Storage Containers

[Berry Syedow]

To those who like to stick to unsorted tubs: The main reason I don't like it is because the pieces get scratched up more quickly over time. Those trans pieces are especially vulnerable to this sorting method, but to each their own.

"What smells like burnt LEGO down here?"

"Burnt LEGO, duh."

Heh. X-D

I'm also using a few of the plastic boxes from the first wave of X-Pods (round pieces) and from the Star Wars Minis. They actually work quite well.

I'm currently using my X-pods to store all of my broken/cracked mini-fig parts.

I just bought 6 of these from IKEA and I'm very pleased with them, they don't take that much space, reasonable price, semi transparent so you can make out what's inside them, stackable with feet that stop them sliding around.

[Asuka]

Likewise, I keep my LEGO sorted for one reason: I don't have the money to pay for the therapy I need when I have to spend hour after hour digging through unsorted tubs for one classic brown 1 x 1 plate. Oh the noise, the noise!

Although, there

[Stauder]

*Punches Stauder55 in his stupid face*

I warned you. >:-(

I don't think you have a stupid face, btw. I'm just quoting myself... X-D

Likewise, I keep my LEGO sorted for one reason: I don't have the money to pay for the therapy I need when I have to spend hour after hour digging through unsorted tubs for one classic brown 1 x 1 plate. Oh the noise, the noise!

The Pain! I cant feel my legs! :-P

I actually love the sound of looking for lego, but as you said looking for a 1 x 1 plate can be hell...

[Hinckley]

Hey, guess what? LEGO came up with a storage system. It's called:

Who wants to pay to much for a crappy storage system?<click link

[simonwillems]

Is it me, or is LEGO charging too much for this?

LEGO Storage Tray Unit

Hey, guess what? LEGO came up with a storage system. It's called:

Who wants to pay to much for a crappy storage system?<click link

We have seen that only a few posts before.... Look above.... I like this system though I don't think it will protect your bricks from our biggest enemy: dust.

[Hinckley]

We have seen that only a few posts before.... Look above.... I like this system though I don't think it will protect your bricks from our biggest enemy: dust.

OOPS! Sorry. I thought I was paying attention. :-P For dust I use a feather duster that I statically charge by holding it against the TV while I turn it off. For corners of buildings, I occassionally use canned air...

[simonwillems]

OOPS! Sorry. I thought I was paying attention.

I was just thinking... How did he deserve that title? But now it dawns on me.... :-P

For dusting I use one of those small vacuumcleaners and for the hard to reach spots a paint brush.

[crazymotionride]

ha ha that reminds me of when i tried to tidy up my unsorted lego mess with a vacuum cleaner, bricks went in the fan and hilarity ensued :-P

Edited June 27, 2007 by crazymotionride

[Hinckley]

Hey CrazyMotionRide!! Welcome to Eurobricks! I hope you have a lot of fun! X-D

ha ha that reminds me of when i tried to tidy up my unsorted lego mess with a vacuum cleaner, bricks went in the fan and hilarity ensued :-P

Wait...what? Really? You tried to suck all of your LEGOs into a vacuum cleaner? That's briliiantly funny! :-D Can you elaborate on the surrounding circumstances, I would love to hear about it. Specifically, did your folks freak out? Did you break the vacuum? More importantly, did you damage the LEGOs? Wow man. Great story. Thanks for sharing. *sweet*

[crazymotionride]

well all my lego was unsorted and there was a mountain of it so i took the dustbag out of the vacuum and tried to use it. Well it worked a treat but then the smaller parts like technic connectors came flying out the fan all over the room, then the fan jammed and then it started to smell like it was burning so i went and put the whole thing in the pond outside so it wouldn't catch fire X-D . Im like that you see, parents say i was a 'problem child' but really they were jealous of my insanely amazing ideas.

[Hinckley]

...then it started to smell like it was burning so i went and put the whole thing in the pond outside so it wouldn't catch fire...

Logically! :-D That's the greatest story ever told! Thanks for sharing. It's truly hilarious! I could imagine your parents coming home to the vacuum sitting in the pond: >:-( Brilliant! :-D

[Corvus]

My storage? All over the floor. :-D

I do use this, an IKEA shelf-thing. For storing Bionicle I use these *wub* internal bracket shelves. They have no visible brackets and are just beautiful. Very decorative. I really recommend them. Just to show what they look like:

Such cool shelves... Hmm... I'd better stop drooling. X-D

Crazymotionride: Welcome to Eurobricks! And a truly HILARIOUS story. :-D

Hinckley: Which would his parents prefer, the vacuum in the pond or the house burned down?

[Hinckley]

Hinckley: Which would his parents prefer, the vacuum in the pond or the house burned down?

How would I know? Ask his parents... :-P X-D ;-) Just messing with ya' ;-)

What's funny about that, Mr. Mandalorian, is I've experienced the burning smell before and it usually just means the engine has been over-worked. No reason to throw it in a pond! :-D I love it! Not to mention you could possibly bring the vacuum outside near the pond and wait to see if it sets on fire and then throw it in the pond. And regardless of which his parents would prefer I bet it was a confusing site to drive up to the house and see the vacuum sitting in the pond! :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D Oh crazymotionride you really made my day. Thanks again for sharing that story!

And now that we've dissected the funny part of the story so much it's not funny anymore, let's get back on topic, or at least near-topic.

Mr. Mandalorian, I like your diplay shelves. Very classy indeed.

[Izzy]

I also use Ikea display cabinets for my lego. Ikea is good *y* , Ikea is great *y* . DISPLAY only though. For storage... some large plastic containers nothing fancy :-/ .

[Brainbox]

I like this system though I don't think it will protect your bricks from our biggest enemy: dust.

Yeah, evil dust! >:-( :-D

For dust I use a feather duster that I statically charge by holding it against the TV while I turn it off. For corners of buildings, I occassionally use canned air...

That's quite a good idea, why didn't I think of that? At the moment I'm using a collection of (clean) paitbrushes.

ha ha that reminds me of when i tried to tidy up my unsorted lego mess with a vacuum cleaner, bricks went in the fan and hilarity ensued :-P

Last thing about the vacuum, I promise. Thta's actually a good idea in theory. In practice though...?

What's funny about that, Mr. Mandalorian, is I've experienced the burning smell before and it usually just means the engine has been over-worked.

So have we. We couldn't get our hoover to suck anything up, then I realised there was something stuck in the tube. It turned out to be a pencil. *wacko*

I do use this, an IKEA shelf-thing. For storing Bionicle I use these *wub* internal bracket shelves. They have no visible brackets and are just beautiful. Very decorative. I really recommend them.

Oh, I like those shelves. Clean, but not clinical. Very smart!

I'll have to try and get some photos of my storage, shelves, etc.

Edited June 28, 2007 by Brainbox

[andy_0306uk]

Just curious as to how people store their Lego

I like to collect sets from various themes and have changed the way I store my collection too many times to mention. Started off bags by colour by theme. Then by piece type by colour. Then piece type by theme.

I also have "mixed" pieces that have come from loose lots on ebay and smaller buys from Bricklink that are kinda sorted by colour but minifigs and accessories or other "special" parts kept seperate.

How do you store yours? Sorted or just in a mixed tub?

[Siegfried]

I sort by

Technic beams

Technic pins and gears

Minifigs

Minifig accessories

Function pieces (such as click joints and turntables)

Modified pieces (such as clips)

Then by colour

I then subdivide as needed. For example minifigs used to be stored with the accessories.

[Doctor Sinister]

For me, sets are generally used permanently as part of Tabletown (town sets, of course) or on display in my office (Star Wars for the most part). Any sets not on display (of which there are a lot, mostly Star Wars or WW but lots of other misc sets too) are semi-taken apart, bagged individually and stored in stackable crates.

For my miscellaneous parts - small and/or commonly used pieces go into small ziplock bags by type - eg: 1x1 studs, Minifig weapons/tools, printed tiles, gold coins, hinge pieces etc. These small bags get stored in a LEGO biscuit tin. :-)

Larger pieces also go into larger ziplock bags - firstly by type and then by colour if there is enough to justify it.

So, for example, I have all my Technic pieces in one bag as I don't have a great deal of it and I'm not really into Technic - so that's a couple of thousand pieces in one bag, but bricks and plates etc. have bags for each colour - so I have bags of red bricks, red plates etc etc, each one probably has up to a couple of hundred pieces in it.

All those bags are stored in stackable crates alongside the sets I mentioned above, and all this is stored beneath Tabletown itself out of harm's way.

Dr. S.

[Piranha]

First it goes

- Minifigs body parts

- Minifig accessories

- SW parts

- Finally by Color

I store in large containers with many draws and compartments

Piranha

[Shadows]

Let's see. *looks around* Apparently I don't organize them at all...

Ok, really.

Specialty parts in tiny bags, seperated by type, then in much larger ziplocks, somewhat sorted by purpose. Minifig accessories in one, decorated tiles another, etc.

Complete minifigs are standing on baseplates sorted by theme.

Minifig parts. More generic types are sorted and in larger ziplocks. Legs together, torso assemblies together, etc.

Special minifig parts are either together with their theme or in their own bags.

Technic pins are in one bag. Gears in another. Everything else in one.

Bricks are sorted by colour, size and type and either bagged or drawered.

Baseplates are sorted and standing sideways like books.

Keychains and non building items are in old 80s lego cases.

Instructions are in a series of large ziplocks for now. Albums are planned for later.

Seems so much organized when explained. It's a mess.

[Doctor Sinister]

I have all my instructions in plastic wallets kept in lever-arch files by theme. I also keep anything LEGO related - catalogues, flyers etc.

Dr. S.

[Brainbox]

I've tried to explain this in numerous threads before, but it always seems to come out as nonsense. Wewll, here we go.

Minifig pieces go in one set of drawer-things (I'm okay so far ;-) ).

Bley and New Brown pieces go in a box or one of a few (official parts-) bags in the box.

Plates of 2x8 and greater go in a box.

Animal pieces go in a tub.

A box for all normal slopes. That means everthing except curves and 1x1 slopes.

Other small, key, useful or major pieces go in an assortment of boxes, tubs, etc including some shoeboxes with dividers, two City Advent Calender trays (neat idea, huh?), a tower of small plastic drawers and a selection of other useful boxes that either go in my desk or on the floor beside my desk. The pieces here range from stuff like 1x4s and 1x1s to small ball-joints and levers. There's even a special drawer for 'proper chrome' and GITD.

A box for wheels and stuff.

Everything else is done by colour.

Plus a wallet for sticker sheets. This is something I've only started recently.

Well, it makes sense to me!

[Hinckley]

There is a very thorough discussion about storing LEGO here

:-)

[Starwars4J]

Merged with the topic hinckley linked to

[Shadows]

Merged with the topic hinckley linked to

*pictures someone reading this, clicking that, reading it, clicking that, reading it* It's like shampoo. Rinse, repeat. AAAAHHH!!! I'll never finish this whole bottle! :-|