How To Sort Your Lego My new Lego Channel youtube.com/@BevinsBricks My new website for instructions, stickers, sets and more. bevinsbricks.com/ My Rebrickable page. rebrickable.com/users/Bevinsbricks/mocs/
It is an investment in time upfront. BUT you will save so much more time once everything is sorted by type and color. The Amazon guy was very confused when all these whole boxes sets of sterylite box’s were delivered. Well worth the investment of time and a few hundred dollars for the containers
I sort mostly by part type but the smaller stuff is broken down by type and color because those are so hard to find specific pieces if mixed in bulk. For bricks and plates, they all go in the same bin together by color. I have them separated by type and size within the bin, so its extremely easy to find what I'm looking for when I need it, because if I'm building nougat chances are I'm using all shapes and sizes so I just grab the bag I need. Also, if I ever have more space in the future and can further break down categories, it will be easy to relocate.
i've always said that finding a part of a specific colour in a mass of the same part type is easier than finding a part of a specific type in a mass of the same colour. i also, when i run out of space in a drawer, seperate out the parts to colour family. Like all my technic bricks are sorted into monochrome pieces and colourful pieces. the only pieces i have fully organised into specific colours are the 2x bricks and larger, because they take up so much space
I sort by color and shape and store them in plastic drawers of varying sizes. The size of drawer depends on how much of a piece I have. If I have a lot of a smaller piece, it's stored in plastic baggies in said drawers. I stack like pieces together to save save and so they don't rattle around and get scratched. I label each drawer by color (alphabetically) and by ball & socket / bricks / curved / engines / flames / hinges/ plates / propellers / rounded / tiles / etc. / etc.. I have a rather detailed, ocd way of sorting Minifigure heads to be used for MOCs. In addition, I set aside one of each Minifigure head to serve as my master collection which are never used. I have my instruction manuals in hanging file folders in a few plastic hanging file folder boxes. You're right, it is very time consuming but knowing what I have is worth it.
Oh I definitely agree it is worth the time it's just feels like a never-ending process while you are doing it :). Stacking the parts would definitely protect them more but I do not want to spend the time to physically stack them in that method as for me my average part quantity is 1,000 when it comes to Bricks I have them by the 5,000 and more.
Personally, I do by part/part type and color. I also sometimes end up doing by color type. For example take 1x1 plates if I have too many to fit in one drawer, I'll start by splitting them in 2 : one drawer for "primary" colors (red, blue, yellow, white, black) and a drawer for all the other colors. For some parts I have to separate the primary in 2: black + white and red + blue + yellow. And so on
I mainly use fast food plastic containers. They stack well, can be easily shuffled around, and are see through from all directions. During lockdown we used to treat ourselves to take away once a week. I kept and washed all the containers. So I have many.
We sort the exact same way except I have a smaller scale than you. It’s definitely easier to find what you want when it’s really organized. Great to see a new video from you.
I think my method works best but for most people like you said that don't have the quantities that I have it's not necessarily needed to sort as much as I do. With a smaller collection sorting simply by part is probably all that's needed. 😀
Same type of part in each drawer, with each color in a separate bag within that drawer is the way I sort most of my LEGO pieces. Makes the most sense for me. I used to just sort by color but as the parts collection grew, it started to take way too long to find parts.
Excellent advice! I do pretty much the same thing as you when it comes to sorting, and yes it all depends on what you build and the space you have to store it.
Your video helped so much i have so much un sorted lego from when I was younger and now that I'm older I'm trying to sort it and now I know what I should ve sorting by
I sort it very similar to you. But I go the extra mile and stick all my 1x and 2x bricks together to save space in my draws. Similar to how you save space in a pick a brick cup if everything is stacked as opposed to just loose in the cup. I can then just get a row of say 1x4 bricks and build with them. You don’t have to have bags in your draws then. Any plates I stagger by one plate so that they are easier to separate.
I did the same thing with stacking by color in drawers, but watching other videos on UA-cam, a lot of people advised against that technique because it puts stress on the bricks, so I went back to loose bricks. I'm still on the fence and may go back to stacking. It can't be any worse than the stress a completed set would have over time.
The biggest reason that I don't stack my parts together is number one the quantities of parts that I have are so insane it would take me forever to stack them. But as DJ just stated with them connected together they're in a constant state of stress which is another reason I don't like them to be stored that way. But at the same time stacking them together protects them and prevents them from getting scratched off like a lot of my parts end up being.
Yeah I guess there is some stress but surely they can withstand it as it’s not an illegal build. Each to their own I guess whatever works best for you. I do probably spend more time sorting my Lego than building. But it’s part of the fun :)
not a bad sorting system you have and tips. for me my space is limited and limited on pieces so for me I sort by piece and color. combine if there isnt alot of both. little comtainers from the container store while arent really cheap they do help.
By coincidence, I was organizing my drawers last weekend - were you reading my mind? 😁 I have a much smaller scale of parts than yours, but something I learned the hard way long time ago is to NEVER sort by color, or at least not ONLY by color. Even on smaller quantities, it's a nightmare to find the exact part you want on a sea of the same color. Sorting by category makes live much easier.
Only trouble we ran in sorting by parts just like you, are the dark colours…black, dark blue and dark brown. Guess it‘s bad eyesight because of age but it‘s managable with good lights.
I found only one (local) brand of boxes that has the right mix of transparency and stability and where smaller boxes are nicely stackabe 2:1 on the larger boxes. It is a no-name brand from a cheap discount store, but still a 5 liter box is 200%+ of the price tag in your video at 2:20. And to my frustration the boxes did disappear from shelves a few months back and now the brand and size is back, but the boxes are a 90% opaque milky white. It is really hard to find decently prices boxes here and the same is true for zipper bags - zipper bags in stores are rediculously expensive. Here food in proper reusable plastic containers ( like ice cream, salads, cookies or desserts ) is often less expensive than buying the empty containers ...
A great information tip video for was to sort and store lego Daryl 👍. I do a little of all different ways as of right now myself. Mostly I have 86 of the shoe boxes and 8 boot boxes. Plus a few of storage boxes and cabinets.
Another good way to separate parts is by making small dividers inside the boxes also. But with sorting a lot depends on the quantities that you have and like I say in the video I know most people don't have the amount of Lego parts that I have on hand. Hope this finds you doing well my friend :)
problem with sorting only by colour is that when you need specific similar sized objects they can be very hard to find in a pile of same coloured pieces. for instance you need 4 3x1 tiles in black, and you have a massive pile of black tiles of varying lenghts all together. so i agree that sorting by piece shape is better for finding hte peices later.
I started out by sorting by color until I still found myself digging through a pile of colored parts in various part variations and was still not efficient. This improved when I sorted by part type in all colors so I can get what I need faster and if the color is wrong for my build I can at least prototype faster. Once I get larger group of parts I then sort em out by color.
I debated labels, but figured with the bins being clear I can see in them to know what's there. Still have so much more to sort but I've made a nice start.
Sorting by part makes more sense. It is far easier if all parts in a bin are the same and you just need to pick out the right color than if all are the same color and you need to quickly identify which is a 1x3 and which is a 1x4
@@BevinsBricksWorld yeah that's what I did today. Took a break from sorting and built for awhile. It was so nice to find some of the parts I needed so much easier
From the late 1970's to about 2018, I owned around a shoe box amount of Lego pieces. Now I have a entire bedroom dedicated to Lego building/displaying and yet to be built set storage. Your storage method is very organized, although most of my pieces are from sets, I would like to get into more MOC building... but where do you start when buying inventory!? Do you think buying sets on sale is good for building up parts, there are so many Lego pieces I wouldn't know what I want or need. I'm not a city builder, I don't have the space, I'm more interested in diorama type displays for Star Wars and Marvel scenes.
It's really a tough call on what to stock. It all depends on the plans. With you doing dioramas it depends on the diorama types. For me I buy anything I can when I see it cheap. As I never know what I'm going to need until I start building. But as I always tell people I have been collecting Lego for 24 years so the quantity and Insanity of my collection does not have an overnight. Sets can be a good way to amass a collection if you stick to the theme your looking for but I've found just buying bulks parts is best. For someone starting I would look for bulk used Lego lots on places like marketplace and mercari
Wahoo, glad to watch another of you vids, looking forward to next next on. Oh question was it medium nougat you used on Andy Griffins sheriff building?
im in the process of sorting all my lego and its really hard! i got a lot of stuff secondhand from a friend, which is great and im really thankful, but unfortunately he sorted by color and i want to sort by shape, so i was pretty much starting from scratch. he also had a lot of megabloks mixed in, which i dont really care enough to separate totally, but it does mean theres a lot of weird pieces i dont know what to do with
That's awesome you had a friend donate some parts for your collection as for the off-brand Parts what I do is I put all of them in just a bulk container. Has off-brand parts do have a use as well for example they are great for fillers and they are also great to use for pieces you can drill holes through when running wiring
@@BevinsBricksWorld yep, that's likely what i'll do for the weirdly shaped ones at least. might put some in an "inspiration" bin for things that might be the centerpiece of a build
Thanks, sadly I won't be doing live streams anymore. They helped to destroyed my stats, plus lack of people interested in watching them. Just not worth doing anymore.
Here is the thing: I'm colorblind, some colors are very difficult to distinguish. Though, I really prefer sorting by part. In the end I have a combination of the two that fits the best to the part- and color-type. Not ideal.
How To Sort Your Lego
My new Lego Channel
youtube.com/@BevinsBricks
My new website for instructions, stickers, sets and more.
bevinsbricks.com/
My Rebrickable page.
rebrickable.com/users/Bevinsbricks/mocs/
It is an investment in time upfront. BUT you will save so much more time once everything is sorted by type and color. The Amazon guy was very confused when all these whole boxes sets of sterylite box’s were delivered. Well worth the investment of time and a few hundred dollars for the containers
Yes it is, but like you said the end results are very worth it.
I sort mostly by part type but the smaller stuff is broken down by type and color because those are so hard to find specific pieces if mixed in bulk. For bricks and plates, they all go in the same bin together by color. I have them separated by type and size within the bin, so its extremely easy to find what I'm looking for when I need it, because if I'm building nougat chances are I'm using all shapes and sizes so I just grab the bag I need. Also, if I ever have more space in the future and can further break down categories, it will be easy to relocate.
i've always said that finding a part of a specific colour in a mass of the same part type is easier than finding a part of a specific type in a mass of the same colour. i also, when i run out of space in a drawer, seperate out the parts to colour family. Like all my technic bricks are sorted into monochrome pieces and colourful pieces. the only pieces i have fully organised into specific colours are the 2x bricks and larger, because they take up so much space
With sorting it always changes as the parts amass also 😀
square plastic cups inside the drawers is always better and faster than ziplock bags
I sort by color and shape and store them in plastic drawers of varying sizes. The size of drawer depends on how much of a piece I have. If I have a lot of a smaller piece, it's stored in plastic baggies in said drawers. I stack like pieces together to save save and so they don't rattle around and get scratched. I label each drawer by color (alphabetically) and by ball & socket / bricks / curved / engines / flames / hinges/ plates / propellers / rounded / tiles / etc. / etc..
I have a rather detailed, ocd way of sorting Minifigure heads to be used for MOCs. In addition, I set aside one of each Minifigure head to serve as my master collection which are never used.
I have my instruction manuals in hanging file folders in a few plastic hanging file folder boxes.
You're right, it is very time consuming but knowing what I have is worth it.
Oh I definitely agree it is worth the time it's just feels like a never-ending process while you are doing it :). Stacking the parts would definitely protect them more but I do not want to spend the time to physically stack them in that method as for me my average part quantity is 1,000 when it comes to Bricks I have them by the 5,000 and more.
Personally, I do by part/part type and color. I also sometimes end up doing by color type. For example take 1x1 plates if I have too many to fit in one drawer, I'll start by splitting them in 2 : one drawer for "primary" colors (red, blue, yellow, white, black) and a drawer for all the other colors. For some parts I have to separate the primary in 2: black + white and red + blue + yellow. And so on
I mainly use fast food plastic containers. They stack well, can be easily shuffled around, and are see through from all directions. During lockdown we used to treat ourselves to take away once a week. I kept and washed all the containers. So I have many.
That's a great idea
Thanks! I really found this useful 😀
Glad to hear it :)
We sort the exact same way except I have a smaller scale than you. It’s definitely easier to find what you want when it’s really organized. Great to see a new video from you.
I think my method works best but for most people like you said that don't have the quantities that I have it's not necessarily needed to sort as much as I do. With a smaller collection sorting simply by part is probably all that's needed. 😀
Same type of part in each drawer, with each color in a separate bag within that drawer is the way I sort most of my LEGO pieces. Makes the most sense for me. I used to just sort by color but as the parts collection grew, it started to take way too long to find parts.
That's why I never understood why anybody would sort by color because to me it would take way too long to ever find any part you need.
Exactly the way i do it. I don’t have much space so this is the way.
I sort this way. It is time consuming, yes, but I wanted to know what I have of each part in each color. Works best for my brain! 😂
It really does help simplify, and help with building.
Excellent advice! I do pretty much the same thing as you when it comes to sorting, and yes it all depends on what you build and the space you have to store it.
I group mine colour, and then separate them into brick, plate and slope.
been missing you! Glad you're back.
Thanks 😊
Your video helped so much i have so much un sorted lego from when I was younger and now that I'm older I'm trying to sort it and now I know what I should ve sorting by
Sorting is the worst part of the hobby
thanks for the sort tipp
Thanks for watching 😀
I sort it very similar to you. But I go the extra mile and stick all my 1x and 2x bricks together to save space in my draws. Similar to how you save space in a pick a brick cup if everything is stacked as opposed to just loose in the cup. I can then just get a row of say 1x4 bricks and build with them. You don’t have to have bags in your draws then.
Any plates I stagger by one plate so that they are easier to separate.
I did the same thing with stacking by color in drawers, but watching other videos on UA-cam, a lot of people advised against that technique because it puts stress on the bricks, so I went back to loose bricks. I'm still on the fence and may go back to stacking. It can't be any worse than the stress a completed set would have over time.
The biggest reason that I don't stack my parts together is number one the quantities of parts that I have are so insane it would take me forever to stack them. But as DJ just stated with them connected together they're in a constant state of stress which is another reason I don't like them to be stored that way. But at the same time stacking them together protects them and prevents them from getting scratched off like a lot of my parts end up being.
Yeah I guess there is some stress but surely they can withstand it as it’s not an illegal build. Each to their own I guess whatever works best for you.
I do probably spend more time sorting my Lego than building. But it’s part of the fun :)
not a bad sorting system you have and tips. for me my space is limited and limited on pieces so for me I sort by piece and color. combine if there isnt alot of both. little comtainers from the container store while arent really cheap they do help.
Space is a big obstacle for most sadly.
By coincidence, I was organizing my drawers last weekend - were you reading my mind? 😁
I have a much smaller scale of parts than yours, but something I learned the hard way long time ago is to NEVER sort by color, or at least not ONLY by color. Even on smaller quantities, it's a nightmare to find the exact part you want on a sea of the same color. Sorting by category makes live much easier.
Totally agree by color is the worst
Only trouble we ran in sorting by parts just like you, are the dark colours…black, dark blue and dark brown. Guess it‘s bad eyesight because of age but it‘s managable with good lights.
I'm with you as my eye sight has gotten really bad myself. But yes good lighting helps a great deal.
I found only one (local) brand of boxes that has the right mix of transparency and stability and where smaller boxes are nicely stackabe 2:1 on the larger boxes. It is a no-name brand from a cheap discount store, but still a 5 liter box is 200%+ of the price tag in your video at 2:20. And to my frustration the boxes did disappear from shelves a few months back and now the brand and size is back, but the boxes are a 90% opaque milky white. It is really hard to find decently prices boxes here and the same is true for zipper bags - zipper bags in stores are rediculously expensive. Here food in proper reusable plastic containers ( like ice cream, salads, cookies or desserts ) is often less expensive than buying the empty containers ...
I want to say the boxes I'm showing in my video are also available on Amazon for as little as a $1.20 a piece as well
A great information tip video for was to sort and store lego Daryl 👍. I do a little of all different ways as of right now myself. Mostly I have 86 of the shoe boxes and 8 boot boxes. Plus a few of storage boxes and cabinets.
Another good way to separate parts is by making small dividers inside the boxes also. But with sorting a lot depends on the quantities that you have and like I say in the video I know most people don't have the amount of Lego parts that I have on hand. Hope this finds you doing well my friend :)
problem with sorting only by colour is that when you need specific similar sized objects they can be very hard to find in a pile of same coloured pieces.
for instance you need 4 3x1 tiles in black, and you have a massive pile of black tiles of varying lenghts all together.
so i agree that sorting by piece shape is better for finding hte peices later.
Great tips and ideas, im using the set collector tips and the sorting lego by piece
I started out by sorting by color until I still found myself digging through a pile of colored parts in various part variations and was still not efficient. This improved when I sorted by part type in all colors so I can get what I need faster and if the color is wrong for my build I can at least prototype faster. Once I get larger group of parts I then sort em out by color.
To me that is the best way to go specifically when you have large quantities of Parts sorting by color just does not work
Miss your videos. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, videos will be fewer these days for lack of time to post lately. Plus I don't want to post just to post. 😀
Sorting by part is the way I would go.
Agreed
I’ve invested nearly $800 AUD into my sorting system and it has saved me hundreds of hours of time
That's awesome
I’ll add, a comfortable place to sort lego is a must. If your not comfortable doing it your never going to sort it.
Absolutely agree
I've been sorting and storing the same way and started adding labels to the drawers.
I debated labels, but figured with the bins being clear I can see in them to know what's there. Still have so much more to sort but I've made a nice start.
Great vid
Thanks Rob
Great video Daryl have a great week 👍
Thanks
Sorting by part makes more sense. It is far easier if all parts in a bin are the same and you just need to pick out the right color than if all are the same color and you need to quickly identify which is a 1x3 and which is a 1x4
Absolutely
Unrelated to the video, but i noticed that in the Thumbnail we have the same chair!
I love that chair it's so comfortable. I was able to get it on sale at Staples for $98 two years ago
Thank you for the great idea and don't worry about the time i have 3 kids 😁😁 let's get them to work
Yeah would be great if we could get the kids to do it for us :)
Great video buddy. Looks like you got a lot organized already by part and color.
Yeah I'm about half way there. Getting tired of sorting though so may take a break from it for a bit :)
@@BevinsBricksWorld yeah that's what I did today. Took a break from sorting and built for awhile. It was so nice to find some of the parts I needed so much easier
It's always better when organized, just painful doing it.
2 gallon zip lock bag
Dollar tree also sells those bins for 1.25 atm
Oh good to know, never thought to look there.
Hey, I found your Railroad Skyscraper building on Aliexpress lol.
No surprise there. It's part of why I don't like using rebrickable. Every thing I post there ends up stolen.
@@BevinsBricksWorld sorry bro
Not your fault 😀
its one am and once again i am watching your videos thanks for the great video once again
Thanks for watching :)
From the late 1970's to about 2018, I owned around a shoe box amount of Lego pieces. Now I have a entire bedroom dedicated to Lego building/displaying and yet to be built set storage.
Your storage method is very organized, although most of my pieces are from sets, I would like to get into more MOC building... but where do you start when buying inventory!?
Do you think buying sets on sale is good for building up parts, there are so many Lego pieces I wouldn't know what I want or need. I'm not a city builder, I don't have the space, I'm more interested in diorama type displays for Star Wars and Marvel scenes.
It's really a tough call on what to stock. It all depends on the plans. With you doing dioramas it depends on the diorama types. For me I buy anything I can when I see it cheap. As I never know what I'm going to need until I start building. But as I always tell people I have been collecting Lego for 24 years so the quantity and Insanity of my collection does not have an overnight. Sets can be a good way to amass a collection if you stick to the theme your looking for but I've found just buying bulks parts is best. For someone starting I would look for bulk used Lego lots on places like marketplace and mercari
@@BevinsBricksWorld Thanks for the advice Sir!
Yup alot of time to sort pieces
Wahoo, glad to watch another of you vids, looking forward to next next on. Oh question was it medium nougat you used on Andy Griffins sheriff building?
Yes medium nougat
Thank you 😃
im in the process of sorting all my lego and its really hard! i got a lot of stuff secondhand from a friend, which is great and im really thankful, but unfortunately he sorted by color and i want to sort by shape, so i was pretty much starting from scratch. he also had a lot of megabloks mixed in, which i dont really care enough to separate totally, but it does mean theres a lot of weird pieces i dont know what to do with
That's awesome you had a friend donate some parts for your collection as for the off-brand Parts what I do is I put all of them in just a bulk container. Has off-brand parts do have a use as well for example they are great for fillers and they are also great to use for pieces you can drill holes through when running wiring
@@BevinsBricksWorld yep, that's likely what i'll do for the weirdly shaped ones at least. might put some in an "inspiration" bin for things that might be the centerpiece of a build
Surely everyone has a box of "other" or "various" 😂
I know I do :)
Wow, really love your collection, just want to ask where do you order your lego from?
Lego and bricklink.
@@BevinsBricksWorld thank you
Great video but i miss your live ones
Thanks, sadly I won't be doing live streams anymore. They helped to destroyed my stats, plus lack of people interested in watching them. Just not worth doing anymore.
Here is the thing: I'm colorblind, some colors are very difficult to distinguish. Though, I really prefer sorting by part.
In the end I have a combination of the two that fits the best to the part- and color-type. Not ideal.
Ah being color blind adds a bit of difficulty so I totally understand that.
まずは大きな部屋が必要ですね😂
What lights are the easiest to put in the lego city please thanks
My lighting system, which I hope to launch in about 6 weeks :)
Wow you said since you got organized you said it's easier to build hmmmmmm I believe I brought this up years ago
If I ever get around to building anyway :)
@@BevinsBricksWorld if you had gotten organized way back when you would be building already lol
Lol, maybe
Nice set up. Yes indeed sorting is always work but we enjoy it. Nice video here.
Sadler_bricks
Thanks, sorting is one of my least favorite tasks. But it helps so much when building.
☺️ "promosm"