How do your organize your Legos?

[scrappyhappymama]

Legos are about to drive me mad! :lol:

 

Do you even try to organize yours by sets or do they all go in one big bin after the initial build?

 

What storage containers do you use for lego storage? Are there any economical options that can keep them somewhat segregated?

 

How long to you allow Lego sets to remain built? It's mostly a moot point for us, because my DSs enjoy building their Star Wars sets and then having battles, so pieces come off anyway and they don't mind disassembling them so much.

 

But we have a couple of Pirates of the Carribean ships and they are huge and unwieldy to move about and we are moving next week. I can't decide whether to try to move them as is or take them apart completely or to (ahem) let them sail on to other seas. :D We never had a great place to display them here, and will even less so at the new home.

 

And while I am at it- any great suggestions for storing the instruction booklets?

 

My boys love their legos, but I do rather miss the days of the generic lego sets of my childhood and one big bin to dump them in.

 

And don't even get me started on the massive K'nex set that is half built. I have no idea how I am getting it to the new house intact, and where it will go once we get there, and how long I am supposed to let my kid keep this monstrosity put together to honor his hours upon hours of hard work. :lol:

[Heather in Neverland]

We're supposed to organize them????

 

:D After the initial build we just toss them in smallish rubbermaid totes. No rhyme or reason, just off the floor!

[....]

:rofl:

[iquilt]

My son has just started with legos so he doesn't have much to organize - they are in a bin of his activity table, but it's just two sets for now. I was remembering back to my brothers and I; we had 2 large blue plastic bins full to brimming with legos. We had one little plastic cup for the lego to use - who ever found that cup in the large bins first was the "winner". Winner of what, I don't know, but sibling competition can be fierce! No organization at all.

[Gooblink]

Hmmm...organize? I'm not sure I know what that means. :)

 

Build 'em, break 'em, dump 'em in a bin.

 

We use the underbed storage boxes on wheels. And plastic bins that fit on a shelf. And laundry baskets for the Bionicles. Oh, and there's a heap on my front room floor....

[linders]

:lol: We have something over 10,000 Legos. Likely more. Generics, plus sets from Aquaraiders, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, numerous others. My boys usually construct a set then start raiding the parts to make their own creations. Only a few sets stay intact for a long time, although the DSs routinely rebuild sets and need to find the pieces for that set. So...

 

I got a couple of binders and filled them with sheet protectors to store the directions for sets. That part of the organization sort of works. For the rest?...

 

We had several bins for pieces from the various types of sets (e.g., the Star Wars bin). That worked for the first maybe 5,000 Legos. The DSs could actually look at a stray piece and know it was Star Wars or Aquaraiders or generic. Then the number became overwhelming. So I bought a couple of multi-drawer tower bins so the Legos could be sorted by color. We sorted once. Now I am the only one who sorts. For the most part they spread pieces (lots and lots of pieces) around on the carpet to find what they want. When I absolutely insist on vacuuming, they (reluctantly) scoop them all into a few bins. Then immediately strew them about again.

 

Good luck.

[JudoMom]

All of ours are in a big underbed storage bin that goes under the play table in the playroom. Every now and then the older boys get a wild hair and separate out the minifigures or something, but they know if I find them I just throw them back in the bin. The older four boys all have a set or two that they received as a gift, and those will live in their space in their room for awhile, but eventually they usually decide to add the pieces to the communal bin.

[2cents]

My son used to have TONS of legos and I tried elaborate sorting systems twice. Twice that failed. After that, I just resigned myself to keeping them in large buckets and when he wanted anything he poured them out. Then he got tired of Legos and they sat in the tube for a long time and then a bad cat did number one in the tub and ruined them all. :glare: One cat actually ate a Lego-it reappeared in the litter box. :glare: That was the end of the Lego chaos for good.

Edited July 2, 2010 by 2cents

[TheCoffeeChick]

Okay -- this is probably show how crazy I am and how much I like things to *look* nice! ;)

 

First - after the initial build, I allow the set to stay built and on a shelf for about a week. Then if ds wants to keep that set together, he has a medium sized tub that he keeps on his toy shelves in which he puts the pieces and instructions in until he has another set of pieces that he wants to keep together for a bit. Currently I think there are 3 different sets in there.

 

All the other legos, whether they be generic pieces or sets are separated into shoe box sized bins with lids by color. Yep, color. :tongue_smilie: The only exeption to this would be the really, really small pieces (the 1x1s) that are in their own really small tubs, and all the "people" type pieces are in their own box, too. Some colors, like brown and clear, are in smaller tubs (think ziplock containers). Then all the tubs are in 2 large bins that fit under the bed. Each large bin holds 5 shoebox sized tubs and a few smaller tubs. We also keep all the instruction sheets in a large 2-gallon ziplock baggie.

 

While this sounds elaborate and hard to keep nice, it really isn't. It took a while to get them organized because they were just thrown into the bins at first, but now it is really easy for the kids to pick them up. And because it is quick (er) to find a specific piece when following instructions, the kids play with them a lot more now than before we organized them.

 

We have so many legos because my MIL saved EVERY. SINGLE. TOY. from when DH was little. We've received 90% of our legos this way, countless hotwheels and GIJoes, and tons of miscellaneous junk (which went straight to the trash). On a side note, I wasn't very appreciative of this when we first got married and moved around a lot. :glare: But now that ds is old enough to play with them, I love that I didn't have to buy most of his toys. ;)

Edited July 2, 2010 by BramFam

[Hockey Mom]

I used to insist that they be organized by color. When that didn't work, I tried to organize by set. That too failed. So now I just insist that they be picked up when they're done playing with them. That's working so far.

 

I bought one of those 3-drawer plastic storage bins from Walmart. The top drawer has all of the instructions, and the bottom two drawers (which are packed full right now) hold the legos.

 

My DS likes to build the sets, keep them intact for a day or two, then break them up. When he's made something he wants to keep, he displays it on top of the plastic bin.

[1bassoon]

Let the kids do it.

 

Seriously.

 

My son just came up with his own system. I don't understand it, but he knows where to find the pieces he likes.

 

Now, granted, sometimes that system involves Legos spread all over the floor of his room - but he's a great kid, sweet with his sisters, not online 24/7, kind and respectful.

 

I can deal with some Legos on the floor!

[Oak Knoll Mom]

We use a Box4Blox for the bricks and a small plastic tub for larger specialty pieces. The only problem is that we should have bought two Box4Blox. We have a lot more Legos than I realized!

[whitestavern]

We tried organizing them by color and then by "type" but it never worked. Now it's in a huge bin. My kids dump it out (making sure it's on a large towel or blanket!) and play, then just gather up the towel and dump it back in when they're done.

[ktog29]

Ok. We are strange.

 

We use the box4blocks mentioned above. Then, after they are sorted, they go into color coded rubbermaids (we use electrical tape that matches the color of the respective level on the box4blocks...yellow are the biggest, etc.). Then we have numerous little rubbermaids (shoebox size) that hold different categories...tires, lego people and accessories, small boats, etc. Finally, they boys have an IKEA cube shelf thing in their room that holds the lego sets that are built (power miners, etc.).

 

Does that make sense? It's a great storage system in theory...but if we fall behind on the sorting, it can get out of hand. We have way. too. many. legos. But dh can't fathom getting rid of any. They're pretty much the only toys my older boys have.

[Excelsior! Academy]

Big rubbermaid bin. I'll have to admit that box4blox looks pretty cool!

[Heather in Neverland]

Big rubbermaid bin. I'll have to admit that box4blox looks pretty cool!

 

yeah, we bought a few of those and I hated them. We are all sitting there like Lego Gold Miners panning for gold...scooping up legos, dumping them in the square things then shaking shaking shaking until they were all sorted by size. We got them all done. But the first time my boys dumped them all out so they could play with them and NONE of us wanted to do the shaking thing again, they went in the next garage sale. :tongue_smilie:

[ourjourneys]

We tried organizing them by color and then by "type" but it never worked. Now it's in a huge bin. My kids dump it out (making sure it's on a large towel or blanket!) and play, then just gather up the towel and dump it back in when they're done.

 

Simple is best in our house too. A huge bin for legos... However, my husband bought organizers in Lowe's for our K'nex. He loves the k'nex and got tired of searching for pieces. So, he went, spent, and helped the kids organize them. It was a fun time and surprisingly they have stayed organized!

[scrappyhappymama]

I like the under the bed box idea.

 

I think I am just going to have to :chillpill: and throw them all in the same box. It's hard for me to justify the amount of money that the grandparents spend on these sets, and then not try to keep them segregated into sets and useable. But I've been told that digging for pieces is half the fun, right? It would have driven me nuts as a kid, but it's not as if they are organized now. :glare:

 

I think maybe a good compromise would be at least sorting out the specialty pieces and minifigures. Then dump all the regular building pieces together. At least that would feel more organized. And we know this is all about making mama feel good. :D

[mcconnellboys]

Instruction books and loose pieces go into bins here.

[Tap]

All Legos in one flip top tote, Bionicles in another tote

Sheet on the floor for easy pickup

Instructions in a file box so they stay nice/don't get lost

Assembled/Disassembled at his will.

[Truscifi]

Dh (yes, he still has his legos) organizes his by set in ziploc bags with the instructions for that set neatly folded and put in the bag with it.

 

Ds throws all his legos in a large tupperware container and builds willy nilly without directions.

 

I prefer play-doh. :tongue_smilie:

[Parrothead]

I can barely get toys organized, much less get individual sets organized. Legos go in the Lego bin, Polly Pockets go in the Polly bin, Lincoln Logs go in the Log bin, etc.

[Oak Knoll Mom]

But the first time my boys dumped them all out so they could play with them and NONE of us wanted to do the shaking thing again,

 

See, my boys don't dump them out so they all need to be sorted again. They set the trays side by side and dig through each tray to find the piece they need. The only ones that have to be sorted are the ones they just played with.

[ShutterBug]

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA:lol:.

 

Organize Legos...that's a good one...thanks for the chuckle :) .

[FaithManor]

WHAT??? ARE YOU KIDDING???? LEGOS CAN BE ORGANIZED????

 

You mean that they don't all have to be contained in large tubs which the children routinely dump into the middle of the family room floor so they can scatter in all directions in pursuit of the single just right part that is approximately 2 mm wide and must be found amongst the other Billion legos so that when found, the dumpers can mysteriously disappear leaving the room to look like a LEGO factory exploded in my house?

 

Seriously, I missed the memo on this....still functioning under the assumption that my house will have no chance at organization until the last male is gone!!!

 

Do tell everyone...this is going to be good!

 

Faith

[Jen in PA]

Legos go in one big bin, K'nex go in another big bin, etc. That's as organized as I can manage. I have to sort our Playmobil back into sets soon and am not looking forward to it at all.

[MtnTeaching]

Lego in big bins - no order.

 

Instruction books thrown into another smaller bin.

 

The only thing we organize is ds's Mindstorms. I bought a very large fishing tackle box with multiple "drawers" that can be pulled out and the top of the box has a very large area that holds all the big stuff. I like that he can lock up the top area and just pick up the box and go.

[dirty ethel rackham]

We use underbed boxes. They are wide and shallow - good for finding pieces. I had to let go of my anal - need to organize everything (not that I am actually successful at that anywhere). We store the booklets in binders and boxes. I did try to keep the bionicles separate, but that didn't work. We were almost successful at keeping the Lego Action Contraptions separate, but I think those pieces have migrated into the big bins. The only Legos that are separate are the Mindstorms robotics pieces.

 

ETA: one thing that helped with controlling the mess was to institute the "sheet rule". One must spread out a sheet (old bed sheet) and all Legos must remain on the bedsheet. This made cleanup SOOOO much easier ... just fold up all the corners and dump. All Legos off the bedsheet that weren't manually picked up became MINE. They had to earn them back;). I implemented this when dd was a baby because I was worried about choking hazards.

Edited July 2, 2010 by dirty ethel rackham

[AppleGreen]

Umm, we don't! LOL At some point I tried to organize them in some type of color or size fashion, but you know my boy didn't want that...I did! So, now they are upstairs in his 'man cave'... his closet. It is his room dedicated to Legos. It is a narrow, but long space and has a slanted roof, as it was previously part of our attic. Before getting his own room and space for his Legos, we used an extra large under the bed box to store them. They are still in that box theoretically, but he really prefers them dumped out on the floor. :svengo: They stay confined to that space (mostly), so I try to stay out of it. He has so many and he really likes to rifle through them. He definitely likes chaos, but as long as I am not seeing a million pieces on my floor I a m ok.

 

In the past his room was on the main living level and we definitely had more issues with the Legos. I have swept and pitched my fair share, but I always gave fair warning that I was sweeping and he needed to clean any stray Legos up. Now that they are located on a different level and in a contained space that no longer seems to be an issue.

[Dawn in OH]

We're supposed to organize them????

 

:D After the initial build we just toss them in smallish rubbermaid totes. No rhyme or reason, just off the floor!

 

 

Sounds like our house.

 

I THOUGHT they should be kept separate. So the next time my son wanted to build the Millennium Falcon all the pieces would be together. No. Those are the thoughts of an organized mom, not a 9 year old boy. All the Lego's are in one container, except for the strays, floating around on my floor and hurting my feet.

[catalinakel]

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA:lol:.

 

Organize Legos...that's a good one...thanks for the chuckle :) .

 

:iagree:One of the sweetest sound to my ears is my kids digging through the several completely unorganized lego bins. I believe it is quite therapeutic for my kids, for they will do it for hours. And hours. And have for years and years. And this is some of their happiest playing times together. I used to think that I should might organize them, but realize that the digging is half the fun.

[MommaOfThree]

We're supposed to organize them????

 

:D After the initial build we just toss them in smallish rubbermaid totes. No rhyme or reason, just off the floor!

 

 

:lol: That's us too! BUT as long as they keep their building out of the walk area in their toy room I gave up with having it cleaned all the time. I only stress about it when company's coming and then I make them put all the legos in the shelves they belong in (but not organized).

 

I had my DH make me some wood shelves-very similar to the cube shelving-but with a would lip coming up in the front so nothing falls out, and thats where all the legos belong

??When they get picked up??

[Ellen_TX]

We use underbed boxes. They are wide and shallow - good for finding pieces. I had to let go of my anal - need to organize everything (not that I am actually successful at that anywhere). We store the booklets in binders and boxes. I did try to keep the bionicles separate, but that didn't work. We were almost successful at keeping the Lego Action Contraptions separate, but I think those pieces have migrated into the big bins. The only Legos that are separate are the Mindstorms robotics pieces.

 

ETA: one thing that helped with controlling the mess was to institute the "sheet rule". One must spread out a sheet (old bed sheet) and all Legos must remain on the bedsheet. This made cleanup SOOOO much easier ... just fold up all the corners and dump. All Legos off the bedsheet that weren't manually picked up became MINE. They had to earn them back;). I implemented this when dd was a baby because I was worried about choking hazards.

:iagree: Oh how funny. I have the sheet rule too and we have the same name. I use a picnic/beach sheet and you must build on that and clean up is a breeze.

 

I tried organizing by color with Legos and Hotwheels. I didn't get a picture before it was back to normal.

[bnbacademy]

I used to have a dining room table...now it looks more like a Lego creation station.

[4besitos]

I want to go play at Jessica's (BramFam) house. Legos organized by color....my daughter and I would be in heaven.

 

My 3 boys, however, have a big plastic box with a lid in the oldest's room. The medium size Legos are in the littles room in an Ikea shelf unit in the plastic tubs with lids. The big Legos went away. The only things that don't work are the Lego building boards. They are in a pile in the closet.

 

I love the "sheet rule" idea....that would work great in our house because the upstairs carpet is dark green and many a foot has been injured from the small Lego pieces lurking in the carpet!!:glare:

 

If a child wants to keep a Lego creation...they have to clear space of the shelf in their bedroom to keep on display.

[Desert Rat]

My ds10 has all the built ones on a shelf in his room. We have a container filled with all the instructions. Should one break, we rebuild. He's very particular about that. Extras to the same set (like the sets that build 3 different things) go in a ziploc and get stapled to the back of the instruction booklet.

If too many pieces are lost the join the big bin of just plain legos.

 

Signed, Kalah, who's son is just as retentive as his mom. :o

[SilverMoon]

My current method is making them live in the boys' room, and never walking in there barefoot. :tongue_smilie:

 

They have stackable Rubbermaid "shoe boxes" for storing them in, but apparently having those dumped across the floor is the preferred method for finding the right piece.

[scrappyhappymama]

Well. We just had the great Lego diplomatic summit here. :lol:

 

I started out all prepared to suck it up and combine most of our Lego sets for ease of storage. My plan was to have a tub of minifigures, another of specialty pieces, and then to combine the rest in one big bin. Well, my oldest freaked out! He said that if we combined all the sets, they just wouldn't be special any more. I guess he really is my son. :D

 

So... right now the boys are working on our compromise plan: a tub for Lego Star Wars sets combined (except for the newest sets which are still relatively intact in ziplocs), a tub for Indiana Jones sets, a tub for the Mega sets, a tub for the City sets, they liked my Minifigure tub idea so that stays, and a little small tub for my newest Lego maniac's Toy Story set. They are also separating out the K'nex pieces that have made it into the various bins. I have no clue which pieces go to which sets, but the boys insist that they do, so I let them have at it. So far so good!

[ShutterBug]

On a serious note..we do have most of the Legos in a big under the bed storage bin. The mini figures and anything associated with the mini figures (weapons, hair, jewels, accessories, etc..) all go in a smaller bin. The sets he isn't ready to take apart are on a shelf.

 

My sister tried to sort and separate my nephew's Legos by color once..:lol:

[Ellen_TX]

My current method is making them live in the boys' room, and never walking in there barefoot. :tongue_smilie:

 

They have stackable Rubbermaid "shoe boxes" for storing them in, but apparently having those dumped across the floor is the preferred method for finding the right piece.

Okay it must give them rush or some sensory bonus to dump Legos. The grin that appears on my son's face is amazing as he dumps them out.

[DawnM]

I have been dealing with this same issue.

 

I have been reading this blog:

 

http://www.wikihow.com/Sort-and-Store-LEGO-Toys

 

and just got the 64 drawer Akron Mills things (2 of them) at a yard sale this past weekend.

 

The rest are going in sturdy/clear shoe box size plastic containers to be organized as the kids want.

 

Dawn

[Julie in MO]

I agree with the poster who suggested letting the child take the lead (if he/she is old enough). My 12 year old dd came up with a winner system for herself. She keeps the instruction manuals in a plastic magazine holder, already made creations that she wants to maintain are stored on bookshelves, and recently we attended a free fishing event at Bass Pro and were given clear plastic compartmented tackle boxes (we got four) and she's used those to organize speciality pieces (hair, people, accessories, etc.) She uses rubbermaid tubs/clear plastic tubs for building pieces. In the past she was now known for her organizational skills. Motivation came from a dog who likes to eat her LEGOS. I'm impressed and pleased with her system. Everything I tried to do to help her organize fell flat, but she keeps up with her own system. Maybe it's a maturity thing.

Blessings,

Julie

[Mrs.W]

Ours aren't organized, but my life became so much easier when I decided that we use the old train table for legos. Seriously, I've found maybe a handful of Legos on the floor in the past six months.

:party:

Our table has a rolling cart underneath to keep all the pieces, and then if they want to keep their masterpieces intact they have the table top. We keep the instruction booklets in a plastic bin.

[Hedgehogs4]

well, i don't organize MY legos (seeing how I'm not the one who plays with them) but my son has a very intricate system of how he organizes his. He has thousands of legos. thousands. of. legos. he has become a "rare lego" collector. he has boxes with sections with people heads, bodies, tools, hats and legs. he has boxes sorted with different types of bricks. he has two bins of just regular building bricks. he has bags with his "sets" labeled as to which set along with the directions. he's very deliberate. i don't mess with them. the trick is that he has to keep them in the lego table and the bins underneath (which used to be the train table).

[Bright_Future]

The Star Wars collection stays built for now on top of the hutch of his desk in case they need to be played with, but as you said pieces are always falling off and so this doesn't happen often due to son's tendency towards OCD. Others are in cheapest clear totes/shoe box containers with the instructions included in the box and stacked on a shelf.

 

We have an empty clear plastic jar with lid (the kind that the good nut snacks come in from Target) for the extra pieces that always come in each box.

 

What I want to know is why is it that you never seem to need one of those extra pieces, even when you lose some, but always lose a piece you don't have extra of? Some days I wish we had a lego store close, but then again I would probably be completely broke all the time-lol.

[LaissezFaire]

We have them all in one of those rubbermaid plastic drawer carts. We never organize by sets because honestly, my son builds the set once and then prefers to use all of his legos to make something better. He has an engineer mind. I actually prefer to see him make his own creations vs. following the booklet.