Storage solutions: woosterlegos
Posted by Huw,
James, aka woosterlegos, discusses an aspect of storage that hasn't been covered in depth in these articles before:
My method for storing Lego is probably similar to most others in the hobby. I use a broad range organiser trays, drawers, and bins to store the parts in a way that makes it reasonably easy to find what I’m looking for. So instead of talking about that, I would like to show my method for storing instruction booklets.
I store all my booklets in “sheet protectors” which I then insert into 3-ring or 2-ring binders. This storage method keeps them in pristine condition. Instruction booklets that start out rolled and twisted in the Lego box are completely flattened and in perfect condition after being stored in this manner for several weeks. It also makes it very easy to peruse and find the exact set of instructions I’m looking for.
I group the booklets into binders organised by theme, with some of the smaller themes being grouped together. Based on the makeup of my own collection, I have multiple binders with Creator instruction booklets. But other binders have multiple themes within, for example, Pirate, Castle, and Nexo Knights (all non-licensed) themes in a single binder.
The brand of binders that I buy have external pockets that allow you to insert labels describing the contents of the binder. You will notice in the images below that I often use Lego Club magazine covers or even pieces cut from Lego boxes to create tags that identify my binders.
Lego instruction booklets come in a wide variety of sizes, although some are more prevalent than others. For ease of discussion, I’m going to break the booklet sizes down into five distinct categories presented in decreasing size.
The largest booklets are approximately 8” x 10.25” (20 x 26 cm). These store very nicely in full-size sheet protectors. These, of course, fit into full sized 3-ring binders. I highly recommend 3” (7.5 cm) binders, as opposed to the smaller 1” or 2” binders, for this application as the binders fill up fast when filled with the combined sheet protectors and instruction booklets.
Instructions for larger Lego sets (modular sets, for example) are all stored in a single binder this way, with each set getting its own sheet protector. Filling a binder with only instruction booklets that are this size is ideal. The binders fill evenly (and this is not always the case, as discussed later) and store nicely on the shelf.
The second category are booklets which are not quite a full size (8” x 10.25”) but larger than 8” x 5” (20 x 12.5 cm). There are many booklets that fall into this “in between” category and their actual dimensions vary greatly. These booklets also get their own full-size sheet protector.
One of the problems that occurs with too many of this size booklet in one binder, is that the binder doesn’t fill evenly. Imagine closing the binder with the booklets inside. The lower portion of the binder will be full while the top portion is relatively empty. It can be difficult to stack such binders due to their unevenness.
The third category, and perhaps the most common size of Lego instruction booklet, is the 8” x 5” (20 x 12.5 cm) size. This booklet is found in many City and Creator sets. You might think that there would be a full sheet protector with two pockets to accommodate these seemingly ‘half-sized’ booklets. But you would be wrong (at least in the U.S.).
About five years ago, Martha Stewart had a line of stationary with a full sheet protector containing two pockets that would accommodate two of these booklets nicely, but they were prohibitively expensive, and they are no longer being produced anyhow.
To address this problem, it is better to use a 2-ring binder along with 5.5” x 8.5” sheet protectors. Many City and Creator sets come with multiple instruction booklets which fit nicely into a single sheet protector. Because you are filling these binders with just one sized booklet, they fill uniformly and stack exceptionally well.
There are a variety of instruction booklets that are smaller than the 8” x 5”. Examples would include the booklets used for Mixels and most Star Wars constraction figures. There are sheet protectors that will hold two of these booklets. These sheet protectors are marketed for holding two 5” x 7” photos (a standard printed portrait or photo size in North America).
These are not big enough to hold the very common 5” x 8” booklets previously described. They are frustratingly close, but they won’t fit. Nonetheless, Lego does print enough of these smaller booklets to make this size of sheet protector very useful and worth buying.
Finally, the smallest instruction guides are not even booklets, but often folded pages common in poly bags and other small sets. I use protectors intended for collectible cards such as sports figures (baseball and football in the U.S.) and collectible games such as Pokémon. Use and organisation of these sheet protectors is fairly self-explanatory.
Use of sheet protectors in these two common binders is an affordable, easily indexed, and tidy way to store your instruction booklets. I hope this gives you some ideas on how to store the growing number of booklets in your collection!
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39 comments on this article
Thanks. I’m currently trying to sort/store my manuals. I’ve been using sheet protectors and 3-ring binders, but like the 5x7 photo pages and card collector pages for the small paper inserts.
Storing instruction sheets is indeed a problem. Doing it this way consumes way to much shelf space. Most of the sheets are probably never going to be used again. So why bother to organize them in such an expensive way? All of my instructions are packed into four big cardboard boxes (man they are heavy). Doubles and triples going right into the recycling bin (as all of the packagings, too, even UCSs). And I wouldn't even keep these sheets in the boxes if it wouldn't be such a tedious effort to build sets using only pdfs.
I want that sheet for the smallest instructions!
I am using coinsheets but those are a bit too small for those little instructions they are 5x5 cm but i need 5x6 cm.
For the bigger instructions I use different A4-size photosheets. One with room for 2 instructions and 1 for 3 instructions.
I must admit that once I've built a set, the instructions go straight into the recycling... That might be hearsay to some but they just take up too much space and I don't really need them.
I keep all my instructions in A4 Really Useful Boxes. Seems to work for me . . . at the moment!
I use shoe boxes for mine, stacked up in the attic
I do exactly the same as that, kept in 4-ring presentation binders. For older, small sets I use A4 pockets split into 2 x 3 pockets - they are a perfect size for 66xx instructions - and A4 pockets split 2x1. Best place to find the pockets is on ebay, they are used by coin and banknote collectors.
Modern sets tend to have MUCH thicker instruction booklets, they have to go into A4 pockets on their own....
Mine are in the same sort of binders but I sort mine by category alphabetically so A has airport, C construction etc. This harps back to when I was young so I am too set in to change. I just had to get more folders as they were bursting at the seams so they are spread across a few more now making it easier to store and go through.
Excellent idea to cover this topic as well. Very good solution here. I am in need of some corresponding system myself!
A very useful article!
Everyone's solution so far is way off the mark though; the correct method of instruction storage is to have kilos & kilos of booklets finding their own natural layering in a drawer whose bottom is not long for this world.
Great topic, for me really useful. Could you cover examples of how collectors display their minifigures?
Nice article. I’ve been looking for a way to store my instructions for a while. Found this pretty helpful.
Polybags hold polybag instructions ,only 2 bags,and 3 legoset boxes for instructions, build your own adventure books have some manuals and a few minifig sheets, folders would be good way to do it
That is a very effective way to organize instruction booklets. I use a two drawer file to house my instructions with several booklets (organized by theme) in each file. My collection is fairly modest so it works for now, but I had been wondering what I would do when it gets full. Now I know. I will use your binder method. Thank you!
I store all except my modular ones at the recycling point. This is an innovative solution though.
I'm afraid I too recycle the bulk of my instructions. I download the pdf version from Brickset to replace it though.
Mine are in full-size sheet protectors, and then into 4 ring binders. Everything in then place in numerical order. Some of the binders are 50mm and the others 75mm.
^ The only trouble with storing in numerical order is that you have to keep shuffling them from one binder to another as more numbers in the series are used.
I used to store mine by theme in binders but now use A4 Really Useful Boxes, one per year.
I can see office supply stores scratching their heads tomorrow wondering why they are suddenly selling lots more binders and plastic pockets lol!
Good article on a different aspect of Lego storage. You need to find a collector now who has a good way of storing sets in boxes and not parting them out for those of us who don't MOC, I'm desperately in need of that article!!
I too sort instructions by number. But I have to find another system, I am at 16 binders now...
@Huw said:
"^ The only trouble with storing in numerical order is that you have to keep shuffling them from one binder to another as more numbers in the series are used."
True, but I don't have to do it that often, and it's part of the fun anyway :D
Useful article. I once tried to store instruction booklets that way (by set number). It was OK I guess and the instructions stayed safe inside their protection sheet but when volume was increasing, I ended up back to basics (A carton box labeled "LEGO INSTRUCTIONS").
As others said before, I believe now is the time to hear more about safekeeping instructions, original boxes and cmf Minifigs.
On the other hand now that I am thinking it again, I have no idea why I am keeping those LEGO original boxes...
Another vote for Really Useful Boxes. Stronger and more vertical sides than most other boxes. Most importantly they have a massive range of sizes.
Instructions in 9L (A4).
All but the biggest sealed sets in 84L (up to and including modulars).
Bagged sets in 64L (an 84L is a bit heavy to lift when full!).
Flattened boxes in 70L (which is the largest area, but shallow enough to store under a bed).
Built sets in 50L/33L/20L, depending which sets.
All but the 9L and 70L are the same footprint so are stacked floor to ceiling.
I'm still looking for a proper storage solution for older manuals (1970-1990s) and my time using card storage binders have taught me to be a bit paranoid when it comes to the rings leaving impressions on cards.
Not sure if this is the solution I'm looking for but it's definitely worth at least looking into.
I'll have to see if old manuals are the right size to fit as well.
If anyone has any ideas, I'm all ears. Storing vintage manuals is more about preservation than ease of access anyways.
I used to use this exact method. I had dozens of binders and I stored then in big plastic tubs. Then one day I came to the realization that I'd never used any of them to rebuild a set.
I made the very liberating decision to toss them all into the recycle dumpster and never looked back.
I keep exclusive and large instruction booklets, but everything else gets tossed as soon as I build the set once, and catalogue it into brickset.
I do the same with boxes. I keep exclusive collectors set boxes, but everything else is tossed.
If I need the instructions I can find the PDFs online. But I'm more of a MOC builder, so I just don't find myself ever rebuilding sets since I break most of them down and sort them into my collection for parts.
Very smart idea. l am embarrassed to say l just throw mine in a cardboard box.
That's a cool system if you have enough shelf space. Unfortunately I don't have enough space to store all my books that way. I use sturdy A4 boxes with hanging files inside labeled, For example for SW I have one hanging folder for each movie. That way they're still broken down a little so I can find something fairly quickly if needed.
But I might have to try the binder style for my old sets from when I was a kid (mostly space). They're a lot more fragile and it would be cool to flip through and see them all individually like that.
This is a really smart, organized way to store instructions. But I'm afraid at this point for me it'd require sooooo many binders lol. My go-to solution right now is using those rectangular plastic zip-up bags that new bedsheets are sold in. I have several of those, plus a plastic file container for some, plus a few big flat under-the-bed style plastic storage tubs. None of these solutions are terribly convenient but they keep my instructions flat at least.
Honestly though, instructions are a bit of a burden. I rarely go back to them when rebuilding sets because it's so much more convenient to just pull it up on my computer. I appreciate the paperback instructions on the really huge sets (especially the spiral bound ones, those are sweet) but all those mid-sized and small-sized set instructions just get used once and go into storage. More and more and more over time serving no real purpose for me. But I don't have the heart or the motivation to sell them or throw them away either. It's a dilemma I'll figure out at some point.
@ecleme11 said:
"I use shoe boxes for mine, stacked up in the attic
"
Same here, minus the attic, which I don't have.
I pretty much organize my instructions by the same way except I keep them all in A4 size binders and page protectors.
Also, I really hate those people who try to sell all their used instruction manuals for obscene prices on Bricklink and Ebay. NOBODY WANTS TO BUY YOUR WASTE PAPER!!! They try to make it look like the listing is for the set and I'm concerned many hapless shoppers have fallen victim to their misdirection.
I use a portable hole, cost me 20000 gold tho.
Am I the only person who keeps individual sets in their own Ziploc bags with the instructuons? That way when I (or my kids) want to build a set, it's all right there. No need to go hunting for all the pieces. Those bags are all in a big bin (or my son's giant brick storage containers).
Thanks, I am saving this article, thanks for the idea.
This is a good idea. I've currently got two sets of 2 drawer file cabinets up in the loft stuffed with instructions organised into category, city, technic etc. It's already overflowing into some A4 size office document boxes. Finding the one I want is not fun as I need to pull out every one for a category until I find the one I want. I would never throw them out though.
Great tips and advice! Very smart way to keep instructions.
I use the sheet protector strategy too, but I've kept it to 1" binders. They do fill quickly but I find a larger folder than that just starts getting too heavy and unwieldy.
Would be interested in an article of anyone that has a good method for box display/storage. I think most people always do away with the set boxes but I love the box art so it may be a unique perspective if someone out there really curates a collection of them.
I knew about different sizes of protector sheet existed, but I took them for what they are, storing photos. You helped me so much with this article. Thanks.
I bought 2 x4 draw filing cabinets from work, put all instructions from least to highest numbers, simple.
Surprised by the number of people who dispose, erm, recycle their instructions, but to each their own.
My habits were set by my mom who put all of the instructions in exactly the method described by Woosterlegos, and almost 40 years later, I'm grateful for that. Now I'm doing the same for my kids?
Unnecessary. Surely. But so is organizing the Legos themselves -- my kids have ALWAYS been more creative when the pieces are all blended together with no rhyme or reason. Arguably my imposition of adult order is holding back their childish creativity