Storage and Sorting LEGO

[Rebel_Lego]

I mostly sort by shape and colour. However, I put two or three colours in the same box so that the closet isn’t full of LEGO :)

Edited January 27, 2021 by Rebel_Lego

[adhdlama]

I'm starting to sort by colour, but I've ran into an issue. I'm looking to sell my old sets, mainly old Pirate Lego, but to find all the belonging pieces easily I've decided to sort it all.

However, this will lead to me inevitably confuse (and sell) old pirate lego with new mixed in there.
Of course I make a difference between the old and new colours like the greys and browns, there is also the "grainy" old sloped pieces - but is there otherwise a palbable difference? 
Will a buyer notice, and feel tricked when they notice, that this black hollow 1x1 stud, is from 2020 and not 1990?
I simply do not have the boxes to sort everything by colour AND by old and new. Or should I just go get more?
Any input would be appreciated!

Edited January 27, 2021 by adhdlama

[ifyoubuildit]

I’ve done mine by colour, then bricks, plates, slopes and everything else into takeaway containers 

[Alexandrina]

1 minute ago, ifyoubuildit said:

I’ve done mine by colour, then bricks, plates, slopes and everything else into takeaway containers 

Those plastic boxes that come with Chinese takeaways? They're an excellent solution for the majority of parts. If you have access to Booker Wholesale, you can buy boxes of one hundred 500ml containers for a tenner - and it's surprising how quickly one hundred containers get filled up!

[ifyoubuildit]

9 minutes ago, Alexandrina said:

Those plastic boxes that come with Chinese takeaways? They're an excellent solution for the majority of parts. If you have access to Booker Wholesale, you can buy boxes of one hundred 500ml containers for a tenner - and it's surprising how quickly one hundred containers get filled up!

Yes they are great, I think I got them from Asda about £2 for 10, so Booker are much better value, cheers 👍

[Alexandrina]

1 minute ago, ifyoubuildit said:

Yes they are great, I think I got them from Asda about £2 for 10, so Booker are much better value, cheers 👍

It's worth bearing in mind that Booker isn't open to general customers - you've got to have a membership, which I believe requires you to be a business. But yeah - it's the place to go for food and food-adjacent stuff at less-than-retail price!

[ifyoubuildit]

Just now, Alexandrina said:

It's worth bearing in mind that Booker isn't open to general customers - you've got to have a membership, which I believe requires you to be a business. But yeah - it's the place to go for food and food-adjacent stuff at less-than-retail price!

That’s good to know many thanks 👍

[Man with beard]

On 1/27/2021 at 10:25 AM, adhdlama said:

I'm starting to sort by colour, but I've ran into an issue. I'm looking to sell my old sets, mainly old Pirate Lego, but to find all the belonging pieces easily I've decided to sort it all.

However, this will lead to me inevitably confuse (and sell) old pirate lego with new mixed in there.
Of course I make a difference between the old and new colours like the greys and browns, there is also the "grainy" old sloped pieces - but is there otherwise a palbable difference? 
Will a buyer notice, and feel tricked when they notice, that this black hollow 1x1 stud, is from 2020 and not 1990?
I simply do not have the boxes to sort everything by colour AND by old and new. Or should I just go get more?
Any input would be appreciated!

I'm not an expert on this issue, but another color to look out for is yellow. New yellow is often slightly translucent and can look a bit ugly when mixed with classic yellow in my opinion. Maybe keep those separate.

As a buyer, I wouldn't be bothered by minor mold variants, but I can't speak for everyone.

Edited February 5, 2021 by Man with beard

[Woodstock pl]

 Here’s how I sort my technic:  

Top drawer,wheels. Middle drawer filming gear. Bottom drawer, junk. That’s the way its supposed to be, right The parts on top get sorted eventually;)

 

Edited February 12, 2021 by Woodstock pl

[Fabulandlover]

On 8/20/2020 at 5:11 AM, Grover said:

You generally have to rely on the manufacturer's information or the recycle number stamped into the plastic to see what the polymers are unless you have access to spectroscopic or other analytical equipment.  I'm not sure what the time scale is on damage to ABS, but collectable figurines stored over decades in the wrong plastics can be damaged.  A lot will depend on ambient temps, UV exposure, what types of plastics you're using, and the length of time it is exposed, as well as how good a seal there is.

A quick guide is on the materials for vacuum use Wikipedia page.  Regardless of whether Wikipedia advocates its use, if it says 'high outgassing', I avoid it.  PVC is probably the most notorious for destroying plastics and is listed as high outgassing as well as PMMA.  If you want a quantitative list, you'd have to look at outgassing of polymers under high vacuum in scientific journals.  Usually these materials outgas mers (the single unit of the unpolymerized material) that can act as solvents, but it can also be due to the plasticizers too.

Personally, I use PP ziploc bags to store bulk bricks that I have let outgas naturally until I can't smell anything, PS trays, Sterlite PE and PP bins that I let outgas, and the new AkroMils drawers.  Usually the drawers, as long as they're not made out of high outgassing polymers, are OK because they are not sealed.  However, for my long-term collectables, such as my CMFs, I use glass jars with metal lids that do not have plastisol or another high outgassing polymer gasket or seal.  They can be tricky to find, although Ball sells some mini 4 oz. jars labeled 'not for food storage' that fit the minis just fine.  Hope this helps!

:( :( now I need to worry about the storage of my bricks and minifigures. Ugh....I just bought some Sammla boxes from Ikea....

[1980-Something-Space-Guy]

10 minutes ago, Fabulandlover said:

:( :( now I need to worry about the storage of my bricks and minifigures. Ugh....I just bought some Sammla boxes from Ikea....

If you want to read more on this topic, we had a discussion here. Personally, I use PP/PE bags inside of PP/PE boxes for figures. I think generally this is more of a concern if you are thinking about long-term storage of collectables.

 

 

[Grover]

8 hours ago, Fabulandlover said:

:( :( now I need to worry about the storage of my bricks and minifigures. Ugh....I just bought some Sammla boxes from Ikea....

They might be fine.  Just check!

[natesroom]

My biggest issue and i wonder if anyone else has this issue. 

Legos, Miniatures (with brushes and paints etc) D&D, Board Games and Magic the Gathering Card Collection.

Its very difficult to keep all these hobbies sorted and the collections and all the other stuff. Lol

Does anyone else have more hobbies like this other then legos?

[MKJoshA]

Just bought my first Akro-Mils drawers. I'll post a picture after I get them loaded up with Lego.

[natesroom]

same here i just got two of them and am starting to fill them.

[Alexandrina]

20 hours ago, natesroom said:

Does anyone else have more hobbies like this other then legos?

Not quite the same thing, but I have way too many CDs and DVDs, to the point that I have a floor to ceiling shelvijg unit that doesn't even fit half of what I have. Unsorted CDs and unbuilt Lego are always competing for precious under-the-bed and back-of-the-wardrobe real estate 

[ArneNielsen]

On 2/22/2021 at 3:02 AM, natesroom said:

Does anyone else have more hobbies like this other then legos?

Oh yes, my LEGO collection is fighting for space against my MtG cards, my stamps, my coins, my books, my Playmobil - and dare I say: my MegaBloks and other clones...

[natesroom]

It feels like there is a never-ending organization going on as magic cards continue to pile up.

[zoth33]

I got some nice storage drawers recently.  Filled up the first one with plant pieces.  Still have a ton of sorting to do.  Getting closer to getting everything sorted for now. Still need more wooden shelves and some more drawers.  It's amazing what you find while your sorting, parts you forgot you had or never realized you had.  With all the sets I bought so far this year and the ones I'm planning on buying I'm might actually fill up the entire room but I still have a lot of sorting and organizing to do.  I already have 2 shelving units filled up with sets that have 4 shelves a piece.  My wife thinks I have to many bricks but I don't have nearly enough to build the castle displays I want to.  In the same room I do have some nascar collectables and some sports stuff.  I'm hoping to have things squared away sometime this summer and then take some pictures of the room when it's all sorted and organized.  

[EvaWill]

I made it much easier. I have several boxes for storing cosmetics with different departments. And I decided that using them would be the best solution. And so it turned out.

[mdtvandy]

Just a random tidbit that may be helpful to those in the US using the Akro-Mils drawers--Avery 8195 labels are the perfect size for the ends of the small drawers. 

[mvLego]

This seems like the best place to post this if anyone is looking for any storage deals.

I'm slowly (and dreading every minute of it) getting ready to sort my old childhood Lego from 20+ years ago. I finally decided on using the Iris USA drawer carts and bought a few of the large ones to start. (Depending on configuration, the carts vary in drawer amount/size, but they're about 41.5 inches high.) I needed to buy some of the 27 inch high ones to go under a window. I almost bought them from Amazon for $40, but did a quick search and found that the Joann craft store (possibly only located in the US) has them on sale for $30. On top of that, they have a curbside pickup discount that knocks another 20% off, bringing them down to $25 each.

I'm not sure if links are allowed, so I'll hold off on linking the product directly, but I'll add to the post if they're allowed!

Piggybacking on this: I know people have posted sorting/cleaning tips before, but I still have a question: how do you get over the mental hurdle of actually starting?!

It's such an imposing tub of just EVERYTHING mixed together. It's been sitting in my office for far too long, and every time I think about starting, I just ... can't. (I actually started sorting a smaller but still sizeable tub a while back. What tripped me up was sorting all of the small and unique pieces. Now I have more small containers that should make it easier, but still: I'm realizing I was a spoiled kid! )

I also have to clean everything, but one task at a time. I tend to try to tackle massive projects in one go, but I think I'll be better served just getting bricks organized and then cleaning as time and space allows.

(Heck of a post to break my lurking habit on!)

[Grover]

13 hours ago, mvLego said:

Piggybacking on this: I know people have posted sorting/cleaning tips before, but I still have a question: how do you get over the mental hurdle of actually starting?!

It's such an imposing tub of just EVERYTHING mixed together. It's been sitting in my office for far too long, and every time I think about starting, I just ... can't. (I actually started sorting a smaller but still sizeable tub a while back. What tripped me up was sorting all of the small and unique pieces. Now I have more small containers that should make it easier, but still: I'm realizing I was a spoiled kid! )

I also have to clean everything, but one task at a time. I tend to try to tackle massive projects in one go, but I think I'll be better served just getting bricks organized and then cleaning as time and space allows.

I usually enjoy sorting, but for really big sorts, I tend to do it in stages: I first do a very fast sort of the really big stuff, like huge plates and big bricks.  Then I go back through the pile to grab minis, animals, etc.  Then I pull all the browns, greens, and greys (I build mostly castle).  That cleans everything up quickly and I then am able to do a part sorting and clean up by part type.  It seems like more work, but I find it goes faster because you can focus on only one thing at a time.  Hope this helps!

[Celeri]

Like many, I have started with sorting by color. But with time, I have switched to sort by group for Technic (steering/gearing, beams, connectors, axles, panels, bushes, etc.) and by shape for System.

Indeed, I find it much easier to find a part in a box full of "same type" but with different colors than the opposite way. I guess my brain is much quicker at targeting a color than a shape, so it is best to have the color be my main visual filter to identify the exact part I need. But maybe this is the opposite for other people?

Globally, my experience shows that "color first" eases the sorting your parts, and "type first" eases finding your parts. And since I prefer losing time while sorting (I do it quietly while watching TV shows or listening to podcasts) and be faster at finding to have a more fluid build process, I tend to sort by type first. And if I have to sub-sort a specific type, then I make color groups with a maximum contrast within them (a black&white one, a red/blue one, etc.) to maximize the finding speed.

Edited June 18, 2021 by Celeri

[mvLego]

8 hours ago, Grover said:

I usually enjoy sorting, but for really big sorts, I tend to do it in stages: I first do a very fast sort of the really big stuff, like huge plates and big bricks.  Then I go back through the pile to grab minis, animals, etc.  Then I pull all the browns, greens, and greys (I build mostly castle).  That cleans everything up quickly and I then am able to do a part sorting and clean up by part type.  It seems like more work, but I find it goes faster because you can focus on only one thing at a time.  Hope this helps!

This is helpful - thanks! I've spent more time reading about Lego sorting than I ever would have imagined, and this (as well as just getting over my mental block) seems to be along the lines of what I need to do. What would make my life much easier is if I could find one of those Lego sorting bags/tools, but those don't seem to be made anymore.

4 minutes ago, Celeri said:

Like many, I have started with sorting by color. But with time, I have switched to sort by group for Technic (steering/gearing, beams, connectors, axles, panels, bushes, etc.) and by shape for System.

Indeed, I find it much easier to find a part in a box full of "same type" but with different colors than the opposite way. I guess my brain is much quicker at targeting a color than a shape, so it is best to have the color be my main visual filter to identify the exact part I need. But maybe this is the opposite for other people?

Globally, my experience shows that "color first" eases the sorting your parts, and "type first" eases finding your parts. And since I prefer losing time by sorting (I do it quietly while watching TV shows or listening to podcasts) and be faster at finding to have a more fluid build process, I tend to sort by type first. And if I have to sub-sort a specific type, then I make color groups with a maximum contrast within them (a black&white one, a red/blue one, etc.) to maximize the finding speed.

This is also helpful - thank you! I definitely plan to sort by part first. If storage space allows, I may eventually get into color sorting.