Editor's Note: The good folks from Ninja Brick LEGO News (edit: 1/12/19, now called Brick Pals) recently contacted me about doing a guest post on my blog. Since I'm always happy to include more voices, I happily agreed. Today's post is from them - and it's full of good information about different LEGO storage options. Enjoy.
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We all
love LEGO, but the thing is: how do you store them? Sure, some come with their
own containers, such as the assorted LEGO
10697 box set, but what about sets? Well, we've looked at some
LEGO storage ideas and how to stay organized. You don't want to lose pieces or
worse: step on them, right?
LEGO Storage Ideas & Staying Organised
My first
ever LEGO set was stored in a cardboard box. My set wasn't very big (it was
around 250 pieces, which is fairly common in LEGO sets), but it wasn't a very
good idea: the box frayed at the edge with time and handling, and dismantled
fairly quickly. While most bricks stayed, it was easy to lose some of the
smaller pieces such as studs.
So, it's
fairly important to have some way to keep your LEGO organized and tidy. There
are many ways to do it, and sorts of containers you can have. Let's take a look
at some LEGO Storage Ideas and a full organisational plan.
Keep together or separate?
The first
question to ask is: should I keep all of them in a single container?
Most
people will prefer to do just that: toss all the pieces inside a single bin or
container. I'd advise something more durable than a cardboard box to keep them
(organizers made of a durable plastic should do the trick, such as these
stylish LEGO head containers), but
it's all up to quantity and how much you handle them.
The
disadvantage of this LEGO storage idea is, how do you find a single brick you
may need or want, without diving elbow deep into sharp plastic pieces? While
children will not mind this (and truly, will often devolve to this anyway),
adults might not want the hassle of diving through a mess of pieces. Besides,
pouring them out to search for that one LEGO piece may well result in lost
pieces. Still, it's a simple, cheap and effective way to store them.
The more
organization-oriented among us may use divided containers. One may even keep
several containers with different-sized pieces, whatever suits best and fits the
number of pieces in question. It doesn't have to be all pieces of the same type
in a single division or container, either, although that certainly helps.
How to separate them?
If you've
too many LEGO bricks, you will want to separate them. This is especially true
for adult LEGO fans, as we often have less time to dig around for the special
piece we need in a project. So there are a few methods to do so.
By colour
Colour is
one of the most obvious ways to sort LEGO, and this might be the easiest one to
try for. Depending on the number, however, it might not be as useful, as you
may fall on the same problem as the "bin everything together"
situation: storing several pieces together only by colour might not actually
help you find what you want. Still, it's a good way to categorize your LEGO
pieces and find them quickly for a project -- it really depends on the need and
space/availability of the owner.
By set
If you
have many sets, you may want to keep the pieces separated by the set to make
them easier to reconstruct. This is best for sets intended as toys (even though
a large part of LEGO is creation itself), especially if you only have a few or
several in the same theme and want them by themselves. While this removes a bit
of the spirit of LEGO (being able to mix and match and build what you want), it
has its uses, so that's a possibility as well: reverse the process and sort
them into Ziploc bags, per set.
By type
Separating
LEGO by type (plates, slopes, Technic, bricks, studs, etc.) is the next most
sensible way to store LEGOs and the most effective for most collections. LEGO
colours tend to be bright and easy to identify, so there isn't a lot of risk of
confusing them in a mess of pieces. If they are the same type, it's easier to
dig through and find what you need.
Type and colour
This only
really applies to people who have a lot of pieces. Immense
collections will definitely need storing this way. But some people, even with
smaller collections, might want to try this to keep everything very accessible
and tidy. Might take a lot of containers and space, though, and may not be worth
if you don't have lots of pieces of the same colour and type.
How to store them?
Once you
figure out your method, there's the actual storing. There are several LEGO
storage ideas, the most common being, of course, plastic containers and
organizers. Ziploc bags might be good for fewer parts. If using plastic
containers, it's good that they have lids to protect against spills and things
such as weather and dust. Depending on the size, they can be carried around
easily. Some organizers come with internal divisions, which is neat.
LEGO has
licensed storage bricks which are often stackable as well, and work just as
well as plastic containers (while looking very stylish).
Drawstring bags
You
don't have to put them in a plastic container, however. They can go
into drawstring cloth bags, the size of which depends on your needs. Several
smaller ones can make it a lot easier to store a small collection divided by
type or colour, too. Being cloth, it's also easier to shake out some missing
pieces, but depending on the bag you may need to pour all of them out before
work.
Stacking
If you
don't have many LEGO, you can simply... stack them. Yes. Making use of what
LEGO do: stick together. You can stack them by type and even by colour and thus
make nice towers of LEGO to store them together.
It
definitely makes them easier to store and to find, especially when you don't
have many of the same type (too many and it might compromise the stability of
the tower). This would be especially cool for DUPLO bricks, as they are larger
and thus, more stable as well. Still, it's an option to keep your bricks
together and organized.
A
possible con to this LEGO storage idea, however, is unsticking the bricks once
you need them. Sometimes LEGO bricks stick to each other very strongly, so you
may need a brick separator for this purpose. Whatever the case, though, it's
still an option.
Furniture
Well,
that's a possibility as well. Might not be the most efficient, or organized,
but specialized furniture to store LEGO does exist (in special, IKEA). For a
serious collector this might not be the best, as furniture isn't exactly
flexible to growing collections, but still, it does exist, so
there's that. This is especially fun for children, though, as many double as
activity tables.
Plastic drawers/drawer stacks
Many
crafters make use of these drawers to store supplies, so that's also a
possibility as a LEGO storage idea. Drawers make them readily accessible and,
depending on the sorting used, easy to find as well. Plus, drawers often can be
stacked themselves, and look clean and decorative. Some of these drawers also
come with divisions (these are more specific types), which helps if you have a
huge collection.
Cardboard boxes
I know, I
know. I was against them at first. But truly, it only depends on the way you
store your stuff, how much you handle them, and how many you have. In the past,
I found unused shoeboxes very useful (they're also easy to label) and some
cardboard boxes can be quite strong as well. LEGO is all about creativity;
finding ways to store them can also be as creative as you want.
Storing Minifigures
So what
about minifigures? Thus far we deal only with individual bricks, but what about
minifigures? Well, this depends on how you want to store them. You could dump
them all together, depending on how many you have. You could also disassemble
them and treat their parts as you would LEGO bricks themselves (heads, hairs,
torsos, etc.). This also applies to accessories and animals, which may have
their own sorting system in a system like the bricks themselves, depending on
how many.
If you'd
rather store them by themselves, fully formed, you could use tackle boxes,
plastic bags, or any other previous method to store them together in a way that
makes sense. You could organize them by gender, for exemple, or by theme, or
style. Also note there are things such as mini-dolls and maxi-figures as well
that may not fit smaller containers meant for minifigures. Whatever the way, do
what makes most sense for your collection and needs. Many people love display
cases for minifigures (and even sets).
Conclusion
In
essence, the best way to organize your LEGO depends on you. It varies according
to the size of the collection, diversity of bricks, usage, the age of the
person playing with them, and other factors such as available space for storage
and how much handling and moving around they need. I do hope this article helps
you find the best LEGO storage ideas and way to organize your LEGO
collection according to your needs. Have fun!
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