's awsome, it looks so neat!

Question: how do you store your 3-ring binders? Upright or lying flat? If you're storing them upright, I'm wondering if the weight of the instructions pull the sleaves down and make the holes in the sleaves go "floppy"?

Your instructions look rather pristine, though, great job!

Edited July 24, 201014 yr by KartoffelViking

That's awsome, it looks so neat!

Question: how do you store your 3-ring binders? Upright or lying flat? If you're storing them upright, I'm wondering if the weight of the instructions pull the sleaves down and make the holes in the sleaves go "floppy"?

Your instructions look rather pristine, though, great job!

Thanks for the comments!

To answer your question, I keep my binders lying flat, and stack them on top of one another. Your right if you have them upright, the sleeves will stretch and the holes will break.

When I was a kid, I kept all of my instructions in a big Lego box. Out of the light and dust. That's why most of them are in great condition. The manuals that are in not great condition usually come with eBay auctions I win, or from yard sales and such.

When I get a new set, I put the manuals right in the binders to keep them pristine.

If you're just starting in the hobby, I suggest just keeping a box to put your manuals in, sorted by size.

Great topic for seeing other peoples ideas!

Indeed, I also remember torn and otherwise worn out instructions from my childhood. Exactly what I want to avoid repeating.

Is a "showmap" similar to a clear plastic sleave?

File folders or binders seem like the easiest way to go, but I really like the idea of an entire filing cabinet for instructions. It'd be like a vault of sacred manuscripts

By the way, does anyone know if LEGO instructions really come in all different sizes (like it seems to me), or do they stick to a few select formats?

I have instructions in so many different sizes, I find it hard to imagine 'a few select sizes'. There DOES seem to be a certain size restriction with regard to set size but, that also seems to have changed over the years.

As for childhood instructions...I HAD all of mine, kept safe and sound in an old briefcase of my dad's...and then one day, they had mysteriously vanished and nobody in my house would own-up to what happened to them. I'm STILL irate about that and that happened almost twenty years ago!

As for childhood instructions...I HAD all of mine, kept safe and sound in an old briefcase of my dad's...and then one day, they had mysteriously vanished and nobody in my house would own-up to what happened to them. I'm STILL irate about that and that happened almost twenty years ago! [/color]

Just wait until your parents are old and they want you to take care of them...tell them to confess or you'll stick em in a home. LOL. I think I lucked out because I jammed many of my old things in a locked foot locker. They were out of sight and out of mind.

Edited July 27, 201014 yr by gotoAndLego

At first I put them in a shoe box till the lid wouldnt fit on anymore.Now they barley fit in an old motorcycle helmet box but I had to cut off the box lid cause it would`nt close.So next they will be put in a 20 gallon rubbermaid container.

I used to keep all of my instructions in a carrying case, but that caused both the instructions and the bag to wear and tear. Eventually I upgraded to using manila folders with the instructions sorted by theme. Usually if I only have one set from a theme I won't designate an entire folder for it, but rather group it in the "Other" section. Sets like the Winter Toy Shop or the modular buildings get their own "Exclusive" category. For themes that I have a lot of instructions for like Star Wars, I devote two folders for them, subdivided by Prequel Trilogy/Clone Wars and Original Trilogy. Most of my Bionicle instructions are kept in their canisters, while instructions for the larger sets are subdivided by year of release. Instructions that came as a folded sheet of paper are rubber-banded together, each instruction grouped with its respective theme. Everything is stored in pull out metal wire frame shelves that also contain my LEGO magazines and catalogs.