Storage solutions: Ogelsbob

Posted by Huw, 16 May 2020 09:15

Bob, aka Ogelsbob, gives us a tour round his LEGO basement in Chicago:

I have always enjoyed LEGO. I set up my first LEGO room during college after a visit to Legoland Billund in 1990 and I have enjoyed a dedicated LEGO room since 2005. I never really had a dark ages. I continued to build since I was a kid.

However, I had a re-awakening in 2002 when I discovered Lugnet and learned about the AFOLs. Once the EL709 Yellow Storage Boxes were released in 2006, this inspired me to get organised. I spent about 6 months organising and separating, including sending a 100lbs of LEGO to a washing and sorting service. I also hired some teenagers to help me dismantle and sort a variety of sets.

I enjoy building custom designed sets and creating my own MOCs. My favourite creations are iconic buildings and scenes from Paris, France and my favourite LEGO sets are the Creator Modular sets. I also sell on eBay a few times a year and use Bricklink Regularly

My storage systems use 4 types of containers:

The official LEGO EL709 Yellow Storage Boxes
Snapware Snap & Stack containers (Joann Fabric)
Sterilite Snap & Carry containers (Target)
Plastic shoe containers from Container Store

My pieces are organised by colour and type. I generally like to have only one colour/type per section of container. The plastic containers that I use allow me to easily grab 4 to 8 containers off the shelf, all at once and then I will have easy access to different size bricks, plates or tiles of one colour. When I am building, it is easy to have several open containers strewn about.

My containers are set upon metal shelving by "Seville Classics", which allow for a variety of shelf heights and wheels for easy movement. I use Ikea “Linnmon” tables for displaying. There are various lengths and widths, all using the same table-leg system so that it is easy to have a uniform height throughout the room.

My wife is very patient with my LEGO hobby. We recently renovated our home, and she allowed me to keep the LEGO room in the basement. I like to display LEGO elsewhere in the house, sometimes on the dining table. She never complains, since I usually keep displays up for a few days, if they are not in the LEGO room. Nonetheless, I like to sneak tiny LEGO displays on a living room shelf or other areas of our home. I have a very understanding wife!

I also have an off-site storage room for my collection of brand-new sets. LEGO is a wonderful investment, so while my regular income has been down this year, I have been able to sell dozens of brand-new sets to make a little money. I like to hold on to brand-new sets for a year or two after they have retired and then offer them for sale. I usually sell about twice per year. The off-site storage room offers plenty of space to organise and pack for shipping.

I had planned to display “My Town” at Brickworld Chicago this year, but due to Covid-19, the in-person convention has been postponed. I have attended this show every year, since 2007 and I have displayed about four times, since then.

The Covid lockdown has given me a great deal of time to work on the LEGO room and to complete a few large MOCs. It has been very relaxing and comforting, while dealing with loss of income and worrying about those affected by illness or those who are battling to keep us safe.

121 likes

24 comments on this article

By Turplesmith in United States, 16 May 2020 09:17

Outstanding city scape! I love your MOCs!

By Hobbythom in Netherlands, 16 May 2020 09:31

Great article Bob. Are your MOC's on Flickr or Brickshelf or anu of those sites?

By jdm in France, 16 May 2020 09:35

great MOCs of Paris!!

By magmafrost in Australia, 16 May 2020 10:16

All these gigantic collections are making me feel inadequate haha

By gunther_schnitzel in Ireland, 16 May 2020 10:52

Beautiful buildings!

By EGOist in Luxembourg, 16 May 2020 11:45

That's one out many faces of happiness )))

By bananaworld in United Kingdom, 16 May 2020 11:50

At first these articles made me feel a little sad for the barely-organised nature of the bricks & pieces that share my home, but the inspiration is growing!

Yours, Bob, is the closest to what might be achievable one day, so thanks for the uplift :-)

(Good to see someone else whose Technic 'smalls' share a communal container...)

By mfg3000 in Canada, 16 May 2020 11:54

Your buildings are beautiful! Great to have such an organized collection to keep you occupied during quarentine. Will you keep your "My Town" display intact to display at another time?

By Khamsin in United States, 16 May 2020 14:27

Love your work! I can see why your wife lets you display your models in the house, those are gallery quality builds. Inspiring!

By lego4elio in United States, 16 May 2020 14:37

Wow those Mocs are fantastic!

By ogelsbob in United States, 16 May 2020 16:42

@Hobbythom said:
"Great article Bob. Are your MOC's on Flickr or Brickshelf or anu of those sites?"

My Flickr page: https://www.flickr.com/photos/107972925 @N06/sets/

By Vindicare in United States, 16 May 2020 20:02

Every time I hear the word “basement” I get a twinge of jealous run through my entire body...-_- The jealousy is so real.

By meesajarjar72 in United Kingdom, 16 May 2020 20:06

Excellent! Thanks for sharing. I love those shelves. Just been looking at the prices Of them, and not too expensive for such a versatile long lasting system. Definitely investing in those when I have more permanent living arrangements.

I use Really Useful Boxes but find the side clips become loose over time.

By The_Chosen_1 in United States, 16 May 2020 23:49

Really great storage and display setup, Bob! Best of luck to you during this crazy time.

By brickventures in United States, 17 May 2020 00:08

Great article! Your awesome builds and organized room are really inspiring!

By WhiteDove in Australia, 17 May 2020 00:40

Wow, your builds are amazing, intricately detailed and beautiful! And your storage system looks to me to be extremely practical, flexible and easily extendable. It is good to be able to take whole trays to your build area. I like it very much.

By erdmaniac1 in United States, 17 May 2020 03:10

Great setup. I like using the Sterilite Stack and Carry myself. One of your pictures looks like you have smaller jars / containers stored inside the Sterilite ones... what type of containers are those? I'd love to copy that idea.

By melvlee in Hong Kong, 17 May 2020 05:05

Same, I’d also like to ask what are those jar-like containers?

By ogelsbob in United States, 17 May 2020 14:57

@erdmaniac1 said:
"Great setup. I like using the Sterilite Stack and Carry myself. One of your pictures looks like you have smaller jars / containers stored inside the Sterilite ones... what type of containers are those? I'd love to copy that idea."

Art supply and craft stores are a great source for storage containers. I found the smaller jars fit perfectly into the Sterlite Stack & Carry: Darice 1992-89 Clear Bead Organizer 6.3"X4.8"-with 12-Small Boxes. These are available at Amazon or Joann Fabrics.

By erdmaniac1 in United States, 17 May 2020 15:46

@ogelsbob said:
"Art supply and craft stores are a great source for storage containers. I found the smaller jars fit perfectly into the Sterlite Stack & Carry: Darice 1992-89 Clear Bead Organizer 6.3"X4.8"-with 12-Small Boxes. These are available at Amazon or Joann Fabrics."

Thanks!