Quote:
Originally Posted by flamingchina
We're at the point now, between lego sets, lego given to us, and classic lego boxes, that we have to come up with a better way of storing it all for the kid.
How do normal people store their lego so kids can play effectively with it?
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So here are just some thoughts. A lot of serious adult builders use setups with lots of little drawers for each specific part like this:
https://www.amazon.com/Akro-Mils-101...5564434&sr=8-6
That is pretty expensive though and not particularly friendly to kids that just want to build in a more sloppy manner.
When I am expanding my collection and going through a major sort, I like these because they are cheap:
https://www.target.com/p/sterilite-6...02#lnk=sametab
For 99 cents each I can stock up on 10 or 20 without feeling back and that gives me all sorts of storage options as I re-work things.
IMO, the best longer term storage are like these:
https://www.target.com/p/iris-9-draw...p/-/A-81607464
The reason I like them is that they have lots of drawers so you can sort fairly specifically and the drawers are shallow so you can see what is in there without too much digging.
I start basic with my sorting and then get more detailed if the resulting pile is unwieldly. For instance, I have always been able to keep my 1 width and 2 width plates together in one of those 99 cent tubs. But I have gotten so many of them I am going to split the 1 wide apart from the two wide. Similarly, I used to be able to store all 1 wide bricks in a tub and all 2 wide bricks in another. But both of those tubs are full and hard to sort through so I need to split them too. I do have 1 Akro mils unit that I store special parts in that I have fairly small amounts of or that are really small. All my 1x1 plates have a drawer since they would be hard to find in the bin of plates.
As mentioned before, it can be tempting to sort by color. Don't do it! Sort by type. Bricks, plates, slopes, windows/doors, wheels, etc. If you have a tub with a bunch of bricks and need a red one, it is easy to find that in the bin. But if you have a bin full of red bricks and need a 1x2 plate, good luck finding that!
Hope that helps. I have a decent amount of loose lego as I enjoy building custom stuff so I need a decent supply to get projects going. I have 2 kids that are lego age (4 and 6) and I tell them they can use any piece they want to build but I have to put stuff away if they have a mix of parts.