Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It depends. If they're all mixed up, then the round bags that you can open flat on the floor and easily pull the cord and clean up are awesome.
If you'd like to organize them, I think the Ikea Trofast drawers are pretty good and some are only around 11" deep. For small pieces, we use tool drawers from Akro Mills. You can mount them on the wall.
I think sets that aren't in use are best stored in ziplock bags and then in boxes or tubs. You can fit an awful on in bags. And then put them away somewhere that you don't need to access frequently.
If you do organize, one tip -- organizing by color is usually a mistake. It's nearly impossible to locate a particular piece in a sea of red. Instead, organize by type of piece and the color you want will jump out.
I have a deal with my seven year old - As we have limited shelving/display space, he has to break down a set in order to build a new one.
We have a nook in the basement that we've dedicated to Lego and other activities. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how best to maximize the space. As you'd imagine, there's a ton of online discussion of Lego organization, and I'm amazed by the Lego rooms folks have put together.
But what if he wants to play with multiple sets? And some of these sets are a 1000 pieces-does he rebuild them?
He plays with multiple sets at the same time, sure. He has shelving for about ten sets to stay out. He hasn't rebuilt any sets yet, but with a toddler brother and a strong resale value, I'm not stressing it too much. The hard part is not losing pieces before I pack them up. I've all but stopped buying new sets -- if you're patient, you can often get sets at a discount. I got about 50 sets for $100 recently off of NextDoor, all parted out into separate bags with instructions and a list of any missing pieces (I appreciate that mom!). Many have missing pieces, but if I want can go on Bricklink and order replacements. My son has been getting a handful of new sets as gifts each year, and that's plenty. And he's really been into free building lately. We've bought several bins of mixed up Legos which have been great for free building. He had a school assignment to build a Lego Egyptian pyramid last week, and we spent time researching which animals would be historically accurate to include - big fun!
I love Lego and love building with the boys. The little one is now into Duplo, which we keep in a big drawstring bag that lies flat on the floor.