Do your or your children's Legos look like that picture? Legos can be a bunch of fun, or they can be a royal pain! The good news is that there are some easy solutions to help you turn a mess into a system that is fun and manageable.
Recently, the topic of Lego organizing came up on one of the organizing groups I belong to and I learned that organizer moms have their own techniques for keeping the tiny plastic pieces contained and ready for play at any time. I'm sharing their ideas with you today.
The Box-4-Bloxproduct won a number of organizer awards including the "Organizers Choice" award with the National Association of Professional Organizers. If you remember the coin sorters as a child, this works in a very similar way. Your child places all of the legos, regardless of size, into the top of the sorter. He/she then has a blast shaking the sorter and watches the tiniest legos fall to the bottom, then the next smallest, etc. In the end, all of the Legos are sorted by size into different containers and are ready for play. If you want to see this tool in action, head over to their web site where they have a video showing you how it works.
If you are looking for something a bit more simple to corral your child's Legos, you might like the Brick Sack. They come in many fabric colors and you can even have different groupings for different themes (Vikings, Star Wars, etc). The sacks were made designate a play area and then later store Legos. When fully open, they lay flat on the floor and your child can see all of the pieces rather than digging through bins. They come in different sizes too, so you can pick the size that best fits your situation. Once play time is over, your child picks up any stray pieces that have fallen off of the mat and cinch up the cord like a sack. You can then store the sack in a closet or toy box, etc. Brick Sack also has a video on their site so that you can see how it works.
Make them Into Pods
When it is time to put your Legos away, group like sizes together and stack them into blocks or pods. The putting away can be as fun as the playing! Once each pod is created, it can be safely stored on a shelf or in a bin. Want more on this idea? Check out this post that gives pictures and detail on how to make your Lego pod stack.
"This is a cool article (with photos) that illustrates how to stack like pieces together so that they are easy to find and also easy to take apart when the pieces are needed. The resulting “blocks” can be stored in larger bins. It may be a little bit difficult for younger children, but it is fabulous for the older ones who move on to complex, self-designed projects. I have two teenage boys and they still make creations, science projects, etc. with their legos! So does my 13-year-old nephew. We had tried everything from baggies to multiple divided containers and it always ended up dumped together in a huge bin. After showing my boys this article, they actually ENJOYED putting the “storage blocks” together and sorting the Legos. They especially like NOT having to DIG through the big bin to find the piece they need. Don’t forget that the best thing about legos is that it is a fabulous medium for expressing creativity!" ~Shevin Goodwin
Baggies Can Do the Trick
Consider using baggies to corral all of your various categories. Since zip-type bags come in many sizes, you can accommodate just about any type of Lego.
"Put together baggies with the smaller sets (my almost 8 year old helped me find the pieces to some of the sets that had accidentally ended up in the big pile), a baggie with people, and then I have bins with large castle set (it's all the bigger blocks and easy enough to keep together), then a bin with all the BIG Blocks (not castle) and then all the small blocks (not specific sets)."~ Gretchen Fatouros
Make Your Own Lego Storehouse or Lego City!
If you are like my friends below, your family owns a LOT of Legos. If that is the case, you may consider one of these two options.
"I use two vertical plastic hardware storage containers I found at Lowes. It has little clear pull-out drawers in different sizes. I sorted our Legos (yes, it took my a long time) into like with like (i.e., droid parts, ladders, wing pieces, steering wheels, little tiny pieces, accessories like guns, body parts, whole people, wheels, etc.). I labeled the edge of each drawer if possible (for things like fire, flags, heads, etc.) to make it easy for them to find things. For the other more generic pieces, I use shoe size clear boxes from The Container Store with lids. I sort by regular building blocks, flat pieces, angled pieces, large flat platform pieces. I also have a couple of larger plastic boxes that store partially build creations or things they want to keep. In their rooms, I have shelving where they set their sets that they want to keep intact (i.e., large Star Wars ships, Power Miners, etc.) In each of their rooms, I keep a little clear plastic tub for special pieces that they want to keep to themselves and not put into the joint Lego stash. Every once in a while, we take apart any of their custom creations that they are willing to dismember and resort the pieces back into their appropriate places." ~Carey Albrecht
"I too have a son with an extensive Lego collection. I sat down with him, he was 7 at the time, and sorted them. Yes It took many hours. We just used the living room floor for about a week. There are many plastic drawer bins. Some are small and some are larger. I talked to him and let him tell me where to put them. All drawers are labeled.
1x3s & 1x4s People and Accessories
1x6 & up Plants and Animals
2x2s Vehicle Parts
2x3s & 4s Base Plates
2x6S & up Misc. Flat Pieces
Roofing Bricks Hinges
Sloped Bricks Doors, Windows & Fences
1x1 & 1x2 Flats Bricks with holes
1x3 & 1x4 Flats Smooth Flat
1x5 & up Flats and a few more small drawered bins for the specialty piecesAnd of course there is the small tote that is used for cleaning up the room. He and I put these away in their drawers every once in a while. All of his friends love coming to our house to play in Lego City and build. It is kind of like going to the Lego store.
We used to have a train table for Lego making, but have since gotten rid of it as my son grew too tall to use it comfortably. We raised his bed to put Lego City under there, added a fluorescent light under the bed." ~Sherri Papich
What to do with the directions?
If you like grouping all of your Legos together, but don't want to forget the projects and packages you purchased, maybe this tip will work for you:
"Cut out the cover/picture and save that along with the directions. You can slide them into clear plastic page savers and put them in a large 3 ring binder. This way if someone wants to do a lego project they can go through the binder to choose one."
~ Annette Reyman"We have them all in a magazine holder. They can easily pull out what they want."~Gretchen Fatouros
Want to Let Go of Your Legos or Get New Ones?
You can buy and sell Lego boxes, individual pieces, minifigures, and even instructions on www.bricklink.com and on E-bay.
Thank Yous and Resources
I'm sending a big hug and thanks to the following organizers who shared their ideas on how to manage Legos: Annette Reyman, Carey Albrecht, Gretchen Fatouros, Sherri Papich and Shevin Goodwin.
Want Even More Lego Storage Ideas? Check out this great and detailed post by my colleague Jeri. She provides 16 ideas for your consideration.
Final Thoughts
Legos bring out the creative spirit in people young and old. As you are considering what system will work best in your house, think creatively and enjoy the process.
What do you do to contain the Legos in your house? Share your comments!
