Need suggestions for Lego storage solutions

[Kabukiman]

I know there are some die-hard lego guys on this board, and I'd like to hear how you guys store all your bricks.

Do you keep your sets assembled? If not, do you keep the pieces and instructions together so the set can be assembled again later? How?

For you custom creators, do you keep track of pieces you've taken from pre-made sets to build a custom? How?

I am faced with a birthday boy who had every single one of his lego fantasies realized today, and I have no idea where to even begin to keep this stuff organized. Any help is appreciated!

 

[ProgMatinee]

Ziplocks...lots of ziplocks.

Though for a child, IMO its perfectly alright to just mix them all up when he is tired of the stock item. Obviously want to encourage creativity instead of rigidly only building the box item. But of course keep the manuals so you can build them again.

What I do, though I don't have that many sets, is I keep the individual sets ziplocked, with instructions, and then have them in a tuperware.

 

[Deak Starkiller]

Here is what I do...

Pick up a couple of these Sterilite 34-gal. extra-large latching storage totes (on sale for $11.99 at Target).

Like Prog said, pick up some Ziplocks. Preferably the heavy duty freezer 1 gallon bags. These will hold more pieces, and pick up some smaller ones for smaller sets.

Break down your sets, sort by color, and bag the mini-figures and printed pieces/pieces with stickers. This will keep them in great condition while protecting the LEGO elements themselves. Also the totes will keep the sunlight away, and they're somewhat heavy duty.Keep the instructions separately like in an accordion binder. Good luck Sarge!

 

[darthviper107]

When I collected Lego, I'd keep them built, the Star Wars stuff. But initially we had kept a huge bin, everything eventually went into the bin, which was cool for building stuff. But later on when you want to rebuild a set it was a real pain, and when I got older and just wanted to have the full sets built I often found it hard to find all the pieces, many pieces got lost over the years.

I'd recommend keeping some type of storage drawers, where the pieces can be organized into small compartments.

Most kids probably wouldn't want to take the time to do that. So in that case, I'd have larger storage bins, like the ones that you can slide under your bed. You can separate the kits by what type of kits they are, like a bin for Star Wars, or one for Pirate stuff or whatever. That way they wouldn't be too mixed, and most sets would be able to fit all together inside if you didn't want to take them apart, or if you didn't have the shelves to display them.

 

[Boba Ben]

 

[Kabukiman]

Thanks guys!