scooterlord

Lego sorting tips & tricks + limited storage space

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First of all, I saw the first thread about storage, but thought this deserved its own space!

Hello everyone - newcomer to the forum! After an absence of almost 20 years I am back to legos, using my son as an excuse (I am 39, son is 4).

So, I started (again) with te 42082 set - which most of you know is 4050 pieces. It was not big enough for my appetite, but I was unprepared for storing - not enough space, and didn't think it would be a good idea to invest in storage space just yet with one set.

4050 pieces can keep you very occupied when looking for the pieces if you are unprepared - I was! - so after a couple of times I did the set, I came up with small tips I thought I'd share - and now here I am.

Unfortunately I am not allowed to upload more photos, so link with a couple of images is here: https://imgur.com/a/tYtBMhI

 

IMG_2330.jpg.3eb28ba47d13bc349bc93d4ca6d95729.jpg

So, here are the tips - I am using two large containers (bowl and green ikea container, a flexible compartment box (I have it split at 22 compartments), and 3 small plastic containers.

- First of all, using the small black connectors or the double blue connectors (don't know if these have specific names, sorry!) I connect all the colored bricks with holes as shown in the left of the image above, creating in essence - larger bricks. This way you can find a lot easier what you are looking for without the need to keep searching in a box with same colors.

QdKNifi.jpeg

- As seen above, I keep blue,yellow and orange pieces in the same box - easy to distinguish, never had a problem finding what I need.

- I have a separate box for all the smaller red parts -connectors, etc - EXCEPT the ones that occupy to much space and look confusing, like the ones that have a cross on the side and one-or-two holes which I keep separately.

- In some compartments of the box, I keep same shape different color pieces - as seen below on the right.

- Also in the middle container (split in 3 parts) I keep the beige pieces and on the left compartment, I keep all these really rare pieces of the set - Once I was looking for a single piece for half an hour.

WqZbAmG.jpeg

- Using the grey rods and a single black connector for each 'row' I connect pieces like the ones below into larger bricks:

lxXZSb5.jpeg

- In the green box, I keep everything I don't have enough space for but are easy to find.

Well, that's it! I hope it helps someone out! Looking forward to your thoughts!

Edited by scooterlord
Better-fitting title

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Yup, My suggestion would be to buy more of the boxes that have adjustable dividers. Get more! they will give you growing room. I did the same thing, waiting for kids of my own to get back into Lego. I now have over 40 of that kind of container. they have grown and adjusted to my Lego habit quite well over the years. I have one type of part in a given compartment, color is selected at the time I use it. Then I have a box for just axles, just gears, and it goes like that. The fact that the boxes are " see thru" is also a great thing. Also there are wire racks that you can stack those in. they kind of work like drawers then. they are great. https://bricksafe.com/pages/1963maniac Well, I guess, It looks like I use other things too (for my kids). But, Mine are the technic ones in the "Plano" boxes stacked on the tabletop in wire racks. Take the time to organize it, you will be glad you did when it comes time to build something.

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That looks more like sorting than storing. For storage - bag the parts up and put them back in the box, they will take up less room than what you have there. The containers are likely to spill during storage, or parts lost as they are open.

 

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On 12/16/2020 at 2:32 PM, MAB said:

That looks more like sorting than storing. For storage - bag the parts up and put them back in the box, they will take up less room than what you have there. The containers are likely to spill during storage, or parts lost as they are open.

 

MAB, you are probably right - It's more sorting than storing. It's a little bit of both though, but with more emphasis on sorting. It's not that I am luring in forums all day, but I had never encountered a similar technique where I browse, so I thought it would be a good idea to share.

Saves tons of time, the re-modeling of the set is a breeze.

1963Maniac - these are tips for a specific set. Obviously, if you have pieces in bulk or a lot of sets altogether you must have a dedicated space for all these. Imagine to have to get 20 compartment boxes to build a set (eg one with axles, one with cogs, etc). Considering the practical side of things - you need a big table, etc. I'd love to have my own personal space of my 'man stuff' (haha) but unfortunately this is not an option :/

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I'm going to use a yogurt tub to store some specialized parts like maybe cockpits/windscreens or train parts. I have some Plano organizers for some parts, and plan to buy a smaller Husky organizer for minifigure parts. I also use some empty fast food plastic containers with lids with vent holes.

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