I'm sorry for not mentioning that... I seem to be a little chaotic about it! ?
I used to sort my bricks and pieces by similar parts... but as my collection grew bigger and bigger I had to change. So at the moment I'm sorting by color. I've got bricks and plates sorted by color and then I've got many different pieces which are sorted as I think I can find them easily... normal tiles, printed tiles, flowers and plants, windows and doors, tires, car pieces, ship pieces, etc. I hope that makes it a bit more clear! ?