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psipsyAs I've made sure it's not a secret, I'm a big fan of Lego. I started building with it when I was 6, and it stuck with me ever since. As one can expect, my collection has expanded dramatically, exponentially, astronomically, especially once I started going to the Lego stores, where I could get bricks by the gallon, and as often as I damn well felt like.
Over the years, I've learned that storing massive amounts of Lego bricks in one big container became harder to work with. For one thing, when searching for a specific brick that's either small or rare (or both), I can spend an increasing amount of time just looking for it. If that brick is near the bottom of said container? That gets difficult in its own right, purely because the loose bricks tend to flow back around my hands and over where I'm trying to look. This means more time digging and less time in actual building and creating.
The solution to that was to move everything to somewhat smaller plastic tubs made of clear plastic. This reduced the engulfment, and being clear plastic, I could look directly at the bottom of the tub to see if the pieces I was looking for had settled there. That made things easier! But I was still doing a lot of digging, because said plastic tubs were still a bit large, and the bricks put in there almost entirely by virtue of which tub had more room.
The solution to that was to get a large number of smaller plastic tubs (typically about 2.5L, 6L, or 12L, with a few 24s), and very shallow, and to actually sort the bricks. That took a significant amount of time, but it was worth it. After that, when I'd bring home more bricks, I could sort those as they came in the door, one cup at a time. So far I've sorted mainly by type and size, with only a few high-volume elements also sorted by color. At the same time, any exceedingly rare or unusual bricks would be placed in their own small container. As you can imagine, sorting through tens of thousands of bricks can be tedious, confusing, daunting even.
The solution to that was to get some funnel trays ($3 at Harbor Freight), and some small plastic bins that can stack on each other. I'd put a handful of bricks in one tray, pick out the largest ones and put them in another tray, and then pick out progressively smaller parts, putting each into their own trays. Then I'd pour those trays into their relevant stacking bins, and start over with another handful of bricks. I found this to be more efficient and less intimidating than picking directly out of the plastic tub. Putting the bricks in increasingly smaller plastic tubs helped a lot with keeping the tiny pieces more accessible, however I had these flat tubs in stacks about 3 or 4 feet high. Which meant I was frequently shuffling the stack to access whatever was on the bottom. Nevertheless, this is still progress, especially compared to before.
The solution to that was to get a wire rack, and then put wheels on it. Or rather get the one I already had out of the basement. This enabled me to have the shallow tubs in stacks of 2 or maybe 3 high on each shelf. Far more manageable, as moving a tub or two is trivial. I was able to put a fair amount on this rack, with the shelves spaced in such a way that the larger tubs could be at the bottom. But one rack wasn't going to hold all of it, nowhere near it.
The solution to that was to get more wire racks and wheels. I ended up with a total of three of them, and they're already mostly full. And since they're on wheels, I can roll them from one room to another easily. I still have some room, both for more of the plastic tubs, and most of those have room for more like-type bricks. That settles the storage aspect for now, but not the working area. I've used my kitchen table which is kinda wobbly and likely better for its intended purpose. I've used a folding table but the surface is rough and uneven, and it's low to the floor.
The solution to that was to get a large desk from Ikea. I got a nice big one, with good weight capacity and a smooth surface. (I almost had to drive home with it sticking out the back.) An excellent and appropriate working area for this application. I also got a basic swivel chair, instead of using the plastic folding chair that's ok for an hour or two then gets really uncomfortable afer that. So now that I have a workable storage and organization system and a good working area, do I still have any kind of problem? Yes.
Whatever that problem may be, the solution to that is to get more Lego.
Over the years, I've learned that storing massive amounts of Lego bricks in one big container became harder to work with. For one thing, when searching for a specific brick that's either small or rare (or both), I can spend an increasing amount of time just looking for it. If that brick is near the bottom of said container? That gets difficult in its own right, purely because the loose bricks tend to flow back around my hands and over where I'm trying to look. This means more time digging and less time in actual building and creating.
The solution to that was to move everything to somewhat smaller plastic tubs made of clear plastic. This reduced the engulfment, and being clear plastic, I could look directly at the bottom of the tub to see if the pieces I was looking for had settled there. That made things easier! But I was still doing a lot of digging, because said plastic tubs were still a bit large, and the bricks put in there almost entirely by virtue of which tub had more room.
The solution to that was to get a large number of smaller plastic tubs (typically about 2.5L, 6L, or 12L, with a few 24s), and very shallow, and to actually sort the bricks. That took a significant amount of time, but it was worth it. After that, when I'd bring home more bricks, I could sort those as they came in the door, one cup at a time. So far I've sorted mainly by type and size, with only a few high-volume elements also sorted by color. At the same time, any exceedingly rare or unusual bricks would be placed in their own small container. As you can imagine, sorting through tens of thousands of bricks can be tedious, confusing, daunting even.
The solution to that was to get some funnel trays ($3 at Harbor Freight), and some small plastic bins that can stack on each other. I'd put a handful of bricks in one tray, pick out the largest ones and put them in another tray, and then pick out progressively smaller parts, putting each into their own trays. Then I'd pour those trays into their relevant stacking bins, and start over with another handful of bricks. I found this to be more efficient and less intimidating than picking directly out of the plastic tub. Putting the bricks in increasingly smaller plastic tubs helped a lot with keeping the tiny pieces more accessible, however I had these flat tubs in stacks about 3 or 4 feet high. Which meant I was frequently shuffling the stack to access whatever was on the bottom. Nevertheless, this is still progress, especially compared to before.
The solution to that was to get a wire rack, and then put wheels on it. Or rather get the one I already had out of the basement. This enabled me to have the shallow tubs in stacks of 2 or maybe 3 high on each shelf. Far more manageable, as moving a tub or two is trivial. I was able to put a fair amount on this rack, with the shelves spaced in such a way that the larger tubs could be at the bottom. But one rack wasn't going to hold all of it, nowhere near it.
The solution to that was to get more wire racks and wheels. I ended up with a total of three of them, and they're already mostly full. And since they're on wheels, I can roll them from one room to another easily. I still have some room, both for more of the plastic tubs, and most of those have room for more like-type bricks. That settles the storage aspect for now, but not the working area. I've used my kitchen table which is kinda wobbly and likely better for its intended purpose. I've used a folding table but the surface is rough and uneven, and it's low to the floor.
The solution to that was to get a large desk from Ikea. I got a nice big one, with good weight capacity and a smooth surface. (I almost had to drive home with it sticking out the back.) An excellent and appropriate working area for this application. I also got a basic swivel chair, instead of using the plastic folding chair that's ok for an hour or two then gets really uncomfortable afer that. So now that I have a workable storage and organization system and a good working area, do I still have any kind of problem? Yes.
Whatever that problem may be, the solution to that is to get more Lego.
