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How to store LEGO

Tips from 30 years of building

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It's good to have your LEGO sorted. Building things is much easier when you can find the pieces that you need in a timely fashion.

Got a lot of LEGO but don't know how to sort?

Here's the first piece of advice: sort by type of piece, not color.

It can be hard to figure out what piece types to group together though. I'll be showing you my set up. Here's some things to keep in mind:

  • I have two rooms in my basement pretty much dedicated to LEGO
  • I've been collecting since about 1989, so I have a lot of old pieces. Some of these I use a lot, and some of them I don't since there are better new versions of the piece.
  • I have kids.

My sorting scheme

Rods and Antennae
Car and cockpit details
Plants and Trees
Accessories
Small transparent
Control panels
Claws and arm attachments
Flags
Flexible tubes and nets

Storage

The other part of the puzzle is: what are you going to put the pieces in? If you don't have storage for all of the piece types listed above, remember you can always combine two similar ones. I've evolved my scheme a lot over the years.

Sandusky Lee Mobile Wire Shelving with 15 Plastic Bins

Pros

  • It rolls!

  • Nice variety of bin sizes ranging from small to medium.

  • Easy to build.

Cons

  • The item I got looked like it had been dropped out of a helicopter and a bin was slightly broken.

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15 Bin Tabletop Parts Rack - Storehouse

This was the first storage element that I bought, when I first began to Sort The Legos! I use it for the smaller piecetype groups now.

Pros

  • This product is cheap and very good for sorting small piecetype groups.

  • You can pull the bins out and move them around.

  • It's reasonably stable when on a flat surface.

Cons

  • Bins are tricky to get in and out. Small children will probably end up knocking this over before long if they can access.

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Seville Classics Commercial 7-Tier

So far I like these racks a lot. The regular bins are quite large and the XL bins are about 50% bigger.

Pros

  • Large and super-large bins are great for certain piecetypes.

  • Sturdy frame once built

Cons

  • One shelf bracket was misshappen and I couldn't get the plastic washer thing onto it (though the unit is still solid enough without this).

  • With the casters on it is a bit tipsy and seemed dangerous for little kids to be around.

  • Top shelf is too high for small children to get to without a step-stool.

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