Storage and Sorting LEGO

[Seluryar]

i have made my first purchase regarding storage for my small Lego "collection",

i purchased some Glad Big Bowls that you can get from grocery stores, but these will be used only for pegs and other small pieces that come with Technic sets

[-JD-]

What I have done so far.

Where did you get those?

Anyone have any advice where I could get ones like that in the UK for a relatively cheap price? Thanks.

[drevim]

Where did you get those?

Anyone have any advice where I could get ones like that in the UK for a relatively cheap price? Thanks.

I think you are seeing 12 diff storage units stacked. You can get them at WalMart/Target/etc in the US. I would assume any type of Bed,Bath,Beyond or that type of store would also have them. Not sure where to send you in the UK, but hope ths gives you some sort of direction to look.

[bricked one]

Should i sort my Lego by type, by color, or both?

[Skafte]

Should i sort my Lego by type, by color, or both?

Long answer: That depends on how you build and how many pieces you have. Colour sorting has an advantage that you are able to build something in a certain colour, but you need longer time to look for parts. If you sort by type, you can find the piece you want easier, but you'll have to open more bags/containers which takes time as well. When your collection grows, colour sorting gets kind of out of hand, and when you eventually want to sort everything by part AND colour, it's much easier to convert a parts collection than a colour collection, if you see what I mean.

Short answer: By type.

[antp]

Type is tedious when you have lots of bricks/parts.

Previously I was sorting by type only, I switched to color+type: main sorting color, then for most of the colors by type, grouping together types of which I did not had enough to fill a dedicated "container".

As you said, the problem with type sorting is that you have to open more drawers/containers. Also, you may end up search one of the few rare-color part of a type in the middle of lots of common-color parts of the same type.

I posted a pic previously:

http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=26213&view=findpost&p=671932

I tried to more or less regroup the colors, in the end it is a hybrid color+type, so drawers are e.g. "blue tiles", "yellow 1x2 + 1x4 plates", "small red slopes", "white round bricks + plates" etc.

[Follows Closely]

Should i sort my Lego by type, by color, or both?

To summarize: Your storage will evolve as your collection grows.

If you have < 10,000 pieces I would start by sorting by color. You can pull out the small pieces and sort them by type. As your collection grows you will find that you will need to start breaking things down by type.

[The Soup Nazi]

Yes, that's right. I got a shitload of bricks to sort. I'm probably getting two or three of these, and maybe one of these, but I'm having trouble. Should I sort by color, shape, or both?

Edited October 29, 2010 by The Soup Nazi

[Marckeyh]

... but I'm having trouble. Should I sort by color, shape, or both?

If you get storage with loads of compartments, it's probably best to sort them by shape.

[Zeya]

Does anyone keep the original set boxes?

I just started collecting after my dark ages. I might end up being misguided, but I intend to collect sets and collectible minifigures, and I don't have much interest (or free time) to build MOCs. I'm going to get some of the 2x3 inch plastic baggies for storing the collectible minifigs, and each series will go together in a ziploc bag when I'm tired of displaying them or run out of room. I intend to store the sets in their original boxes (ziploc in the box to hold the pieces). But there seems to be a lot of extra space in the boxes, so I think I'll nest other sets inside; I will put the impulse sets inside the medium set box, and the medium ones inside a large set box. That will be by theme, so like all the 2010 castle sets will be nested together for the most part.

Another tip is that when I open a set and dump out the bricks on the table, I first sort them by color and use these cheap Glad brand food storage trays to hold them. The trays have partitions, and this just keeps things sorted so I'm not endlessly combing through the bricks on the table trying to find a simple bley 1x2 flat brick. Also, it's kind of fun to look at all the pieces as I open the set bags and sort them all out. During the process I will stack some of the bricks to make it easy to find them later; it especially helps to stack round studs, as they tend to sink to the bottom of a group of bricks.

[fred67]

Does anyone keep the original set boxes?

I did at one point, then asked myself "why?" and couldn't come up with a good answer. When I did it, though, I would break the seals on both ends of the boxes so that I could store them flat. Made them easier to throw away, too.

Another tip is that when I open a set and dump out the bricks on the table, I first sort them by color and use these cheap Glad brand food storage trays to hold them. The trays have partitions, and this just keeps things sorted so I'm not endlessly combing through the bricks on the table trying to find a simple bley 1x2 flat brick. Also, it's kind of fun to look at all the pieces as I open the set bags and sort them all out. During the process I will stack some of the bricks to make it easy to find them later; it especially helps to stack round studs, as they tend to sink to the bottom of a group of bricks.

Depends on how big the set is. I don't sort at first, but when I'm looking for a piece in the mess I'll sort only until I find it. As time goes on it gets more sorted and even loose pieces are easier to find.

[buddy]

Does anyone keep the original set boxes?

Yes I do keep the set boxes, I keep them as they are (I don't flatten them) and store them in my attic. I have kept the set box from most of the Lego sets I own.

~buddy~

[Yeow]

I also keep all my set boxes. I've started shoving them inside one another now to conserve space, which ironically doesn't seem to help much as I keep buying big boxed sets and they don't like to play along with each other!

[Pazoozoo]

Wow, most of you have so many bricks.

How can you have so much pieces???

Have you collected them over the years?

When you buy a box, how many of the same box do you get? 2? or more?

Do you buy separate pieces from the web shop in high quantities?

Damned, I think I'm going to get a second Green Grocer, fire brigade and Grand Emporium before it's totally out.

Fred.

Edited November 20, 2010 by Pazoozoo

[Follows Closely]

To late on the GG.

[Dan the Brickman]

Wow, most of you have so many bricks.

How can you have so much pieces???

Have you collected them over the years?

When you buy a box, how many of the same box do you get? 2? or more?

Do you buy separate pieces from the web shop in high quantities?

Damned, I think I'm going to get a second Green Grocer, fire brigade and Grand Emporium before it's totally out.

Fred.

Me personally, I am the 2nd generation lego fan in my home. I have an older brother who had several large Rubbermaid bins full. (Lots of classic space and castle there, even original black falcons fortress ) Then, I always requested Lego for my birthday or Christmas, and everyone knew that is what I liked... now Im 21 and starting college, but still build and collect lego. Now that I have a job, I also usually buy at least 1 impulse set every pay day, and then save up for some of the larger sets.

...back to the main topic:

In some US stores, I am now finding these bins:

manufaturer website

While more expensive then the walmart cheap bins, they are lego licensed and come with a free base-plate...so you could subtract the cost of the plate, ($5 US) and they come out a little "cheaper".

[smittyfan]

Me personally, I am the 2nd generation lego fan in my home. I have an older brother who had several large Rubbermaid bins full. (Lots of classic space and castle there, even original black falcons fortress ) Then, I always requested Lego for my birthday or Christmas, and everyone knew that is what I liked... now Im 21 and starting college, but still build and collect lego. Now that I have a job, I also usually buy at least 1 impulse set every pay day, and then save up for some of the larger sets.

...back to the main topic:

In some US stores, I am now finding these bins:

manufaturer website

While more expensive then the walmart cheap bins, they are lego licensed and come with a free base-plate...so you could subtract the cost of the plate, ($5 US) and they come out a little "cheaper".

yeah, some days i wonder how he can live in a room so crowded with Legos... the floor's pretty covered in bricks most of the time, and boxes and bins of Legos stacked up all over the place... it's like a massive Lego explosion...

but anyways.... back to the topic...

i think it'd be cool to get some of those special Lego bins. i like the stacked up ones in the shelf unit... one of those would suit my meager Lego collection for a while...

for now, i mostly keep my special Belville pieces in their original boxes stacked up on top my bookcase. then a few of my standard bricks are in a pink Lego brick bin (with Legos included of course!) i got for Christmas last year.. along with a small Tupperware bin, and a few Ziplock baggies...

[AmperZand]

i've spent a small fortune on 'really useful boxes' i think they are a UK company, but they have hundreds of different sizes and they stack nicely and dont have the annoying dips and curves at the sides you usually get in storage boxes.

I mostly collect minifigs and accessories for them, so my sorting problems aren't as bad as for some posters in this thread.

I currently use all sorts of Tupperware-style boxes, bags, wooden boxes, padded envelopes etc. It's a mess! I recently invested in two 9L Really Useful Boxes with 2 trays in each, like these. I plan on sorting and filling them over Christmas. Where necessary, I'll subdivide the contents of each tray's compartments using small component bags. I get the bags cheap from Lynco in London.

I sort by function, e.g, swords, then part, e.g. short sword, then colour, e.g. pearl silver.

Amps

[Ogre]

Wow, most of you have so many bricks.

How can you have so much pieces???

Have you collected them over the years?

When you buy a box, how many of the same box do you get? 2? or more?

Do you buy separate pieces from the web shop in high quantities?

Damned, I think I'm going to get a second Green Grocer, fire brigade and Grand Emporium before it's totally out.

Fred.

I don't know about anybody else but

a) years of collecting

b) yes, I've been collecting LEGO since I was four...I'm now almost 42

c) how many copies of a set I buy depends on if I really like it and whether or not it has a lot of stuff I'm looking for/can use (example...the new Pharaoh's Quest line...I'd like to snag 3 of the set with two mummies and the motorcycle

d) yes, I sometimes buy 'pick-a-brick', though I don't know about 'large quantities'...though I HAVE purchased several hundred tiles at a time, here and there. (I still miss the days of buy BAGS of bricks, tiles, etc...I think it was cheaper).

Edited November 28, 2010 by Ogre

[Enpaz]

Hi there!

First of all: I know there's a thread called "Storage and Sorting LEGO" but I think this is more about telling others about your sorting strategies rather than specific questions about sorting. If I'm mistaken, please merge!

My situation is the following. I've got three of those:

and three of those:

Now how would you say should I sort? I think I have to get additional boxes for really large bricks or parts I've got a lot of, haven't I?

At the moment I'm thinking of giving the basic colours Light/Dark Bluish Gray, Black, White, Red, Blue and Yellow one fat drawer (those that are seperated into three sections) on their own to put the 1x4/1x6 of the colour in one part, the 1x2/1x3/corners in one part and the 2x2/2x3/2x4 into the third section. 1 stud wide bigger bricks (1x8+) go in one of the four medium compartments above, and 2 stud wide bigger bricks (2x6+) go into the medium compartment next to them. Is that a good strategy?

What should I keep in mind? I mean, what pieces of what colours am I going to get loads of and so on?

You know, I don't want to sort them somehow, finish it and then have to do it all over again because I notice a mistake in the system...

I'm grateful for any suggestions.

Enpaz

Edited November 28, 2010 by Enpaz

[Stash2Sixx]

If I'm mistaken, please merge!

Ok, merging.

[erik530195]

Would anybody recommend this brand for LEGO storage?

Exactly what I use! I will post pictures as soon as my brickshelf email comes back . I sort them by color, but if I hav too much of 1 color to go in a drawer, i'll sort that color by part. (For example, green bricks and plates in 1 drawer, trees and x large plates in another.) I got mine at northern tool company, but im sure other hardware stores will have them.

[nielsvdv]

i use bins for knives, forks.. i only build technic and don't keep colors separate, although i have a lot of lego technic.. i have a large table in my room.. the bins easely go on one another for storage in an open closet, so i just have to place them on my big table around me. i have a certain order in them, so i can reach out and take a piece with my eyes closed. my power functions, mocs, wips, are al in display in the open closed..

it works very good, for now :)

[robuko]

I store by set and I know others do too. I am going through my new sets and I am wondering, why does it make sense for me to open up some plastic bags and tip everything into a new ziploc plastic bag for storage?

Please lego, ship your sets in a ziploc bag in the first place. If they were printed bags with set description and code, that would be awesome.

[smittyfan]

I store by set and I know others do too. I am going through my new sets and I am wondering, why does it make sense for me to open up some plastic bags and tip everything into a new ziploc plastic bag for storage?

Please lego, ship your sets in a ziploc bag in the first place. If they were printed bags with set description and code, that would be awesome.

that's a great idea!! i second the motion!