Storage and Sorting LEGO

[Andy D]

I hope I don't get in too much trouble for bringing this thread back.

I am now in the process of sorting a small (by these standards) collection of about 10,000 to 20,000 or so parts and found this thread an inspiration.

Eilif, I was wondering if you managed to keep your collection sorted and still following your sort goals you stated in the first post of the thread.

Andy D

Edited February 26, 2012 by Andy D

[woolie]

Haha, well, since you're bringing a thread back from the dead, I might post some pictures of my sorting progress as well.

Currently in the process of making space in my loft area :)

[brickmack]

Ugh, did nobody notice the thread just a short distance from the top of the page (Storage and sorting LEGO) where all of this could have gone?

[Legoman]

Here's my current storage method. I know there are many ways of and opinions on sorting, but this works quite well for me at the moment, with my style of building

HolidayProject by LegomanNZ, on Flickr

[brickmack]

One final idea/question. I frequently deal with ontologies in my work -- how things are organized, hierarchies, "this-is-a-" relationships, etc. So I've been dwelling a bit on this:

When I present you with a random element, you're going to immediately mentally put it into some category. And if you were going to sort it, it'd go into a bin. Do you rely on any of the "established" systems, or just what feels right based on your experience?

I personally feel that BrickLink has the most "natural" grouping, also with an attempt to have second level groups like "brick, modified" and "technic, liftarm." And sorting to their system is advantageous if I am buying/selling bricks. But the tool that I use most often is BrickSmith/LDraw. I doesn't feel quite as natural, and it has too many useless top level categories, but if it's the tool that I'm using........ And finally, of course, LDD's grouping has the imprimatur of TLG. It is also largely based on functional categories, which is very useful and a natural way of thinking about building.

I hadn't even seen the bricklink categories or anything when I started sorting, so it's all just sorted naturally. I have big bins for bricks and for plates and slopes and those parts, then drawer sets for SNOT parts and bricks with clips, and then bigger drawer sets for various other parts, with drawers grouped by similarity to each other. Then I have small boxes of parts that I don't have enough of/enough drawer space to put into the maun system. I'll post pictures if I have time...

[LegoMavrick]

Here in the UK I can highly recommend the products done by a company called "Really Useful Boxes" Most of their storage boxes have excellent compartment tray holder options. I use the 21 litre boxes with two deep trays per box and use 3 optional type trays, which come in 6,12 and 16 compartment options. I have just gone onto the 35 litre boxes which also come with excellent tray options. They also come out with "Tower" storage options which come on castor wheels, which I can see is the way we as a family will go. Well worth checking out there website

www.reallyusefulproducts.co.uk

Edited February 27, 2012 by LegoMavrick

[Sir_Basil_Ashton]

Here in the UK I can highly recommend the products done by a company called "Really Useful Boxes" Most of their storage boxes have excellent compartment tray holder options. I use the 21 litre boxes with two deep trays per box and use 3 optional type trays, which come in 6,12 and 16 compartment options. I have just gone onto the 35 litre boxes which also come with excellent tray options. They also come out with "Tower" storage options which come on castor wheels, which I can see is the way we as a family will go. Well worth checking out there website

www.reallyusefulproducts.co.uk

Thanks for mentioning this storage option. I was wondering if I could trouble you with posting some pictures of how your setup looks.

[SNIPE]

NEWS!

I got my storage cabinets today, they are 5 by 6 drawers, I got 5 of them, two of them have two colums of 4 drawers , and so the middle column is 6 drawers.

It works great as they have enough dividers

They were like £8 each so i'm happy with this.

Now to get rich(er) and buy more lego!

Edited February 27, 2012 by SNIPE

[woolie]

Sterilite 5 drawer containers on caster wheels are on sale at Target for $18, down from $22. I picked up 2 more (now have 5) and may still get 2 more if they're on sale next week. As mentioned upthread, these are going to be used for "basic brick" storage.

So, it took 4 people working for 2 hours, but we did the first pass on sorting about 1/2 of the bulk lot I bought last week. I made a list of about 16 categories. Each person picked 4 categories and got a plastic bin for each category. I'd grab a large pile of bricks from the tub, place in the center of the table, and we'd each pick out our categories. Worked pretty well -- definitely much faster than I could have sorted 30lbs of bricks on my own.

I'll be doing the second pass sorting (usually down to individual molds, or very specific categories) over the next couple weeks. I'll post pics when it's all said and done.

[mrklaw]

One final idea/question. I frequently deal with ontologies in my work -- how things are organized, hierarchies, "this-is-a-" relationships, etc. So I've been dwelling a bit on this:

When I present you with a random element, you're going to immediately mentally put it into some category. And if you were going to sort it, it'd go into a bin. Do you rely on any of the "established" systems, or just what feels right based on your experience?

I personally feel that BrickLink has the most "natural" grouping, also with an attempt to have second level groups like "brick, modified" and "technic, liftarm." And sorting to their system is advantageous if I am buying/selling bricks. But the tool that I use most often is BrickSmith/LDraw. I doesn't feel quite as natural, and it has too many useless top level categories, but if it's the tool that I'm using........ And finally, of course, LDD's grouping has the imprimatur of TLG. It is also largely based on functional categories, which is very useful and a natural way of thinking about building.

This is interesting, and perhaps we can discuss this a bit more. If we get the ontology right, then the organisation would be fairly simple. I think the ultimate aim for anyone is to look at an instruction manual (or think of a piece for a MOC) and you can get to it instinctively within just a few seconds

We have basic first level groups - Bricks (cuboid), plates, wings, slopes. Then I break those down simply into sizes that make it easy to filter.

Its the odd pieces I find difficult. Anything technic goes in an organiser, and then most 'weird' normal lego pieces also go in an organiser. But is there a logic to them? eg headlamp blocks, cheese slopes, cylinders etc - they're not that 'weird' anymore are they? Perhaps they should live somewhere more normal? And what about wheels/chassis parts, or doors/windows and wall panels?

Edited February 29, 2012 by mrklaw

[LEGO Guy Bri]

Its the odd pieces I find difficult. Anything technic goes in an organiser, and then most 'weird' normal lego pieces also go in an organiser. But is there a logic to them? eg headlamp blocks, cheese slopes, cylinders etc - they're not that 'weird' anymore are they? Perhaps they should live somewhere more normal? And what about wheels/chassis parts, or doors/windows and wall panels?

I suppose it's all on how easy or neatly organized you want to make it, as well as, the quantity. For things like "cheese slopes" and "cheese graters, I keep mixed with 1x1 regular and round plates. When I first started sorting, they where what you referred to as "weird". They were a new piece to me and I had a very small surplus. As I became more familiar with Bricklink, I now have started slowly weening them to their own categories. The same idea of grouping similar parts (i.e. vehicle parts, technic, large size plates, etc) are still grouped accordingly. As, 'woolie' said above, BL has a pretty good system of sorting, though for finding individual parts, when need be, further subcategories come in handy

[Vindicare]

Sterilite 5 drawer containers on caster wheels are on sale at Target for $18, down from $22. I picked up 2 more (now have 5) and may still get 2 more if they're on sale next week. As mentioned upthread, these are going to be used for "basic brick" storage.

So, it took 4 people working for 2 hours, but we did the first pass on sorting about 1/2 of the bulk lot I bought last week. I made a list of about 16 categories. Each person picked 4 categories and got a plastic bin for each category. I'd grab a large pile of bricks from the tub, place in the center of the table, and we'd each pick out our categories. Worked pretty well -- definitely much faster than I could have sorted 30lbs of bricks on my own.

I'll be doing the second pass sorting (usually down to individual molds, or very specific categories) over the next couple weeks. I'll post pics when it's all said and done.

Sounds like a good game plan. I like seeing everyones sorting set up. It also makes me envious. So many good ideas in here for when this day comes for me.

[Zeya]

Here's a storage / Lego room idea I spotted. Basically gluing baseplates onto the wall.

LINK

[Piranha]

Here's a storage / Lego room idea I spotted. Basically gluing baseplates onto the wall.

LINK

Oh man, that idea is off the wall.

(Sorry couldn't resist).

[Vindicare]

Here's a storage / Lego room idea I spotted. Basically gluing baseplates onto the wall.

LINK

That is too awesome! If I ever have a dedicated LEGO room, I would so do that to at least one wall.

[brickmack]

Here's a storage / Lego room idea I spotted. Basically gluing baseplates onto the wall.

LINK

Ooh that's kinda cool. Probably wouldn't be useful for sorting/storing anything long term, but it would be great for decorating. Get a few thousand plates or tiles and make a whole-wall mosaic, and then in a few months if you decide you want a change, pull everything off and make a new one.

[purpleparadox]

I don't have nearly as many pieces as lots of you, so I'm working on a really basic sorting system. Everything is sorted by colour (not part type). I'll mix together colours if I don't have a lot of them, for example, pink and light blue.

[Scorpio]

I've had these pictures for a while and have been meaning to post them. Sadly, this is the cleanest my LEGO room has been in months. Enjoy!

[harakiri]

That actually is impressive......

[Marckeyh]

Great LEGO room Scorpio.

[Legobrandon]

WOW. I'm impressed.

[Andy D]

Scorpio, that is very impressive!

What is that 500K to 1M or more pieces?

I hope I never have that much LEGO, because I would not have a wife if I did

I am just looking to get my meager 20k pieces organized so I can find things and build efficiently.

Thanks for the inspiration! I now know it can be done.

Andy D

Edited March 19, 2012 by Andy D

[Niku]

Beautiful room.

[Vindicare]

Wow, awesome room, Scorpio. Great set up.

[Sir_Basil_Ashton]

I've had these pictures for a while and have been meaning to post them. Sadly, this is the cleanest my LEGO room has been in months. Enjoy!

Awesome setup. I would love to have a LEGO room but I'm years away from that even being an option. With your setup I love that wall with all the drawers.