We've started the transition from LEGO Duplo blocks to regular LEGOs. And although Duplo blocks hurt every bit as much as their smaller counterparts when stepped on with bare feet, their saving grace is that they're a dream to clean up.
One large bin or basket will do the trick for Duplos. Because of their size and limited shapes, there is no concern about sorting them before storing. We're finding, however, with regular LEGOs, sorting before storing is key. So what to do? Since we're just beginners, a storage system like this found over at I Heart Organizing would do the trick nicely. IKEA Trofast slide out bins labeled with a specific color make sorting and storage simple. And hopefully that means when the time comes to build, finding pieces will be all the easier as well.
See more: I Heart Organizing
(Image: I Heart Organizing)
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Comments (11)
Ha, we have the opposite problem. Our duplo collection is vast and includes several universes (castle, pirate, princess, farm) that make it a hassle to put away.
But our lego collection is still small enough to shove in a bucket.
Sorting pieces by color is incredibly time-consuming. I'm still looking for the holy grail of Lego storage, and I don't think this is it.
My sister and I used to spend a lot of time sifting through all the Lego pieces to find a specific piece and it was frustrating. While this system helps, maybe sorting them by size would be more beneficial. It would be easy to spot a red two unit piece in a bin of all two unit pieces; it's not so easy to find a red two unit piece in a bin of all red pieces. Either way, sorting by color or size, would give kids an opportunity to practice categorization.
I'm in agreement with Annef. I don't this is the most practical thing. I guess my priorities are different and this seems..... well, strange to me. Like having your legos in correct color bins is important to the child in what way? I never played with legos and said, "Gee, I think I need the red block." Like Kbags said, it was more about the correct size being found but I really can't imagine sorting that way either, especially since it'd be hell for a kid to but back in its proper place. I suppose it's supposed to be aesthetically appealing, but to me it seems overly complicated. Sorry.
Lego organization like this just seems like bizarre overkill to me. Half the thrill of Lego building for me was the hunt, for honing my vision and tracking down that elusive, perfect piece. Victory! But we kept our Legos all thrown together in a big bin.
Then I met my husband, and his mother showed me his childhood Lego collection, every set carefully stored in ziploc bags with the intact instructions.
So everybody's different, I guess.
I actually work with LEGOs for educational purposes as part of my research. When you're building a specific model, or are trying to complete an engineering design challenge, finding the right size piece is very important. I agree that color might not be the best way to sort for this, but it looks nice, and you'd need a million buckets, it seems, to separate out all the brick and plate and beam sizes. As awesome as I find this, I have mixed feelings. The first thing I used to do as a child was take my LEGO bucket and dump it out in the middle of the floor. That was with my generic blocks, though, and I was very fastidious about keeping my sets together in their own boxes.
We tried a few of these storage solutions and none worked for both our kids, we now are using a play mat that converts to a Lego storage bag its called a GoGoSac and both our kids love playing on them.
We have 3 on the go at all times. 1 for Lego, 1 for Duplo & 1 for barbie stuff. I got them online from the GoGo&Co website you can see them at their website http://www.gogoandco.com
Sorry, this seems *way* too time-consuming to justify any possible benefits. About which I am skeptical, anyway. Half the fun was sorting through the lego, plus I agree that size/shape is usually more important than colour.
My mom used a flat double-bed sheet to keep lego contained. Spread it out for play, then gather in the edges when you're done, twist and store. Easy.
Thebigh, thank you for mentioning GoGo&Co! I just went to their website and am ordering one right now! Such a great tool. Our son is just 21 months and we haven't gotten into the Lego/Duplo yet, but have been talking about it. Now I will wait until this comes.
Thanks again!
There's a nice product that will help you sort by size.
http://www.amazon.com/Original-Storage-Winning-BOX4BLOX-Organizer/dp/B003LTYAOY
We have one and it's nice but it isn't big enough for our whole collection so it's been good but not great for us.
Full disclosure: I'm a huge fan of Jen's blog. Therefore, I read her original post. She organized by color because that's what her 3 sons wanted to do when they tackled the process. I was so inspired by her idea, that I tried it with my own two boys. Our IKEA was sold out of those trofast pieces, so I used our original bins from our lego kits. 3 months later and my boys are still having a blast playing and creating with lego. Even better, when we pick up, they have no problem putting odds and ends away by color. It is actually so much easier to see what we have. And I can ask each boy to choose a color to put away, which is so much less overwhelming. When my boys want to make a specific kit, it is so easy to find the pieces we need because the instruction always show you not only the size, but also the color. No more pawing around desperately in a huge bin. I know many of you thought this was a silly idea, but as someone who tried it, I have to tell you, it's awesome! Thanks Jen!