Storage solutions: Baldarek
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Baldarek in Russia shows how to store your LEGO on a budget:
The first few submissions in this series of articles set what I consider to be a very high bar, so I'm a bit hesitant to follow them with my relatively modest collection and my, er, not exactly fancy-looking storage solution. Nevertheless, I think it would be interesting to take a look at a more low-budget take on LEGO storage.
I've been a fan of LEGO for as long as I can remember, but it has always been a very expensive hobby for me. As a TFOL, I realised that I need to keep my collection organised, but I was reluctant to spend too much on fancy containers and drawers, preferring instead to save up for more LEGO sets.
However, collecting LEGO meant that I had no shortage of cardboard boxes, so with the use of some sticky tape, glue, and a complete lack of DIY skills I was able to make my own storage solutions. Many years later, as an AFOL emerging from my LEGO 'dark age', I find myself still relying on those clunky homemade solutions a lot. They may look crude, but you know what they say, "if it looks stupid but it works..."
I don't have a dedicated LEGO corner or room as such, but my living room essentially becomes one when I need it to. It has a spare wardrobe, which I converted into my main LEGO storage. Inside it, pieces are stored in drawers of varying sizes and origins.
My collection isn't that large, so I primarily sort pieces by type or category, depending on their size and quantity: e.g. Brick 1*1, Tile 1*3 & 1*4, Slope 3*X, Dish, Technic Pin, Flower, etc.
In some cases there is further sorting by colour or colour group: for example, if I have too many parts of the same colour and type, they may get isolated into a separate slot, or sometimes even offloaded to a separate container (I particularly like using round Pick-a-Brick containers for this).
Furthermore, pieces of similar or rare colours are often either assembled together or put into small Zip-Lock bags to make finding them among a sea of pieces of the same type easier. Assembling pieces together or arranging them in compact ways takes a bit of extra time, but it is sometimes crucial for saving space. Here are some examples of differently sorted parts:
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Large pieces are kept in a separate container, as are baseplates - the ones that fit, anyway. Also stored in my LEGO wardrobe are a variety of unopened and unassembled sets, some spare aforementioned Pick-a-Brick containers, and one last remaining container with unsorted parts - mostly Technic stuff which I rarely use (although it's nearly empty now).
Overall, this storage is pretty compact, but it often makes accessing necessary parts something of a hassle. Moreover, I don't always remember where each part can be found, so I made 200+ labels to help myself navigate. However, as new parts come in, every now and again I add or reorganise something and end up having to print new labels (currently, a few of them still need updating).
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In lieu of a proper LEGO corner, I usually roll out a big folding dining table to use for building or sorting. I have to spend some time taking out the drawers and containers with the parts I use the most out of the wardrobe and arranging them around the table and the nearby sofa, but once that's done I have enough space to build with most of what I need within my reach.
The rest of my collection consists of various assembled models and unfinished MOCs scattered around various bookshelves and drawers in the room: WIP buildings, City vehicles, a few Star Wars starfighters, etc. I don't have a lot of things on display, partially due to lack of space and partially because I don't really have a lot of interest in collecting big for-display models in the first place.
However, I do have some display shelves that nicely accommodate my modular buildings and some minifig displays. In order to reduce the accumulation of dust, I never store my LEGO on open shelves - and it breaks my heart when I see others do so!
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I've been rather busy with work and other things lately, so, unfortunately, I haven't got much building or organising done this year. I did, however, manage to finally get my hands on Parisian Restaurant, which is set to replace Corner Garage on display, which in turn is set to be salvaged for parts for a future MOC.
I'm slowly working on a big project, which will be modular to make storage (and, if necessary, transportation) easier - but it is progressively taking up more and more space, so I'll have to look into getting more shelves in the future. Alas, there is only so much I can do in a rented flat, but I'm pretty happy with what I've achieved so far.
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15 comments on this article
Thank you for showing us that the solution to LEGO storage, sorting, building, & display isn't a 200m² cellar, but dedication!
(Your drawer of "Windows" is fantastic)
How about recycling packaging from food or drink products? Why pay huge amounts of money for special containers, boxes, cases, drawers, cabinets when you can have their equivalent for free? AND use the money thus saved to buy LEGO!
Nice collection. Where did you get the Doctor Who figs from?
Baldarek, congrats on a wonderful collection and creative storage ideas. It’s good to hear from Lego fans who won’t or can’t spend fortunes on storage solutions. Enjoying your hobby within your means deserves a little more exposure.
I was handed the Lego bricks my older brother used to have and had to save up to buy something I wanted. I never considered that to be a disadvantage: it made the Lego I did have all the more precious. And it made you think of creative ways if you didn’t have a certain brick.
Nowadays I can afford much more but I still think about every purchase and ask myself If I really need it or can use it for some project. And something that doesn’t get much attention: Lego needs space, a lot of space. Even with rotating your collection and selling certain stuff, it eats up space if you’re not careful.
So it’s good to read your story and I wish you many Lego filled years to come.
I've actually done some reorganising since writing this. One thing I never quite knew how to handle was storing and displaying minifigures. I was looking into maybe making a big brick-built display or something, but then I just thought, why don't I simply put them in front of the modulars? Saves a lot of space and makes those shelves look a lot more lively. I was also able to finally clear up the mess that was my very modest Star Wars shelf, so the whole display currently looks like this:
https://i.imgur.com/d5BONi1.jpg
Also, after reading some later entries I realised that I neglected to mention storing instructions. I don't know why I hold on to them, but I have a big drawer full of nearly all my instructions, LEGO catalogues and such. Nothing fancy like protective cases or big binders, just stacks of differently sized booklets.
https://i.imgur.com/Y14PIr1.jpg
@bananaworld
Thank you! I can't resist an Easter Egg... Even if nobody but me sees it.
@hntrain
Well, plenty of cereal boxes and such were salvaged for my storage for sure.
@Redbullgivesuwind
3, 6 and 7 are from Ebay, and 4 and 13 are from minifigures.com, although I may have changed some wigs and heads, most notably for 4. And then 11 and 12 are of course official minifigs, and 10 I just made out of the parts I already had.
@Legorides
Thank you very much. Yeah, I try to be very thoughtful about my LEGO purchases. You tend to have a lot more money as an adult, but also a lot more expenses. These days I mostly try to estimate what specific parts I need and then seek them out on Bricklink. However, every now and then I will just buy a set that I don't really need on impulse, just because I liked it. There is just some inexplicable joy in that.
Great idea for the minifigs! It also helps turn the builds from nearly dead to quite lively.
Your use of boxes for storage is very clever. I have used Lego boxes as gift boxes by turning them inside out and drawing or writing on them with markers, but I can see now that I have been under utilizing this resource. Thanks for the idea (also liking how shiny and clean the modulars are:)
Excellent work! It’s far more impressive to be able to organize and fit a collection into a smaller space than to have an entire basement to take up. The mixture of homemade storage and drawer cabinets is top notch
The labels do a great job of unifying the collection despite the different sizes and types of boxes used for storing things. I love that some of them are edited with arrows and such to show that you're not constrained by the labels once they're there. I've been doing TZ-tape labels, but I'd like to move to something like this which includes an image of the part also.
@hntrain said:
"How about recycling packaging from food or drink products? Why pay huge amounts of money for special containers, boxes, cases, drawers, cabinets when you can have their equivalent for free?
"
That I actually do already. I even have gotten some containers from family and friends.
Great creativity. I also use certain food containers that have been cleaned rather than throwing out more plastic waste
Thank you, this is the sort of thing I was really looking forward to seeing from these articles. It’s really cool to read about really over the top LEGO spaces, but I also love seeing really cool and efficient solutions :) thank you for your submission!
@LAKAbricks said:
"I even have gotten some containers from family and friends.
Planet Earth: "Most clever and thoughtful! Much appreciated!"
Do you have a document containing the labels as I am just resorting my Lego and like the detail those labels are at