Sorting

[languages]

Right heres the deal, Im finally getting some drawers to sort my Lego but because I have so much, how am I meant to sort it?

What I want to know is how do you guys sort out and organize your Lego collections?

[SuvieD]

First sort out the plain bricks, plain plates, and then the plain slopes each into their own piles. This should be the majority of your parts in that order. Once you have these sorted out you could sort each pile in a number of ways depending on prefenerce and the number of drawers you have. You could sort them by color, by piece size or by both if you have the room.

For the smaller parts you can sort like what is done on bricklink or possibly by theme. That way when you go to look for a 1x1 round brick you will know where they all are. To be even more detailed you could sort each shape by color also, again depending on room and storage containers.

For bigger items such as windscreens, burps and large modifded plates like wings or wedges you could sort those by color or by shape into a different area.

Finally you will need a place for your minifigs as they don't really fit in the other categories. Thes you can sort in so many ways you must do what works best for you.

If you want to see how I sort my parts check out the following links.

Here you can see how my bricks are sorted into LEGO tubs.

Here you can see how my slopes are sorted and above those in the white bins are containers and doors.

Here you can see my trays of small parts and the bins below have my basic plates by color&shape.

Here you can see how I sort the actually pieces by shape and color, sorry it is so dark.

So there you have my version of sorting. I think that as long as you get the first step done the rest is soooooooo much easier to not only sort further but also to build.

Hope this helps.

[jonfett]

I just finished (well, a few weeks ago ;)) sortiny whole collection into 4 sets of drawers plus various tubs. It took me a while to sort thorugh a few big tubs of mixed parts but it was actually fun (some of the time).

I will get pic up ASAP, but basically I sorted into catagories such as modified bricks, modified plates, technic parts, wheels, big parts, misc... then all plates went into 1xn + 2xn, 3xn + 4xn, 6xn, then the rest. Bricks went into 2 big drawers as either 1xn, 2xn or other.

Jon.

[Sarg_Kulo]

Bloody Jay is good at sorting. He'll be along in a little while and he'll help ;)

[Mr. Lego-builder]

I sort within the categories of interlacing color with type. This is a easy and effective way to sort...

For example:

<Insert Color>: (if you have enough room, you can put all of the below in one drawer by using dividers)

|-> slopes

|-> tiles

|-> bricks

|-> plates

|-> Technic pins and/or axles

|-> Technic beams

|-> Misc/Printed

However, I sort minifig parts by, well, their body parts!(you can sort by themes also):

Minifig parts:

|-> torsos

|-> legs

|-> arms

|-> heads

|-> hands (optional)

And I usually sort accessories by Color also, but you can use themes or type:

By color:

<insert color>

|-> any corresponding accessories

By theme:

<insert theme>

|-> any corresponding accessories

<repeat for each theme>

By type (this is very useful if you have alot of little accessories):

Example:

<Minifigure Accessory Group; ex: Tools>

|-> (ex: wrenches)

|-> (ex: axes)

|-> (ex: shovels)

|-> (etc.)

<repeat for each theme>

Also, I recommend that you inventory rare/unusual parts that you have.

Hope it helps and good luck on your sorting! *satis* ;)