LEGO Sorting

[ferrelferret]

So, how do you normally sort your LEGOs?

I'm trying to sort mine, and I need help as I naturally don't do well with organizing things.

~ferret~

[OrangeKNight]

Well it depends on a few different things, how big your collection is, do you have a dedicated space for building(special room?), size of the building area(regardless where it is) and such.

For me, I don't really have a dedicated area, and my collection is relatively "Small" So I use 6 Medium Pro Organizers and 1 Deep Pro Organizer, along with a lot o those cheap craft organizers for my smaller technic stuff, I also have some bins a drawers for things like 2x2 and larger Bricks and large square rectangular plates. But I'm looking to get more of the Pro Organizers when a friend of mine goes to the states later this month, they half the cost down there compared to Canada >.>

Mike

[Dukayn]

I have one if those organizers too, its great. I also stack my bricks ans plates to make them easier to keep tidy in the containers. We use resealable plastic baggies for parts which don't stack to keep them together.

[ferrelferret]

I got a few sorting containers. I'm just wondering if it is better to sort by type and color, or just type. I'm the type that sees a pile of un organized stuff and think, 'too much work.'


~ferret~

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[Soren]

I got a few sorting containers. I'm just wondering if it is better to sort by type and color, or just type. I'm the type that sees a pile of un organized stuff and think, 'too much work.'

It's easier to pick the color you want out of a pile of the same shapes than it is to pick the shape you want out of a pile of the same color. So, if you don't have a ton of any given part, sort by type.

Once you get more, start thinking about dividing them up by color. Tackle boxes are great for this, especially if you get something with movable dividers. To cut down on the intimidation factor, you can start by grouping stuff more loosely - 'these three colors go in here' or 'colors over here, grayscale over here'.

[schoon]

Agreed.

If I have one color that I use more than any other, then I'll do a "by shape" container for that color, but otherwise I use Soren's method: sort by shape regardless of color.

[ferrelferret]

Yeah, looking at my piles, that seems like the best option for now.

Thanks all,

~ferret~

[Dukayn]

+1 for by shape/type. I don't have enough Lego/storage space to do by EVERY shape, but I have say one divider worth for slope bricks, one for plates, one for tiles etc.

I do have one divider set aside for 1x1 round plates because I have a ton of those. They are stacked together in separate grey/colour stacks with the colours all together in the one stack (so all blue, then all yellow and so on).

I've also got one divider set up for "random pieces" which are those pieces that just don't fit into any other category.

[Hawkn]

I just do shape, not color.

[Mantisking]

I generally sort by shape, then color.

[Wordman]

The evolution of LEGO sorting

[Wordman]

More seriously, regardless of how you wind up sorting them, once you get to a certain amount of effort in sorting, one trick is to stack similar pieces together, connected in a way that is easy to take apart. Like this:



Imagine, for example, that you have a tackle box with compartments, and you've sorted pieces into it. Now you accidentally up-end the whole box and everything spills on the floor. What's easier to resort and store: thousands of individual pieces or a couple dozen stacks? Likewise, when searching for a particular piece, stacks make things easier to find.

Also, when building frames, it seems to me that the function of a part is much more important than its color, so I sort by type first.

[Mantisking]

More seriously, regardless of how you wind up sorting them, once you get to a certain amount of effort in sorting, one trick is to stack similar pieces together, connected in a way that is easy to take apart. Like this:

That's what I've been doing. Another reason to do that is neatly sorted items take up less space than loose pieces.

[schoon]

I'm not sure why, but stacking my stored LEGO just seems odd to me.

Yes, I know it saves space and doesn't scatter everywhere if you drop your bin, but I've always enjoyed my LEGO "free range!"

[Soren]

Yeah, the problem with stacking is that it doesn't last past your first particularly frenzied build session. It's good for large or rarely-used parts (I stack these up all the time - good station base, by the way), but for something you're going to use a lot, you might as well just chuck it in a box or bag.

I keep some loose plastic trays for sorting that make it really easy to gather parts for a project in a storable form, too. That can help with the natural inclination to leave stuff all over the table or floor when you get called away. I've recently started washing out little yogurt cups to hold weapons and other loose attachments.

[Augustine]

I've done something similar with my mass of Lego's that I've accumulated over the past few weeks. I was becoming overwhelmed by the sheer mass of plastic and decided to separate them out by size. All the 1x1 in one baggie, 1x2 in another, etc... Unless I had a large amount of one specific brick. In that case, those bricks got their own bag. That made me feel a little better about my collection and possibly using them. Once I get some containers like the ones linked earlier in this thread, I will separate them out further by more specific criteria.

I cant wait to finally get started with this... Life has been far to busy for me to even consider building anything recently but things are finally calming down. Time to play!

[Forged]

I have never sorted my lego....... Of course now I'm wondering if I should.....

[Axhead]

I use tackle boxes of various sizes, because I wind up buying new ones as my collection grows.

I try to divide up each box by function and then within each box I divide by shape. So all of my basis 2xWhatever bricks are in one box, all of my rod/pinch grippy things go in one box, all of the technic stuff in another, all multi connecter bits (travis etc) in another and so on.

At this point I dont have a large enough collection to further divide by colour.

Of course all this is complicated by the fact that my 5 year old and I share the collection, and his ideas of sorting and mine don't exactly line up. Every once in a while I get a into a super OCD zone and spend a half day cleaning/sorting/reorganizing it all out again. I find the process oddly trance inducing and relaxing.

[daigen]

I'm using the packaging trays that came with the Star Wars Advent Calendar set (I bought two on sale) and divided the pieces first by color and then grouped them by type. The individual bins are deep so it's alittle hard to dig for parts but it seems to be working for now. But you need to tread lightly since there isn't a cover!

http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemInv.asp?S=7958-1

[David Artman]

I have sorted into four small-parts organizer totes:
* Technics - generally, only those bits that only connect to Technics bits.
* Bizarro - Bionacle heads and masks, weird bits from Star Wars sets, unusual plates and bricks.
* Bricks and plates - Meat and potatoes.
* Mechaton - My frames, dice, minifigs, and MegaBlock bricks (for terrain). This is the only box I tote for demos/conventions/game nights.

Within those bins, I sort by shape or "function" (e.g., hinges with plates v. hinges with Technic sockets).