How do you store your instructions?

[ResIpsaLoquitur]

Wondering what people do with their instructions. I've been keeping mine in a folder, but it's really starting to overflow and I need a better system. Plus, instructions are very awkward since booklets have multiple sizes. My Haunted House instructions fill the folder, but the other ones make this smaller, awkward stack on top of them.

At this point, I'm tempted to separate out my instructions by line. At least my Monster Fighters instructions will be in a limited folder that's not going to get any bigger unless Lego revives the line. However, my City and Friends folders will probably continue to expand. So...what do you all do?

[fred67]

I have a "bankers box" (a cardboard filing box) full of them.

[Ridge Montante]

I use a small plastic tote. All the sizes fit in it perfectly.

[Xyver]

I currently have three drawers full of my instructions, with each drawer covering different theme types (so City in the top one, Creator/Modulars/Winter Village in the next and all others in the bottom) sets that have more than one instruction booklet are place inside clear plastic sleeves to keep them together.

But this system is no longer working for me as my drawers are now full and the varying sizes of the booklets make them not stack very well. I am trying to work out a better system, most likely leaning towards a filing cabinet. A lever arch binder system would be best for accessing the booklets, but the plastic sleeves won't sit well in that as they'll tend to fall down.

Now, if only they were all the same size, or at least only 1-2 different sizes, storing would be so much easier.

[KringlesBricks]

Mine are in shoe boxes...stored away; I'll always keep my models together, and never really need those instructions any more

[ResIpsaLoquitur]

I currently have three drawers full of my instructions, with each drawer covering different theme types (so City in the top one, Creator/Modulars/Winter Village in the next and all others in the bottom) sets that have more than one instruction booklet are place inside clear plastic sleeves to keep them together.

But this system is no longer working for me as my drawers are now full and the varying sizes of the booklets make them not stack very well. I am trying to work out a better system, most likely leaning towards a filing cabinet. A lever arch binder system would be best for accessing the booklets, but the plastic sleeves won't sit well in that as they'll tend to fall down.

Now, if only they were all the same size, or at least only 1-2 different sizes, storing would be so much easier.

Yeah, that's my problem is the varying sizes. BIG instructions for sets like the Millennium Falcon and the Haunted House go wonderfully in a folder. Smaller ones that come in $10-$20 sets are awkward, because they're usually packed folded which makes them doubly stack weird. I also have LOTS of tiny instructions from smaller builds like polybags, $10 sets, or monthly mini-builds. Those don't go anywhere useful at all.

[Deathleech]

I keep mine all stacked in these containers. I just have the biggest ones on the bottom and stack them up until the smaller instructions fit side by side, or four in one layer. It's not perfect, but it works.

[Andy D]

I keep mine flat in 15 quart serelite containers.

Andy D

Edited February 12, 2014 by Andy D

[Brickus]

A4 document wallets.

[Vee]

You must have tons of Lego sets to have such a problem. I keep all my instructions in a single stack on a shelf. Their different sizes do not bother me, I just stack them "wisely" so that they all stay steady in the stack. Right now the stack is around 15 cm high.

[Gatthekid]

I usually keep mine in the box the original set came in, which I store in cabinents. If I'm currently working on a large project (like a Star Wars ship or something else that takes a while), I'll just keep them on one of my Lego shelves alongside my other finished sets.

Edited February 12, 2014 by Gatthekid

[Milan]

I use binder. I don't have many BI, but binders are ok.

[LEGO Guy Bri]

Like this! Terribly inefficient , but they stay protected. I will be looking into binders with those paper protectors

[naf]

I keep them in a file cabinet, arranged by theme. This brings up one of my annoyances with "modern" lego, 2,3, sometimes 4 instruction books per set. They are starting to take up too much space! I wish Lego would go back to the old way of presenting instructions, with a significant amount of pieces used in each step, instead of 2 or 3 per step and requiring all of these books.

[LEGO Historian]

I ship mine to Europe to have holes punched into them.....

No not really... but for some odd reasons that I've not been able to understand fully... older European instructions and catalogs have a propensity to have holes punched into them with a hole puncher??

Edited February 12, 2014 by LEGO Historian

[Orange Leader]

I ship mine to Europe to have holes punched into them.....

No not really... but for some odd reasons that I've not been able to understand fully... older European instructions and catalogs have a propensity to have holes punched into them with a hole puncher??

They got punched holes so they can fit into ring folder binders. When I was younger, I saw lot's of kids/their parents doing It. I guess It's a Euro thing. :P

Speaking of ring folder binders, I keep them in A4 sized plastic folders, sorted at theme. Without punch holes.

[dr_spock]

I keep in mine in banker boxes and stacked from larger to smaller sizes. It's fun to go back once a while and look at the old 1980 catalogues booklets that came with instructions.

[kdenty]

Currently in a 18 litre Really Useful Box but it's really nearly full!

[Alasdair Ryan]

I leave mine in the box then stack the box on top of another one.

[trippybrowneyes]

This brings up one of my annoyances with "modern" lego, 2,3, sometimes 4 instruction books per set. They are starting to take up too much space! I wish Lego would go back to the old way of presenting instructions, with a significant amount of pieces used in each step, instead of 2 or 3 per step and requiring all of these books.

Same here. I keep mine in sheet protectors in binders, and the modern day instructions tend to slip out because they are so thick, and I need 3 sheet protectors instead of one.

My other issue is that the older instructions are in metric sizes (A4 & A5) and the newer instructions are in English system sizes (letter, etc). Stores in the US don't sell metric sizes. I can order A4 sheet protectors off of Amazon, but for the two pocket pages, I'm at a loss. Martha Stewart for Avery makes a two pocket sheet protector, which works great for the half page instructions. Apparently the same brand in the UK makes the same thing with A5 pockets, but the UK Staples online store doesn't ship to the US.

I currently use zip-binders (separated out by theme) to keep everything from falling out, and bevause they are tall enough to accommodate A4 instructions as well as letter. I think I may switch over to a filing cabinet once the Lego room is updated (but still keep them in sheet protectors). We have a lot of instructions (not to mention catalogs).

[ShaydDeGrai]

After years of throwing them into boxes (impossible to find anything and heavy to move) I finally started organizing them. I've got several crates left to sort out, but so far I've filled two four-drawer filing cabinets. Most are in hanging folders sorted by kit number where each hanging folder covers some small range kit numbers. Within the main hanging folder, one-sheets and short instruction books go in directly (again ordered by kit number), multiple book kits I group together in a manilla folder within the ranger folders.

Most of the time this works well. Ranges of kit numbers are already loosely associated with themes so similar kits are often grouped together by default. Of course, sometimes you don't get just an instruction book or two, you get an instruction tome that won't even fit in a folder (USC Millenium Falcon anyone?). For these, I put a placeholder in the folder and put the book itself in a separate drawer.

I also have a file cabinet full of old catalogues, Lego Club magazines and freebie posters. I'm not quite sure what I was thinking when I first started saving all this crap but somewhere along the line it made its way from junk mail and clutter to "vintage collection" so it seems a shame to toss it now.

[Mr Bill]

I used to keep mine in hanging folders, but once my file drawer was too packed to hold them I just started stacking them at the end of my Lego work bench. Given the variety of sizes of the books it wasn't long before it became a teetering, tottering mess. As soon as it fell over I knew it was time to rebuild my Lego work area. After I reconfigured my bench and my parts drawers, I reserved a section of four shelves where I now keep my instructions in Magazine boxes (4 for a dollar @ IKEA), seven boxes to a shelf for a total of 28 boxes. These are subdivided into themes with many boxes housing multiple themes. And (as in the case of Star Wars and City) some themes encompassing two boxes.

[TheRedGuy]

I just keep mine in the empty Lego boxes. I usually throw them out if I have too much, since you always have the internet.

[ChiefPie]

Wondering what people do with their instructions. I've been keeping mine in a folder, but it's really starting to overflow and I need a better system. Plus, instructions are very awkward since booklets have multiple sizes. My Haunted House instructions fill the folder, but the other ones make this smaller, awkward stack on top of them.

At this point, I'm tempted to separate out my instructions by line. At least my Monster Fighters instructions will be in a limited folder that's not going to get any bigger unless Lego revives the line. However, my City and Friends folders will probably continue to expand. So...what do you all do?

I put mine a drawer

[TheLegoDr]

Mine stacked in random cardboard boxes. They do get ripped easily. I have 4 rather large boxes filled, plus multiple years of magazines and catalogs. I think according to brickset I have 500+ sets, so they add up.. note I know my collection is smaller than a lot of people here, so I'd love to get a more efficient way to store them. Granted I never look at them other than the initial build.