Concerning sorting & storage

[puddleglum]

First, a quickish backstory - I'm 27 years old, had a long dark age from somewhere around 12 until my Freshman year in college when I discovered Star Wars LEGO. I bought a lot of that in college (too much really), but was always moving around and was never able store/sort very effectively. I had a mini dark age from 2003 until this past summer. (I was busy getting married, getting my first job, and having a child! ). Well, the recent Creator and Castle lines have brought me back to LEGO in full force, and I'm now in the process of moving all my LEGO out of my parents house. After seeing the shockingly large amount of LEGO they dragged out of the closets (probably about 30 shoeboxes full!), I've realized I could really be having a lot of fun building MOCs if I just knew what I had, and where to find it. So, it's time to organize.

I've read all the threads here I could find on this topic, and searched around the 'net in general, and found some good information. I've decided like sorting by part rather than color, because it's very easy to find a red 1x2 plate among a pile of 1x2 plates, but it's a total pain to find a red 1x2 plate among a pile of red plates. My plan is to sort by color only when I have a large amount of a certain part in one color (e.g. 2x2 45 black slopes, 1x2 light grey, etc) I've already bought several of the Plano boxes with the adjustable compartment sizes, and it is working great for small stuff. For larger stuff (anything larger than a 1x2 brick or 1x4 plate), it seems like the best system is to use clear plastic bags inside clear plastic containers of some sort, whether they be large drawer-style, boxes, or something else.

Well, that is the road I am planning to take, and the point of this thread is just to ask if anyone feels I'm missing any key strategies or ideas for sorting, or has any other suggestions for me before I start investing heavily in plastic containers. One other key piece of information is that I don't have a large LEGO work area, so I've focused on the methods that seem to work well for underbed and closet storage. (i.e. no huge tool-type drawer system for now) Thanks!

[MoonCheese]

Seems like a good plan to me!

You may want to decide what pieces will be lumped together and what will be separated, also. For instance, I sort all normal bricks up to 2*4 with one area for each size, but past that I just have 1*X and 2*X. Remember that larger bricks will need more space! Storage for 1000 2*4 bricks uses a LOT more space than storage for 1000 1*1 plates. I know it may seem obvious, but it actually surprised me somewhat how different the storage needs are!

Plastic bags are cheap, but can be annoying compared to drawers or bins, and they tend to be hard to identify or keep in a sequence. If you don't have a lot of "hard" storage, consider buying a bunch of sandwich bags for at least temporary storage. An advantage of them is that they don't use up as much room when packing.

[KingDavid]

I simply use 6 quart Sterilite stoage boxes like these:



They're only $1 each at the local Dollar Tree and they work fine for most of my parts. I have some smaller craft boxes I use for minifigs and other smaller parts, though. One of those is big enough to put a complete Dwarves' Mine in and almost big enough for a King's Castle Siege. I use Sterilite storage drawers like these for wheels, large castle wall elements, horses, and dragon/giant troll parts:



I'm not saying that's the best way to store parts, but it's working out for me. I decided to sort and store all my parts based on color, which is turning out to not be so great an idea now that I have about 10,000 parts. Oh well, live and learn, eh?

[puddleglum]

Plastic bags are cheap, but can be annoying compared to drawers or bins, and they tend to be hard to identify or keep in a sequence. If you don't have a lot of "hard" storage, consider buying a bunch of sandwich bags for at least temporary storage. An advantage of them is that they don't use up as much room when packing.

What I meant was, using plastic bags in combination with plastic containers. For example, if I had a bin that was the right size to store all my 1x3 and 1x4 bricks, I would use two plastic bags to keep them separate inside the same container.

[ottoatm]

I would suggest getting a big case that mechanics use to put nuts and bolts in - and then part out your sets into that - the only way to go as far as I can tell~

[KingDavid]

For most parts, basic storage bins work. For smaller parts, look for something for in the way of what you'd store beads or nails or something like that in. It works great for minifig parts.

[rknum]

I am in a similar situation, didn't pick back up until I had a son old enough to play legos, now I've been dumping all the spare money into sets and trying to clean and sort my 80's collection as well. I initially started with those ziplock storage boxes, mostly because I had some on hand, and I thought they were relatively cheap. They have ended up being over priced compared to the $1 sterilte boxes previously mentioned. I saw someone on Flickr showing pictures of their collection in similar yet cheaper packaging, he said that they came from a butchers shop. I did a little looking online myself and have found something similar if you buy in bulk, "deli cups" might be a decent compromise, if you buy like a 100 you can get 12oz clear cups for less than $.30 each. just an idea I am considering.

IS it just me or have the plastic storage drawers gone up in price significantly in the last few years?

[Karalora]

With small pieces, I sort by shape rather than color. It's much easier to spot a red 1x2 plate in a pile of 1x2 plates of various colors, than it is to spot a red 1x2 plate in a pile of red plates.

[Saaz]

First, welcome back to Lego! I recently came out of a dim age too, and I've been re-sorting my Lego so I can actually do something with it. I think you're on the right track, but be prepared to adjust as you sort and build more.

I'm mostly sorted by shape, but basic bricks are sorted into drawers with 1xN bricks, 2xN bricks, 1xN plates, 2xN plates of the same color, my reasoning being that if I'm working in, say green, it's easier to pull out a couple drawers of green bricks than the 12+ drawers of all the sizes of bricks. It's also easier and faster to sort that way, since models tend to be made up of only a few colors.

I have a pretty limited space in part of a spare bedroom, so I've gone vertical, with shelves holding drawers and boxes floor-to-ceiling. Dunno if that would work for you- maybe if you're limited to a closet and under-bed storage you could at least put some shelves in the closet. I really like having shelves- it's much easier to get to parts than when I used to have a bunch of plastic boxes just stacked in the corner. I also like using drawers so that everything is easily accessible. When I do use boxes, I try to limit how high I stack them, so that they're still easy to pull out.

[KingDavid]

I just spent most of the day re-sorting my parts by type rather than by color and it makes things a lot easier. I sorted them into 1x1 parts, 1x2 to 1x3+ and 2x2 to 2x4 plates, 2x6 to 2x8+ plates, 1x2 to 1x3+ and 2x2 to 2x4 bricks, 2x6 to 2x8+ bricks, sloped bricks, round parts such as 1x1 round bricks and wagon wheels (which works great), large pieces such as castle turrets and corner pieces, tiles, Technic-type parts, and other random parts such as doors and catapult buckets grouped together. I built a Skeleton Tower from these parts straight out of the bins in about an hour and a half. For 10,000 or so castle-type parts, this sort of sorting system seems to be working great.

[KarenJ]

IS it just me or have the plastic storage drawers gone up in price significantly in the last few years?

I've noticed that too. They're at least 20.00 each now. I bought a collection at a garage sale that was housed in 9 of those large three-drawer bins (pictured above). When I realized how much they cost, it was like getting all the Lego for free. I paid 150.00 for all.

Anyway, one of the problems I've had is that once I think I've got enough storage, I sort some more and realize that the space I've allocated for certain parts is no longer enough. With a drawer system, this leads to chaos. I have three drawers allocated for 1x1 barrels, but now they are full. To allocate another drawer, every other drawer must be changed.
I suspect that good storage decisions can only be made after ALL the sorting is done.

Another problem is that it's hard to keep up with all the new pieces.

One thing that has been helpful is to store related things together. I have one bin that stores wheels, but it also stores mudguards, windshields, etc, in ziploc bags.

[Username]

For minifigs, accessories and specialized parts, I like to use these Stanley Tool Organizers:

[Saaz]

Anyway, one of the problems I've had is that once I think I've got enough storage, I sort some more and realize that the space I've allocated for certain parts is no longer enough.

I don't know if this would work for you, but what I do is keep a "working supply" easily accessible in drawers, and as a drawer fills up I move some parts into a bag, and toss the bags in big boxes that I store in less-convenient places, like a closet or the top of my Lego shelves. That both minimizes the amount of drawer space you need, and lets you store some parts very space-efficiently in bags in boxes. I stick labels on the drawers and overflow boxes and number them, so I can easily tell that I have more of a particular part, and it's easy to find the box they're in.

[KingDavid]

This is what I use for small parts, such a minifig parts and 1x1 plates/tiles:



I get these at the local Dollar Tree for $1 each and they work just fine. They even snap closed pretty tightly.

[puddleglum]

Anyway, one of the problems I've had is that once I think I've got enough storage, I sort some more and realize that the space I've allocated for certain parts is no longer enough. With a drawer system, this leads to chaos. I have three drawers allocated for 1x1 barrels, but now they are full. To allocate another drawer, every other drawer must be changed.
I suspect that good storage decisions can only be made after ALL the sorting is done.
.

Yeah, it's been so long since I've seen a lot of this LEGO I think I need to sort everything just into plastic bags first to get a good idea of what all I have, then decide how to store.