Storage solutions: EarthGirl83
Posted by Huw,
Jennifer, aka EarthGirl83, shows us her LEGO collection:
Trying to keep my Lego organised is a continuing, but enjoyable, challenge.
While my collection is modest (officially a little over 15,000 pieces, but it is probably closer to 20,000 with loose parts) I still wanted to share it with you all.
Lego Patent Prints above my desk
I grew up during what I consider the Golden Age of Lego, during the late 80s and early 90s. Some of my fondest childhood memories are of building Lego with my cousin and brothers in those early years. Unfortunately, during middle/high school I entered my “Dark Age,” and it was during this time that those beloved sets from childhood were lost or sold.
In 2014, I came across a giant box of Lego at a garage sale. My heart jumped; I just couldn’t resist! I bought the box for $20, then spent two days cleaning all the bricks. I never counted them, but I would guess the box easily had a few thousand parts from a variety of City and Friends sets. My Dark Ages were over, and from there my collection has blossomed, now at 150 sets and 234 minifigures.
The themes I’m mostly interested in are City and Creator, with a few sets from other themes I find interesting here and there. My primary display area is a 48”x72” pine bookcase in the office, which also houses my books and other items.
My 48”x72” Bookcase Display
Below this display area is where all my parts are stored. They’re organised by colour in clear plastic bins I bought at the Dollar Store. Unique parts, or colours I only have a handful of parts in, are placed in Ziplock bags in one of the bins.
My loose parts, separated by colour
I hope to organise everything by specific part and colour, but for now I don’t have the room for a more elaborate organisation system. My desk doubles as my primary build area. Here, I store black and white bricks in an Akro-Mils 10144 20-Inch by 16-Inch by 6-1/2-Inch cabinet.
In the future I will probably buy more of these and label each drawer, and maybe I’ll have a decent part wall like some of those I’ve seen from other members.
My desk with Akro-Mils cabinet
Because of my limited space, about half my collection is stored in Sterilite 41Qt underbed bins. I try to rotate the displays once every few months so I can enjoy the entire collection:
The other half of my collection
The sets I have are mostly vehicles, but I am hoping to get more buildings for my minifigs to inhabit. I’ve also ordered frequently from the Pick-A-Brick service at Lego, and just started ordering from BrickLink.
I just finished a custom MOC Modular. The “Baker” is a café/bakery shop. Here figs can grab a bite to eat and a coffee on their way to work.
The “Baker” café/bakery shop
The second floor is a luxury studio apartment where a Rock n’ Roll artist lives, and she gives lessons if you need them! She also grows roses on the roof, and has a mischievous white cat. He’s busy looking for a rat hiding in the garbage under the stairs.
“Where is that rodent?!”
To the left of my desk is a small display shelf, affectionately called my “tiny” collection. This is where I keep smaller Creator sets and custom vignettes. I plan to replace this with a custom 30” wide, 6” deep, 72” high display cabinet with a plexi-glass door (I’m a woodworker/carpenter by trade) so I can display my entire vehicle collection, and use the bookcase for larger sets and displays.
The “tiny” collection
You’ll notice most of my sets are built per the instructions, though I have modified a few of them. I also have a ton of ideas for MOCs, but after building The Baker (which took months of planning), I have a new respect for the designers at Lego! My instructions are stored flat in a bag right now, but I plan to place them in plastic sleeves in binders, after reading woosterlegos article on the subject.
I live with my girlfriend, who is also an AFOL and incredibly supportive of my collection. One of her main interests is in Architecture, so her collection reflects this. Her sets/buildings are stored on a 30” wide bookcase in the living room behind plexi-glass. It keeps the dust out, and brightens up the room. Her spare parts are stored in a large plastic bin, and her parts collection is probably close to mine in size.
My girlfriend's display area
If we had the space, between her buildings and my vehicles we’d have a nice city, but I don’t think this is in the cards for now.
I hope you enjoyed my collection and storage solutions! Happy Bricking!
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14 comments on this article
I really like the tiny collection. Such a neat idea.
A very relatable Storage Solution; it should provide inspiration for a few people, including me.
...but what a twist on the series: a PAIR of AFOLs with separate displays & part collections! Have you SEEN The LEGO Movie 2...??
Rotating displays so you can enjoy more of your collection is a good idea. That bakery looks fantastic! It does take a lot of time and effort to build anything original and is extra challenging with a modest collection. Kudos to you for doing such a detailed job on it. Thanks for participating in the series!
@EarthGirl83: How did you connect the plexi-glass to the 'swedish'-bookcase?
Looks like a great solution for my own collection.
@bananaworld: I can fully relate to keeping your collections seperated. For me personally it creates a certain sense of individuality, a feeling that there's still a ME in the US. And also mixing Ice Planet with Fabuland... just "No" :-D That'd be like swearing in church!
@bananaworld said:
"
A very relatable Storage Solution; it should provide inspiration for a few people, including me.
...but what a twist on the series: a PAIR of AFOLs with separate displays & part collections! Have you SEEN The LEGO Movie 2...??"
Separation of Lego is probably a good idea as it would be a nightmare to separate if the relationship doesnt get past girlfriend/boyfriend, especially the parts collection.
Nice to see a more modest display/storage solution, I have a limited area to display so need to box things up and rotate as desired. I have a small room for storage/not just lego and the display area is in the lounge. I would love more space to permanently display the modulars though.
I've got an article ready to share but I can't seem to find an email address to share it with Brickset. The contact form doesn't appear to have any way of attaching pictures to go along with the article. Could someone point me in the correct direction?
I've used the under-bed sterilite containers before, these work great for storing and transporting small intact sets.
I like the glass attached to the bookcases, is this custom? How much did it cost?
^ helpdesk @ brickset.com
@mfg3000 : Part of the reason why The Baker took so long is because I wanted to make sure I told a compelling and interesting story around the building. I’m glad you liked it!
@nldarklord: The plexi-glass has 6 flat mending plates glued to the back of it on the inside, and these connect to magnets which we placed inside the bookcase on each side. Cheap, but effective.
And yes, GF and I keep our collections separate so we can maintain that individuality. Been together 6yrs but prefer to keep our things separate.
@curtydc: The magnets/plates were under $10, but the plexi-glass was around $30-$40 at Lowe’s. Hope this helps!
Great to see more realistic collection displays!
I'm a total fan of the tiny farm. It inspires me to build one right now, thanks for that!
I think those displays work well.
And the book-lover in me just HAS to know which books are on top of the bookcase? :D
@EarthGirl83 said:
"
@nldarklord: The plexi-glass has 6 flat mending plates glued to the back of it on the inside, and these connect to magnets which we placed inside the bookcase on each side. Cheap, but effective.
@curtydc: The magnets/plates were under $10, but the plexi-glass was around $30-$40 at Lowe’s. Hope this helps!
"
That is a genius idea!!
I also really like the idea with the plexi-glass. That could help me out in the fight against the dust! Am going to try to build something similar.
Thanks a lot! :)
@Paski said:
"I'm a total fan of the tiny farm. It inspires me to build one right now, thanks for that!"
It makes me smile every time I see it. Glad you like it! :D
@Loerwyn said:
"I think those displays work well.
And the book-lover in me just HAS to know which books are on top of the bookcase? :D"
Those books on the very top are the complete "Otherworld" Series by Yasmine Galenorn. Paranormal romance/urban fantasy. Really cool if you like vampires, elves/fae, magic, etc. The ones on the right are the complete "Indigo Court" series as well.
https://galenorn.com/