Let’s Talk About Storage Solutions for Your LEGO!

The dead of winter it is the perfect time of year to get back into LEGO, the greatest hobby in the world. But before we dive into discussion of individual LEGO sets, let’s talk about taking care of LEGO! Here are

Ultimately, storage of LEGO is 75% of the effort in collecting LEGO, so let’s build a foundation in regards to the storage of said bricks.

Sort LEGO by piece, notcolor.

That’s right, we’re starting off with perhaps the most controversial part of storage: type vs. color. While so many people prefer to sort by color because it is aesthetically pleasing, sorting by color will only drive you mad over time through having to absolutely dig through all of your red parts to find the one unique red piece you are looking for, as opposed to seeing the right color amongst a stock pile of pieces. 

So if you have the opportunity to truly sort out your pieces, sort by piece rather than color and you will save time and energy when you need to track down the right piece.

Use storage that fits your space well.

Again, people often default to aesthetic rather than workability. If you have an good amount of space and can do both well, awesome, but if you are pressed for space you will have to decide what is your primary objective.

If you are like me and often customize sets or find incomplete sets that you make 100% complete with parts you have, then workability is critically important! So, rather than Google a stock storage solution, take the time to assess your space and research the solution that fits your space practically in terms of usability.

Here is an option is you know you want something resembling the pictured solutions, but again, think about your space and your needs, so don’t feel pressure to use the pictured solution.

(I also do a lot of shipping LEGO, but I can talk more about that in a different article. Just note that work space plays and important role in taking photos as well.)

To label or not to label, that is the question.

Early on you will likely feel compelled to label everything for the sake of finding things more quickly. However, I have found that over time you will just remember where things are regardless. So my suggestion is to take the time up front to organize your collection in a way that makes sense to you and just be patient as your remember your lay out.

If you truly want to label them, I recommend post it notes that will be easy to remove and change as needed. If you try to make the labels permanently stick, you will regret it if you ever try to overhaul your organization system. 

If you use larger bins that have the size to accommodate label holders, then that might be an option. These self-adhesive index cards holders provide a clear sleeve where you can insert an index card. The benefit is relabeling wouldn’t require trying to peel off adhesive, it would simply mean pulling out an index card, then sliding in a new one.

Save yourself some dusting.

If you primarily display your sets rather than use then for active imagination play, then you should invest in some cases. Dusting your LEGO collection takes forever, and we will get to more specific tips on that in later articles.

However, if you use your sets actively, then you will have to worry less about them collecting dust. If you are only displaying them they will collect dust, and I promise it is easier to dust a display case than a LEGO set.

For example, here is a case designed for just displaying figures. And here is a display case for larger sets, but shop around but there are tons of options.

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Search Nerds on Earth for more LEGO content, as I can into care and cleaning in other articles. For now, I hope this inspires you to take hold of your rapidly growing collection and get organized. Now go build your dream LEGO layout, brick by brick.