What some understand under sorting by color is to throw all pieces of a color into one bin. You have seperated compartments for each pieces type, so you mainly sort by piece and color because you have the pieces seperated by piece type and color. If one can only sort by one critera I would still recommend piece, because it can be hard to find a specific piece among other shapes with the same color.
I build similarly to BS. I have a rather large, unsorted collection (millions of pieces). It's daunting to tackle no matter how I sort them. I like to start with color and move to piece type after. This allows for MOC Building to continue alongside the never-ending sorting.
As someone that is completely out of the hobby, never even owned any lego, the way I see it is this: imagine a bucket of all blue pieces and you search for a 1x3 plate in there, you'll look for a while. If you have a bucket of all 1x3 plates of all colors and you search for a blue one, you will spot one quite quickly. But of course the best option is a combination of both!
Works for large parts but for the small ones when you know you're making a MOC that will use the same color in various shapes, not so efficient (in practice, for the record).
I’m currently in the process of reorganizing my collection, so I found today’s video really interesting. Especially because there’s no objectively “best” way to sort-it really depends on what you want to build, how much LEGO you have, how much of certain parts you own, and so on. Most of my sorting is by piece, and only in exceptional cases do I sort by color or a combination of both. For example, standard bricks in my collection are sorted by color and then roughly by type. For most other parts, I try to follow these four rules: (1) I use Bricklink categories as a guide. Bricklink is my go-to resource when I need parts, even if I don’t end up buying everything there. This means, for instance, that all curved slopes go into a drawer container sorted by type, unless there’s a strong reason to do otherwise (see the other rules). (2) Pieces that belong to the same “family” must be stored next to each other. For example, 6091 from the Curved Slope category has three larger “siblings” that Bricklink classifies as Arches (e.g., 6005). Similarly, 29119, which Bricklink categorizes as a Wedge, looks very similar to some Curved Slopes and I’ll need them in the same context. In short, “my” Curved Slopes include Bricklink’s Curved Slopes plus some Arches and Wedges. (3) Since my collection is large that it can be overwhelming, it’s extremely important to have frequently used parts easily accessible. This is one of the hardest rules to follow for various reasons. For example, the four types of jumpers are all used at different frequencies, but you’d expect to find them together (Rule 2). So I compromise here: one of my most important drawer containers holds all brackets, the headlight brick, the classic SNOT bricks, and all jumpers. (4) If some part types are so abundant that they don’t all fit into a drawer container, I only keep one color of each piece type easy accessible. For example, standard small plates ranging from 1 x 1 to 2 x 10. In these cases, I store only one color in the easily accessible drawer container-e.g., just black 1 x 8 plates because I have so many of them. All other colors go into zip bags stored in larger bins. This reduces the space required. My reasoning here is inspired by professional set designers, who often seem to use just one color of each part when prototyping, then swap in the correct colors later. I hope this approach will work for me too. If it doesn’t, it might be a good reason to switch to a system similar to yours, where color is often the primary sorting criterion. This is probably my longest RUclips comment ever. But if you create such interesting content, you bear at least part of the responsibility! :D
I also use a mix of sorting by part type for some and part and color for others. but in my case when I sort by color I do so by color palate so instead of having a bin of just classic blue I have a bin with all my blues and greens. This is because I'm more interested in castle mocs and landscape where it's often nice to have a mix of colors in the build. I also use a system of drawers that can be pulled out that are subdivided by 3d printed bins so if I'm working on a rock formation, I can bring my entire grey bin to the table, but I can also collect individual piece bins that I need for a build.
A very logical methodology. And one that I'm currently mimicking after finding your channel. I found this VERY effect during the October Challenge. I'll share on the Discord when ready. Personally, I think of it like a work bench. You keep most used "tools" easily accessible and the less used "tools" out of the way. The easily accessible "tools" depend on what you like to build.
This makes sense - I also mainly sort by piece type, but for those types where I have a lot of pieces I also sort by color. But to ONLY sort by color (if anyone is actually doing that) - that will quickly become awkward.
Multi tier method. The primary criteria is function/type. Blocks vs. plates vs. slopes. Clips and bars, angles, minifig related, etc. If we get to someting like one bys, it breaks down to squares, rounds, tiles... then, if I still have a relatively large number, by color and translucent. The containers are the walmart bead compartment boxes. Two different size boxes of those. If a larger number and volume, then upto one piece, folding, see through sandwich boxes (that unfortunately are no longer made). Next is cubic, approximately 1 qt. volume containers. Shoe box sized is where I store smaller on going projects. Tote sized boxes hold the previous listed containers. Three regular tote boxes and two flat 'under the bed' totes hold all my non-finished builds and pieces. Totes and shoe box are also used for the themed MOC builds my granddaughter played with when she was younger. 'Dinosaur park', Minions and friends, Space, Gotham... with the connected Undersea theme. It might seem chaotic, but with my building technique, parts scarcity, and choice of MOCs or set modifieds, it works.🙂 𓏠𓏠𓏠
Arguably sorting by piece is more efficient in terms of retrieving pieces, but man I love looking at sorted colors. Plus, like you, I sub-sort by piece anyway. When I was a kid I kept everything in one big bin and got to rummage around looking for each piece in the pile. Not very efficient, but loads of fun!
I sort by planned MOC in plastic bags in temporary bins etc. When I know roughly what I'll probably be using I gather the ones for it into one bin. Then they typically go back into boxes (the ones unused). I don't have much space for anything fancier. With some exceptions. I do sort Pearl Gold by color (subdivided by piece smaller bags in a larger one) for example; usually if I'll be using it at all I'll use more than one shape of it. And I do have a wide box for common small highly useful parts. Which ones actually get to claim a spot in that box versus overflow varies over time. I don't have much patience for plastic containers with the folding lids that take up so much space when folded open.
I sort by piece first, but if I have a lot of that piece, they then get subsorted into colors. I don't wanna sort through all my black pieces for example for a 1x2 with clip.
That's a good argument for sorting by colour, about needing like colours for a particular build. My collection has really only recently gotten big enough for me to actually consider having a build that's a specific colour, so most of the time I would sort by parts type. Now though, I do a bit of both. Colour, parts, and theme. Like plants; I haven't got much, so all the plants are just mixed in one container. But the thing you did with those leaf pieces, where they're all stacked together? I've been doing a lot of that. For example: I have a container that's for basic bricks, of all colours. But in that box, I have all of the 1x2 bricks in each colour, stacked and built together. (They're built into a 4x4 block tower) That way it's big and easy to find, and I can look in thinking "I need 1x2 yellow bricks", and find that block, and know "I have exactly this many." It also helps because more often than not, if I need one of a brick, I need more than one. My plates, I actually sort primarily by colour, but then by stacking like plates, so there's a box of white, but in that all the 2x4 plates are stacked, all the 2x3, 2x2, etc. (Obviously I'm not crazy enough to stack them right on top of each other: I offset them a bit.) I have a couple tackle boxes like that, which I use for hinge pieces, bigger hinge pieces, and really big hinge pieces. I use a lot of Bionicle bins for my sorting, because that's what I've got. :P My Bionicle bin categories are: Tiles, 1x1 round bricks, technic pins, technic pins with different ends, cheese slopes, jumper plates, 1x1 tiles, 1x1 plates (monochrome), 1x1 plates (colourful), 1x1 plates (transparent), printed/stickered pieces, and then some smaller ones for like, fire elements, crystals, 3M and 4M bars, foodstuffs, and control panels. Then there's some larger boxes for bigger categories. Basic bricks and plates of course, and then there's.. Technic bricks, Technic parts with only holes, Technic parts with pins or axles, Assorted large structural parts, Round/angled bricks, Arched/curved bricks, Sloped bricks (2 studs long), Sloped bricks (3+ studs long), Sloped Bricks (inverted), Snot-related parts, Car-related parts, and whatever else fits in with that and doesn't have a place elsewhere, and Assorted larger structural parts. Also one for "Weird huge parts that are very hard to make use of"
i have tons of technic and my kids regular bricks mostly. We keep everything mostly sorted by piece and function and also keep big box of unsorted mess, which is our main box if we want to build stuff quickly. Sometimes on weekends - almost ceremonial - the whole family sorts for and hour or two, its good teambuilding 😂… box is then backfilled with stuff we dont play much anymore. thanks so much for your videos, also my kids love watching them, tough they dont understand a word….
My sorting is severely limited by a lack of storage boxes, but I also use a similar system where I sort sometimes by colour and category or piece, sometimes only by category or only by colour. For example: connectors are in one bin by piece or category if I have few of them. Bricks are by colour and piece for the main colours but all together for the other colours.
I sort by color and within the color by piece. But because I only build one thing, a Medieval Village, I also sort by specific use, for example, a bin for bases, another for foundations, another for chimneys, another for trees, etc…
@ I think the key is to know what you like to build and then sort accordingly, so you have exactly what you need and want easily at hand. And always be willing to adapt, scrap what you’ve got and redo the sorting process. I certainly have 😂
My collection is rather large, so I've found sorting by part type makes more sense to me, especially when I have several hundred each of things like 1x10 and 1x12 plates, 13 long technic beans, and 2x14 plates that can easily be confused for different pieces. In my opinion, it's easier to find a 1x3 tan plate in a sea of 1x3 plates than in a sea of tan parts. For particularly large categories like 1x1plates, 1x1 round plates, and 1x1 round tiles, I'm sorting by color, too, as long as the color has a high enough quantity to justify it being separate
I just wanted to say thank you so so much for this video and showing me a way to sort by color that actually makes sense to my brain. I am a pretty new MoC builder and one my biggest challenges has been organizing my Lego in a way that helps my brain use it to create what I want. (I started out with all of my older brother's Lego that had been mixed together in a storage box). I had read all sorts of articles (and reddit threads) and watched all sorts of videos on sorting Lego and the by piece wasn't quite fitting. I did end up with one of those akromills style things with all the drawers and was sorting into it and it wasn't quite working. As I watched this video, I was working on a purple alien on a table where I had picked out most of the purple pieces from the drawers and boxes I could find and it was strewn across the table. So barely any space to work and impossible to find the piece I was just holding 2 minutes ago (let alone the one I wanted) I ended up after watching this ordering one of those tackle boxes (thanks other video) and in the meantime just collecting all of my purple pieces and something wonderful happened, pieces I hadn't even considered using ended up on the alien in cool ways. I'll still probably use the akromills style thing for things that aren't color specific/more function oriented but like, by color just makes sense cause I'm visualizing my creation already. It limits my options to what I have and allows for some chaos to fuel creativity. So, we'll see how the tackle boxes specifically work. But like, thank you so so so much cause I am def team by color then piece.
I love Lego, and the idea of having a little Lego workshop is super cool. And then I remember I have to source about 10,000 different bricks in 2,000 colors.
I have a much smaller collection, just leftover pieces from otherwise mostly missing lego sets, all small bonus pieces from newer sets and some extra stuff I had to buy to reach the minimum weight at the lego store. I have a single 60x40cm sorting box from Auer Packaging, really great quality, and instead of dividers like in the tackle boxes, it small different size interchangeable buckets. Due to the reliatively low amount of pieces I have, I sort by piece/piece type. I don't build much, I usually just try to improve existing sets, or replace missing pieces wherever needed. So basically every single time I'm looking for a specific type of piece and then I can just pull out its bucket and dump it on a tray to look for the color. I had a bit of an obsession with lego dots, so I have a separate smaller box, containing 1x1 plates and all of their variants sorted by color only, because for their use it's perfectly fine like that.
This is my sorting method: sort by piece if specialized > sort by color if a piece is in bulk > sort by color. So all my blue 1x4s are in one compartment, while my SNOT bricks are seperated by shape, but not by color. Meanwhile any bulk pieces I have (like the white 2x2 cylinder bricks from the OG rollercoaster) all are sorted separately.
Curve ball - I have a large collection of LEGO sets that have primarily stayed 'together' (assembled or unassembled) dating back to my teens, so what I have that's broken down into bins is sorted by set. Then the bins are organised by LEGO theme and when the sets were released (I have sets from the '80s through to present). More of an insurance policy in the event that if they're never used for MOC building and some relative gets lumped with them after I'm gone they'll be much more valuable to move on second-hand as collectables rather than being reduced to becoming a mere Facebook Marketplace bulk bin (or more appropriately, several bulk bins) of LEGO.
I'm still convinced there is a 50/50 split between sorting by colour or piece (and the vocal majority so happens to pick a side) but I like the way you use both to their advantages!
I actually build a sorting tower with wheels just last week for my collection. Sorting will be by piece primarily. Sorting by color also only if I have enough pieces of that color. I will see how happy I am with that system afterwards. Hopefully I will not have to make many changes afterwards.
If you can do only one of the two - sort by shape, not by color, it is far easier to find a specific color (among a single shape), than it is to find a specific shape (among a single color). You'll have to do this for SOME of your bricks anyway - there are way too many shapes and colors to be able to separate out everything.
By type should almost always be the primary way to sort. You have sorted by type as well as color - getting down to the granular element sorting - type and color - is ideal, but not often possible. I have far far too many pieces to try to do that. So I have a whole bin of SNOT, a bin of masonry, a bin of clip plates, etc. as the bins get too full to be useful they get sub sorted. For example at this point I have many different bins of basic plates - 1x2, 1x3, 1x4 and larger, 4x plates, curved and angled plates, etc. a few things I do have sorted by individual element if I have a lot of very specific pieces like dark red oars from a draft - they have their own small drawer. Right now I have probably over 300 different categories things are sorted into. Occasionally if I am building something with a specific color scheme it would be nice to have things sorted by color but I think the benefits of doing it otherwise outweigh. I also have to take into account that I have two children who also use the collection so going super granular doesn’t work. Not to mention that I add parts at a pretty steady rate and if I had everything super specific I would be constantly running out of room for specific parts and having to rearrange. My current setup is much easier to flex and grow dynamically.
That's funny, I recently switched my collection from "by piece" to "by color". It's just easier, like you said, to find a piece that fits into my build color-wise than by the shape, but if I had more in my collection, I'd probably use a two-tiered system like you do.
Amateur: I'll just sort by colour because I often use colours one at a time. Intermediate: I can never find anything in single colour bins so lets move to sorting by part. Advanced: I am opening 100 boxes to build anything - i'll move the high traffic items to single colour to save me time, the large items to bulk bins and everything else is by part. I am stuck at intermediate without the time at the moment needed to move to advanced. Edit: I do have a lot of stuff by theme as well.
For sorting i use both and i have draws and i have also a 3d printer that's usefull for making holders and small bins for managing parts and save more space for pieces !
I recently got carried away getting back into this hobby and ended up sorting by color. I had to at the time because I “accidentally” bought a lot of unsorted bulk in a short period of time and didn’t have an organization system built yet. So now I have huge bins of single colors. It took months and it’s a nightmare to build ANYTHING! I’ll eventually sort the colors into pieces and when there’s not a lot of a certain piece, I’ll lump all those colors together. Pretty much same as you.
I play Warhammer and have A LOT of spare plastic parts from model soldiers (heads, arms, guns, you name it). I sort them by part type (heads, whole weapon assemblies, "beauty" parts, miniatures bodies etc.), then by unit type (different infantry or tank/robot/monster), and then by faction (think of it as overall "color", except everything is mostly in grey plastic). I also have few tubs of unsorted stuff (think very generic pieces, parts that somehow got damaged beyond use/cognition, or just random things from eBay I have no idea what are even used for) and also very specific stuff (like pieces of ruins/bricks/rubble or plants). I think we have similar system, except I use little ziplock bags and cardboard boxes from models (I try to put parts into boxes with same/similar stuff on them, for example tank parts into tank box)
@@bricksculpt I wish my model parts were color-coded (they are usually grey, because that is neutral color that don't show up under paint), it would make visual identification a lot easier.
You are talking about *two concepts* with the same term of *"sorting"* (probably without realizing). The first concept I would call *"grouping"* (which sorted piles you put into the same case - or into adjacent drawers). And yes, minimizing the number of bins you have to open would usually be very sensible. And having it be obvious which bin(s) to search is also very important. The second concept I would call *"mingling"* (which pieces you combine into the same compartment). If you do this, it usually makes more sense to combine pieces that are as different as possible (while not having one piece drown out the other), like the 1x2s and 1x8s on the right side at 2:46. And color is the fastest to spot, followed by shape (rectangular versus round or sloped, Technic beams versus axles, ...), dimensions (2x4 plate versus 2x4 brick, 1x1 round brick versus Technic pins, ...), and finally detail (Technic axles with/without pin on the end; plates versus tiles, pieces with vertical clips versus horizontal clips, ...). Which concept is more important also depends on -- how many compartments you have in total -- if all of your compartments are accessible individually or if a bunch at a time are under the same lid -- how you build (if you build out the exact shape you want first with whatever color you have, then go online and order pieces in the correct colors, and then re-build - in that case you probably want to mingle everything with the same shape) -- if you sort the pieces within one set or if you sort all of your pieces
I really think it has everything to do with the overall quantity of Lego you have. You kinda have to determine what system to use based on that. Edit: commented before watching, you said as much yourself. Great video! I sort by part myself because until recently I had only a medium sized collection. Now that my collection is actually large and only growing, I'm seeing the merit of sorting by both color and part, like you do. There actually seems a lot in common between your sorting system and that of Tiago Caterino's; I think that says everything that needs to be said. My sorting system uses a lot of those units with tiny drawers, and they're all arranged around my build station, so almost everything is at arm's reach all the time. However, when I'm making a build, things become very messy. I often find myself dumping out entire drawers in order to determine how many of a particular colored piece I actually have, after getting an idea for how to proceed that is dependent on using multiple of the same piece in the same color. I'm okay with it for now. Personally I find sorting Lego to be relaxing, so I don't mind going from building and making a mess, to tidying up and sorting, and back again. I also think I have a somewhat unusual building process. Oftentimes I will begin building simply because I have an abundance of a certain color or piece that's taking up so much space it's difficult to actually sort it. Basically thinking, if I build something with this, I won't have to have such a large spot in my sorting system for it.
Makes sense! I constantly rearrange my (very small) collection (which is sorted by part by the way), mainly to make it as efficient as possible as to be able to cram as much LEGO as I possibly can in my small cabinet 😅 Ps: I really don't mind having to spend some time looking for parts. To me that is part of the relaxation process.
My whole childhood and into adulthood I kept all my Lego sorted by color. Now as I have begun trying to get rid of some old long disassembled sets and build MOCs I found this system does not work, having to dump each bag or bin out to find the piece I am looking for. I recently started resorting by piece, a very time consuming process, but already showing promise as I can just open a drawer and there is all of that piece type. Some will need further sorting later, as all my bricks are in a gallon ziploc bag, this made the other colors easier to go through, but now I have to dump that bag out to gather all the color I want. I also sell on Bricklink to mixed success so I may put the odd colored bricks on my store. I put all my bars in a drawer, but it is getting cluttered, I may have to sort by use and/or color. Definitely like your method, but my collection is smaller and I do not have that kind of space.
Method 1: sorted by color. Easy to sort, uses few bins. Pros: one or two bins for a project, Cons: hard to find the parts you want as they all look the same at a glance (worst with black parts) Method 2: sorted by type. A bit harder to sort, uses more bins. Pros: if you need to substitute a part with one of a different color this works great, easy to find what you need because color stands out. Cons: you need to pull out many bins to get a job done. Method 3: sorted by both. Hard to sort, uses many bins. Pros: you only pull out the bins you know you need, but otherwise it has both the pros and cons of the above two methods to different degrees. Method 4: sorted by "if I often need a bin of X, I'll just have a bin of X" like your technic pins, turntables, hinges, etc. This is actually peak but that's more because the color of these parts doesn't matter much. Best method hands down, but you don't usually sort all your parts this way, just those ones you always wanna grab quickly. Conclusion: Frankly it's gonna be messy no matter what you do lol. I wish I could find my parts with an LDD search engine in real life 😅
I mostly build minifig scale cars and try to optimize my LEGO spending. Since I don't always know what color I want my models to be while starting, I build mostly in black & white. Then after its done, I'll rebuild it in whatever color fits. This lets me only need to buy & sort pieces in 2 colors. I sort the most common part types (black & white mixed together) into a single 64 drawer acro-mills drawer set with some small bins in a desk drawer. Most of my excess colorful pieces go into gridfinity bins in more desk drawers sorted by type first. Then if bins get too full, I break them into general color groups. And then my larger & less used pieces get sorted into a couple of larger boxes. I'm wanting to get some of those tackle boxes to organize my box of my less frequently used parts. Similar to the ones shown in the video, but with all small divisions - I don't think I need the larger sections in the front half of those boxes. Any recommendations?
@@bricksculpt I was looking for the same size box that has up to 48 compartments, but I'm not sure if I'd be able to find a better deal than the boxes you showed. I'd probably end up finding parts to fill those larger compartments anyways.
I primarily sort by piece type and I use the Sterlite storage drawers which I’ve been struggling to stay within. It worked fine early in my collecting but as I’ve expanded my collection, I find that I have to use more than one drawer for some types of pieces. I’m also VERY space constrained for storing my collection though I do have a large drawer for the common bricks like 2x2, 2x4 and so on. I really like the Lego on the front of the storage in this video. Is that just super gluing a 1x4 plate to the front so you can attach what you need to? I have zero labels on my drawers so finding what I need is either memory based or by pulling out every drawer. 😂
1. BASIC full block 2× any length 2. 1x any length 3. Flat 2x any lenght 4. Flat 1x any length 5. 1x1 studs, round,square, pillar 6. all translucent 7. Standard roof slopes 8. Standard Inverted roof slopes 9. Small Wedge pieces and long roof slopes. 10. Pinkish, purple, coral pieces. 11. Plant pieces 12. minifigs 13. Large unusual pieces 14. Small unusual pieces 15. 16. 17. technic sorted 18. 19.wheels car airplain train elements. 20. Printed or stickered. 21. All tiles. 22. Minifig and doll accessories..wheelbarrow bikes paint brushes ect. 23. All plates from 3x3 on up 24. All angled plates and angled brickes. 25. Any and all clip and joint pieces. 26. All round 2x2 on up pieces.
Oh the sisyphean effort of having to sort my childhood collection (three average sized bins, two massive tubs, and a few misc containers here and there) before I know what I need to order, but having nowhere to efficiently keep the sorted lego as I go haha. I like your tackle boxes, but I have no idea how big my collection will be once sorted.
So, in addition to my jealousy over normal color vision, I'm also jealous of the obvious, almost OCD, level of organization you've got. I've been spending so much time this last week, getting the mess I have rearranged. Which is compounded by something that I've been putting off. Which is my late brother's stuff. He collected weapons, skulls, and left quite the mess in his bedroom. I'm now getting a handle on it because he's been gone 18 months now, and grieving is over. His room will be a showroom for sales until it becomes my Lego showroom/storage/personal pick a brick station. I'll be posting a video in the next couple weeks and would be ok with trading knives or something else for Lego. Or even sending you a gift of something that catches your eye. If you could only see my buckets, boxes, and bins of shame. If you're watching my posts, I'm sure you have seen some of my problems. I'm on it, I swear! Know anyone who wants a pool table? Although like a piano, they require professional movers that can be pricey, moving inside a city and moving across state lines are not that much different in cost. Lmk, anyone. Very nice pool table in good shape at a discount.
lol this is something I was wondering about when my mom asked me to try sorting out my old lego pieces to potentially give away and I just sort of gave up after a bit I did sort by piece though
Question..... So do you store the bulk of a piece in a larger box or do you still by color? I utilize a Dewey Decimel system that so far has worked, I DO have to look at a index card to verify the # I need but for most part its pretty quick. But I tried those types of containers, but found I would have MORE than 1 bin spot would hold.
Sort by what you have the most of. If you have 20 different pieces in 8 different colors, then you sort by pieces. If you only use 10 pieces but have them in 15 colors, then you sort by color.
Hey Chris! I am a college student and have gotten really into your videos recently and you have inspired me to create things! Only issue is, I don’t have a Lego collection! Is there a certain Lego product or set that you think could work as a small collection I can play with here at college without taking up too much space? Love your videos :)
That's a tough one. Moderation is not something I'm good at, lol. Do you use LEGO studio? It's a great way to build without having LEGO at your disposal. Thanks for watching my videos I'm glad they inspired you!
@ ive defenitely tried out studio, though just like you I enjoy the hands on experience that real life Lego brings :) as an engineering student hands on stuff is defenitely my cup of tea! I’m sure I can figure something out so I can participate in the December challenge 😁
I got nothing to say. I need about 100 hours to sort my stuff but I'm working on it. I posted three videos on what I've got working and I called you out on one, but it's all in good fun! I may want tips on soldering if you have any, but I think I can figure out what I need to do. Then, I will have a mostly Lego infinite mirror. I shouldn't need flux to connect wires should I? I've never done it before, but that's never hindered me, and failure is a learning experience, so I ain't worried either. I just need more time to get things done!
You’re sorted by piece, not by color. You put your bins of the same color in the same organizer, but when you look into them, they are sorted by piece. The reason people normally discourage sorting by color is when one big bin has all parts stored together, making it difficult to find small pieces within all the large pieces.
Folks like me who say “you should sort by part, not by color” would describe your system as sorted by part. I would say that my description of “by part” and “by color” matches what Tiago uses in his video from April 13, 2022 titled “Sorting Lego like a PRO” where he says “Never sort by color” but shows a drawer full of gray parts sorted by piece. He also shows what “by color” means when he shows a whole pile of black parts mixed together. So for those of us who say “sort by part”, you are sorted by part, not by color. 👍🏼 It’s just a matter of semantics, and clarifying what we mean when we say “don’t sort by color”.
It's both but I tend to lead with type vs color because the colors I usually try and stick them together, so red 1x4, blue 1x4 are all in the same place, with the 1x4 but because I stack all the same pieces together and interlace them, I really end up with the type leading the way. ruclips.net/video/lcPtJU0-3p0/видео.html (example video of how I do it and I still have to update this too)
I’ve just recently started sorting, it’s a controlled mess! All the modern Lego, from about 2000 (my kids and hand me down) to current is sorted now by color (after sorting out the fego! I’m looking at you megablox!). Some has been further sorted by parts and placed in small bags with the part number written on it. For MY (and my brothers) vintage Lego, I’m once again sorting by color and part. I don’t know why I’m making that cut off of timelines for Lego, maybe someday it will all be combined. But eventually it will all be color and piece sorted.
The best organization system is the organization system that works best for you. I used to be more rigid in my thinking regarding organization. However, over the years I've seen and learned a lot of things that would have seemed counter-intuitive, but ended up working much better than the rigid organizational systems I would have initially thought. Being flexible and having hybrid methods often ends up being the best method. Different people's brain work in different ways. Some people may see a plate piece that happens to have a clip on it. Others see a clip piece that happens to have a plate on it. Neither person is wrong, but how they choose to organize their parts will most likely be different. Expecting others to organize the same way you do is silly, because their brains work differently than yours (and that's NOT a bad thing).
I have very smal lego room (about 9 square meter) my loose lego bricks collection is almost 250.000 Bricks and in total about 9400 different bricks. I use primairly ikea plastic boxes in conjuntion with griplock bags. I use the sorting system from rebricable and each family of bricks has his own box. Then in this box i sort mostly by piece. Greetings from the Netherlands on rebriclable aka as opa_ijsje. (translation: granddad icecream).
What some understand under sorting by color is to throw all pieces of a color into one bin. You have seperated compartments for each pieces type, so you mainly sort by piece and color because you have the pieces seperated by piece type and color. If one can only sort by one critera I would still recommend piece, because it can be hard to find a specific piece among other shapes with the same color.
Well put
I build similarly to BS. I have a rather large, unsorted collection (millions of pieces). It's daunting to tackle no matter how I sort them. I like to start with color and move to piece type after. This allows for MOC Building to continue alongside the never-ending sorting.
As someone that is completely out of the hobby, never even owned any lego, the way I see it is this: imagine a bucket of all blue pieces and you search for a 1x3 plate in there, you'll look for a while. If you have a bucket of all 1x3 plates of all colors and you search for a blue one, you will spot one quite quickly. But of course the best option is a combination of both!
Works for large parts but for the small ones when you know you're making a MOC that will use the same color in various shapes, not so efficient (in practice, for the record).
Sounds like it really depends on you’re style of building.
I’m currently in the process of reorganizing my collection, so I found today’s video really interesting. Especially because there’s no objectively “best” way to sort-it really depends on what you want to build, how much LEGO you have, how much of certain parts you own, and so on. Most of my sorting is by piece, and only in exceptional cases do I sort by color or a combination of both. For example, standard bricks in my collection are sorted by color and then roughly by type. For most other parts, I try to follow these four rules:
(1) I use Bricklink categories as a guide.
Bricklink is my go-to resource when I need parts, even if I don’t end up buying everything there. This means, for instance, that all curved slopes go into a drawer container sorted by type, unless there’s a strong reason to do otherwise (see the other rules).
(2) Pieces that belong to the same “family” must be stored next to each other.
For example, 6091 from the Curved Slope category has three larger “siblings” that Bricklink classifies as Arches (e.g., 6005). Similarly, 29119, which Bricklink categorizes as a Wedge, looks very similar to some Curved Slopes and I’ll need them in the same context. In short, “my” Curved Slopes include Bricklink’s Curved Slopes plus some Arches and Wedges.
(3) Since my collection is large that it can be overwhelming, it’s extremely important to have frequently used parts easily accessible.
This is one of the hardest rules to follow for various reasons. For example, the four types of jumpers are all used at different frequencies, but you’d expect to find them together (Rule 2). So I compromise here: one of my most important drawer containers holds all brackets, the headlight brick, the classic SNOT bricks, and all jumpers.
(4) If some part types are so abundant that they don’t all fit into a drawer container, I only keep one color of each piece type easy accessible.
For example, standard small plates ranging from 1 x 1 to 2 x 10. In these cases, I store only one color in the easily accessible drawer container-e.g., just black 1 x 8 plates because I have so many of them. All other colors go into zip bags stored in larger bins. This reduces the space required. My reasoning here is inspired by professional set designers, who often seem to use just one color of each part when prototyping, then swap in the correct colors later. I hope this approach will work for me too. If it doesn’t, it might be a good reason to switch to a system similar to yours, where color is often the primary sorting criterion. This is probably my longest RUclips comment ever. But if you create such interesting content, you bear at least part of the responsibility! :D
That's an awesome breakdown of it, thatnks for adding this. I'm ok with long comments, I do this to learn so I always want to read opinions.
I also use a mix of sorting by part type for some and part and color for others. but in my case when I sort by color I do so by color palate so instead of having a bin of just classic blue I have a bin with all my blues and greens. This is because I'm more interested in castle mocs and landscape where it's often nice to have a mix of colors in the build. I also use a system of drawers that can be pulled out that are subdivided by 3d printed bins so if I'm working on a rock formation, I can bring my entire grey bin to the table, but I can also collect individual piece bins that I need for a build.
I like that system also. It also depends on your collection size.
A very logical methodology. And one that I'm currently mimicking after finding your channel. I found this VERY effect during the October Challenge. I'll share on the Discord when ready.
Personally, I think of it like a work bench. You keep most used "tools" easily accessible and the less used "tools" out of the way. The easily accessible "tools" depend on what you like to build.
Good to hear you're trying it this way, and it's working for you.
This makes sense - I also mainly sort by piece type, but for those types where I have a lot of pieces I also sort by color. But to ONLY sort by color (if anyone is actually doing that) - that will quickly become awkward.
Multi tier method. The primary criteria is function/type. Blocks vs. plates vs. slopes. Clips and bars, angles, minifig related, etc.
If we get to someting like one bys, it breaks down to squares, rounds, tiles... then, if I still have a relatively large number, by color and translucent.
The containers are the walmart bead compartment boxes. Two different size boxes of those. If a larger number and volume, then upto one piece, folding, see through sandwich boxes (that unfortunately are no longer made). Next is cubic, approximately 1 qt. volume containers. Shoe box sized is where I store smaller on going projects. Tote sized boxes hold the previous listed containers. Three regular tote boxes and two flat 'under the bed' totes hold all my non-finished builds and pieces.
Totes and shoe box are also used for the themed MOC builds my granddaughter played with when she was younger. 'Dinosaur park', Minions and friends, Space, Gotham... with the connected Undersea theme.
It might seem chaotic, but with my building technique, parts scarcity, and choice of MOCs or set modifieds, it works.🙂 𓏠𓏠𓏠
Sounds like you have quite the system going!
Arguably sorting by piece is more efficient in terms of retrieving pieces, but man I love looking at sorted colors. Plus, like you, I sub-sort by piece anyway.
When I was a kid I kept everything in one big bin and got to rummage around looking for each piece in the pile. Not very efficient, but loads of fun!
Yeah every now and then, the nostalgia of digging to the bottom of a bin for a 1x2 plate brings back a simpler time lol
I sort by planned MOC in plastic bags in temporary bins etc. When I know roughly what I'll probably be using I gather the ones for it into one bin. Then they typically go back into boxes (the ones unused). I don't have much space for anything fancier. With some exceptions. I do sort Pearl Gold by color (subdivided by piece smaller bags in a larger one) for example; usually if I'll be using it at all I'll use more than one shape of it. And I do have a wide box for common small highly useful parts. Which ones actually get to claim a spot in that box versus overflow varies over time. I don't have much patience for plastic containers with the folding lids that take up so much space when folded open.
Sorting by moc makes sense
I sort by piece first, but if I have a lot of that piece, they then get subsorted into colors. I don't wanna sort through all my black pieces for example for a 1x2 with clip.
That's a good argument for sorting by colour, about needing like colours for a particular build. My collection has really only recently gotten big enough for me to actually consider having a build that's a specific colour, so most of the time I would sort by parts type. Now though, I do a bit of both. Colour, parts, and theme. Like plants; I haven't got much, so all the plants are just mixed in one container. But the thing you did with those leaf pieces, where they're all stacked together? I've been doing a lot of that. For example: I have a container that's for basic bricks, of all colours. But in that box, I have all of the 1x2 bricks in each colour, stacked and built together. (They're built into a 4x4 block tower) That way it's big and easy to find, and I can look in thinking "I need 1x2 yellow bricks", and find that block, and know "I have exactly this many." It also helps because more often than not, if I need one of a brick, I need more than one.
My plates, I actually sort primarily by colour, but then by stacking like plates, so there's a box of white, but in that all the 2x4 plates are stacked, all the 2x3, 2x2, etc. (Obviously I'm not crazy enough to stack them right on top of each other: I offset them a bit.) I have a couple tackle boxes like that, which I use for hinge pieces, bigger hinge pieces, and really big hinge pieces. I use a lot of Bionicle bins for my sorting, because that's what I've got. :P My Bionicle bin categories are: Tiles, 1x1 round bricks, technic pins, technic pins with different ends, cheese slopes, jumper plates, 1x1 tiles, 1x1 plates (monochrome), 1x1 plates (colourful), 1x1 plates (transparent), printed/stickered pieces, and then some smaller ones for like, fire elements, crystals, 3M and 4M bars, foodstuffs, and control panels.
Then there's some larger boxes for bigger categories. Basic bricks and plates of course, and then there's.. Technic bricks, Technic parts with only holes, Technic parts with pins or axles, Assorted large structural parts, Round/angled bricks, Arched/curved bricks, Sloped bricks (2 studs long), Sloped bricks (3+ studs long), Sloped Bricks (inverted), Snot-related parts, Car-related parts, and whatever else fits in with that and doesn't have a place elsewhere, and Assorted larger structural parts. Also one for "Weird huge parts that are very hard to make use of"
i have tons of technic and my kids regular bricks mostly. We keep everything mostly sorted by piece and function and also keep big box of unsorted mess, which is our main box if we want to build stuff quickly. Sometimes on weekends - almost ceremonial - the whole family sorts for and hour or two, its good teambuilding 😂… box is then backfilled with stuff we dont play much anymore.
thanks so much for your videos, also my kids love watching them, tough they dont understand a word….
Thank you so much!
My sorting is severely limited by a lack of storage boxes, but I also use a similar system where I sort sometimes by colour and category or piece, sometimes only by category or only by colour. For example: connectors are in one bin by piece or category if I have few of them. Bricks are by colour and piece for the main colours but all together for the other colours.
I sort by color and within the color by piece. But because I only build one thing, a Medieval Village, I also sort by specific use, for example, a bin for bases, another for foundations, another for chimneys, another for trees, etc…
I like it
@ I think the key is to know what you like to build and then sort accordingly, so you have exactly what you need and want easily at hand. And always be willing to adapt, scrap what you’ve got and redo the sorting process. I certainly have 😂
My collection is rather large, so I've found sorting by part type makes more sense to me, especially when I have several hundred each of things like 1x10 and 1x12 plates, 13 long technic beans, and 2x14 plates that can easily be confused for different pieces. In my opinion, it's easier to find a 1x3 tan plate in a sea of 1x3 plates than in a sea of tan parts. For particularly large categories like 1x1plates, 1x1 round plates, and 1x1 round tiles, I'm sorting by color, too, as long as the color has a high enough quantity to justify it being separate
I do hybrid sorting, sort of the same way you do. Glad to see I’m not the only one
That seems to be more popular than I thought.
I just wanted to say thank you so so much for this video and showing me a way to sort by color that actually makes sense to my brain. I am a pretty new MoC builder and one my biggest challenges has been organizing my Lego in a way that helps my brain use it to create what I want. (I started out with all of my older brother's Lego that had been mixed together in a storage box).
I had read all sorts of articles (and reddit threads) and watched all sorts of videos on sorting Lego and the by piece wasn't quite fitting. I did end up with one of those akromills style things with all the drawers and was sorting into it and it wasn't quite working. As I watched this video, I was working on a purple alien on a table where I had picked out most of the purple pieces from the drawers and boxes I could find and it was strewn across the table. So barely any space to work and impossible to find the piece I was just holding 2 minutes ago (let alone the one I wanted)
I ended up after watching this ordering one of those tackle boxes (thanks other video) and in the meantime just collecting all of my purple pieces and something wonderful happened, pieces I hadn't even considered using ended up on the alien in cool ways. I'll still probably use the akromills style thing for things that aren't color specific/more function oriented but like, by color just makes sense cause I'm visualizing my creation already. It limits my options to what I have and allows for some chaos to fuel creativity. So, we'll see how the tackle boxes specifically work. But like, thank you so so so much cause I am def team by color then piece.
Awesome I'm glad it's working well for you!!!
I love Lego, and the idea of having a little Lego workshop is super cool.
And then I remember I have to source about 10,000 different bricks in 2,000 colors.
Lol yeah it's a nasty addiction
I too always build in a few select colors at a time and use small detail pieces. Sorting by color allows you to get all of your options out at once
I have a much smaller collection, just leftover pieces from otherwise mostly missing lego sets, all small bonus pieces from newer sets and some extra stuff I had to buy to reach the minimum weight at the lego store. I have a single 60x40cm sorting box from Auer Packaging, really great quality, and instead of dividers like in the tackle boxes, it small different size interchangeable buckets. Due to the reliatively low amount of pieces I have, I sort by piece/piece type. I don't build much, I usually just try to improve existing sets, or replace missing pieces wherever needed. So basically every single time I'm looking for a specific type of piece and then I can just pull out its bucket and dump it on a tray to look for the color. I had a bit of an obsession with lego dots, so I have a separate smaller box, containing 1x1 plates and all of their variants sorted by color only, because for their use it's perfectly fine like that.
Yeah, that is a good example of how the size and purpose of the collection dictates how you sort.
This is my sorting method: sort by piece if specialized > sort by color if a piece is in bulk > sort by color. So all my blue 1x4s are in one compartment, while my SNOT bricks are seperated by shape, but not by color. Meanwhile any bulk pieces I have (like the white 2x2 cylinder bricks from the OG rollercoaster) all are sorted separately.
Curve ball - I have a large collection of LEGO sets that have primarily stayed 'together' (assembled or unassembled) dating back to my teens, so what I have that's broken down into bins is sorted by set. Then the bins are organised by LEGO theme and when the sets were released (I have sets from the '80s through to present). More of an insurance policy in the event that if they're never used for MOC building and some relative gets lumped with them after I'm gone they'll be much more valuable to move on second-hand as collectables rather than being reduced to becoming a mere Facebook Marketplace bulk bin (or more appropriately, several bulk bins) of LEGO.
I'm still convinced there is a 50/50 split between sorting by colour or piece (and the vocal majority so happens to pick a side) but I like the way you use both to their advantages!
Thanks, I agree with your take
I actually build a sorting tower with wheels just last week for my collection. Sorting will be by piece primarily. Sorting by color also only if I have enough pieces of that color.
I will see how happy I am with that system afterwards. Hopefully I will not have to make many changes afterwards.
If you can do only one of the two - sort by shape, not by color, it is far easier to find a specific color (among a single shape), than it is to find a specific shape (among a single color).
You'll have to do this for SOME of your bricks anyway - there are way too many shapes and colors to be able to separate out everything.
I needed this too - so much Lego to sort!!! 😂😂😂 excellent idea ❤
Glad it was helpful! Thanks
By type should almost always be the primary way to sort. You have sorted by type as well as color - getting down to the granular element sorting - type and color - is ideal, but not often possible. I have far far too many pieces to try to do that. So I have a whole bin of SNOT, a bin of masonry, a bin of clip plates, etc. as the bins get too full to be useful they get sub sorted. For example at this point I have many different bins of basic plates - 1x2, 1x3, 1x4 and larger, 4x plates, curved and angled plates, etc. a few things I do have sorted by individual element if I have a lot of very specific pieces like dark red oars from a draft - they have their own small drawer. Right now I have probably over 300 different categories things are sorted into. Occasionally if I am building something with a specific color scheme it would be nice to have things sorted by color but I think the benefits of doing it otherwise outweigh. I also have to take into account that I have two children who also use the collection so going super granular doesn’t work. Not to mention that I add parts at a pretty steady rate and if I had everything super specific I would be constantly running out of room for specific parts and having to rearrange. My current setup is much easier to flex and grow dynamically.
That's funny, I recently switched my collection from "by piece" to "by color". It's just easier, like you said, to find a piece that fits into my build color-wise than by the shape, but if I had more in my collection, I'd probably use a two-tiered system like you do.
Amateur: I'll just sort by colour because I often use colours one at a time.
Intermediate: I can never find anything in single colour bins so lets move to sorting by part.
Advanced: I am opening 100 boxes to build anything - i'll move the high traffic items to single colour to save me time, the large items to bulk bins and everything else is by part.
I am stuck at intermediate without the time at the moment needed to move to advanced.
Edit: I do have a lot of stuff by theme as well.
Lol I love this take on it and yes there is a lot of truth to this.
Expert Sans Money: I put my five parts in one small bin.
(Kidding.)
For sorting i use both and i have draws and i have also a 3d printer that's usefull for making holders and small bins for managing parts and save more space for pieces !
I recently got carried away getting back into this hobby and ended up sorting by color. I had to at the time because I “accidentally” bought a lot of unsorted bulk in a short period of time and didn’t have an organization system built yet. So now I have huge bins of single colors. It took months and it’s a nightmare to build ANYTHING! I’ll eventually sort the colors into pieces and when there’s not a lot of a certain piece, I’ll lump all those colors together. Pretty much same as you.
Nice I hope it works out for you.
I play Warhammer and have A LOT of spare plastic parts from model soldiers (heads, arms, guns, you name it).
I sort them by part type (heads, whole weapon assemblies, "beauty" parts, miniatures bodies etc.), then by unit type (different infantry or tank/robot/monster), and then by faction (think of it as overall "color", except everything is mostly in grey plastic). I also have few tubs of unsorted stuff (think very generic pieces, parts that somehow got damaged beyond use/cognition, or just random things from eBay I have no idea what are even used for) and also very specific stuff (like pieces of ruins/bricks/rubble or plants).
I think we have similar system, except I use little ziplock bags and cardboard boxes from models (I try to put parts into boxes with same/similar stuff on them, for example tank parts into tank box)
yeah that is a pretty similar system
@@bricksculpt I wish my model parts were color-coded (they are usually grey, because that is neutral color that don't show up under paint), it would make visual identification a lot easier.
You are talking about *two concepts* with the same term of *"sorting"* (probably without realizing). The first concept I would call *"grouping"* (which sorted piles you put into the same case - or into adjacent drawers). And yes, minimizing the number of bins you have to open would usually be very sensible. And having it be obvious which bin(s) to search is also very important. The second concept I would call *"mingling"* (which pieces you combine into the same compartment). If you do this, it usually makes more sense to combine pieces that are as different as possible (while not having one piece drown out the other), like the 1x2s and 1x8s on the right side at 2:46. And color is the fastest to spot, followed by shape (rectangular versus round or sloped, Technic beams versus axles, ...), dimensions (2x4 plate versus 2x4 brick, 1x1 round brick versus Technic pins, ...), and finally detail (Technic axles with/without pin on the end; plates versus tiles, pieces with vertical clips versus horizontal clips, ...).
Which concept is more important also depends on
-- how many compartments you have in total
-- if all of your compartments are accessible individually or if a bunch at a time are under the same lid
-- how you build (if you build out the exact shape you want first with whatever color you have, then go online and order pieces in the correct colors, and then re-build - in that case you probably want to mingle everything with the same shape)
-- if you sort the pieces within one set or if you sort all of your pieces
That's a good take on it, I like the grouping and mingling part. We'll put
I really think it has everything to do with the overall quantity of Lego you have. You kinda have to determine what system to use based on that.
Edit: commented before watching, you said as much yourself. Great video!
I sort by part myself because until recently I had only a medium sized collection. Now that my collection is actually large and only growing, I'm seeing the merit of sorting by both color and part, like you do. There actually seems a lot in common between your sorting system and that of Tiago Caterino's; I think that says everything that needs to be said.
My sorting system uses a lot of those units with tiny drawers, and they're all arranged around my build station, so almost everything is at arm's reach all the time. However, when I'm making a build, things become very messy. I often find myself dumping out entire drawers in order to determine how many of a particular colored piece I actually have, after getting an idea for how to proceed that is dependent on using multiple of the same piece in the same color. I'm okay with it for now. Personally I find sorting Lego to be relaxing, so I don't mind going from building and making a mess, to tidying up and sorting, and back again.
I also think I have a somewhat unusual building process. Oftentimes I will begin building simply because I have an abundance of a certain color or piece that's taking up so much space it's difficult to actually sort it. Basically thinking, if I build something with this, I won't have to have such a large spot in my sorting system for it.
Thanks for your input and thanks for watching!
Makes sense!
I constantly rearrange my (very small) collection (which is sorted by part by the way), mainly to make it as efficient as possible as to be able to cram as much LEGO as I possibly can in my small cabinet 😅
Ps: I really don't mind having to spend some time looking for parts. To me that is part of the relaxation process.
That makes sense. As a collection grows the time searching grows also though and becomes less fun lol. Thanks for adding this!
@bricksculpt I understand! 🤣
My whole childhood and into adulthood I kept all my Lego sorted by color. Now as I have begun trying to get rid of some old long disassembled sets and build MOCs I found this system does not work, having to dump each bag or bin out to find the piece I am looking for. I recently started resorting by piece, a very time consuming process, but already showing promise as I can just open a drawer and there is all of that piece type. Some will need further sorting later, as all my bricks are in a gallon ziploc bag, this made the other colors easier to go through, but now I have to dump that bag out to gather all the color I want. I also sell on Bricklink to mixed success so I may put the odd colored bricks on my store. I put all my bars in a drawer, but it is getting cluttered, I may have to sort by use and/or color. Definitely like your method, but my collection is smaller and I do not have that kind of space.
I think the best way is what suits YOUR own way. There are just too many “backseat drivers” on the internet. Just do what you are comfortable with.
I agree 100%
Method 1: sorted by color. Easy to sort, uses few bins. Pros: one or two bins for a project, Cons: hard to find the parts you want as they all look the same at a glance (worst with black parts)
Method 2: sorted by type. A bit harder to sort, uses more bins. Pros: if you need to substitute a part with one of a different color this works great, easy to find what you need because color stands out. Cons: you need to pull out many bins to get a job done.
Method 3: sorted by both. Hard to sort, uses many bins. Pros: you only pull out the bins you know you need, but otherwise it has both the pros and cons of the above two methods to different degrees.
Method 4: sorted by "if I often need a bin of X, I'll just have a bin of X" like your technic pins, turntables, hinges, etc. This is actually peak but that's more because the color of these parts doesn't matter much. Best method hands down, but you don't usually sort all your parts this way, just those ones you always wanna grab quickly.
Conclusion:
Frankly it's gonna be messy no matter what you do lol. I wish I could find my parts with an LDD search engine in real life 😅
I like your breakdown, you sumed it up nice.
Needed this today. How convenient
Perfect timing!
I mostly build minifig scale cars and try to optimize my LEGO spending. Since I don't always know what color I want my models to be while starting, I build mostly in black & white. Then after its done, I'll rebuild it in whatever color fits.
This lets me only need to buy & sort pieces in 2 colors. I sort the most common part types (black & white mixed together) into a single 64 drawer acro-mills drawer set with some small bins in a desk drawer. Most of my excess colorful pieces go into gridfinity bins in more desk drawers sorted by type first. Then if bins get too full, I break them into general color groups. And then my larger & less used pieces get sorted into a couple of larger boxes.
I'm wanting to get some of those tackle boxes to organize my box of my less frequently used parts. Similar to the ones shown in the video, but with all small divisions - I don't think I need the larger sections in the front half of those boxes. Any recommendations?
They make smaller tackle boxes
ruclips.net/video/lqBagleMjbA/видео.html
@@bricksculpt I was looking for the same size box that has up to 48 compartments, but I'm not sure if I'd be able to find a better deal than the boxes you showed. I'd probably end up finding parts to fill those larger compartments anyways.
The method I use is color for the 1x1 round studs, and type for everything else.
I primarily sort by piece type and I use the Sterlite storage drawers which I’ve been struggling to stay within. It worked fine early in my collecting but as I’ve expanded my collection, I find that I have to use more than one drawer for some types of pieces. I’m also VERY space constrained for storing my collection though I do have a large drawer for the common bricks like 2x2, 2x4 and so on.
I really like the Lego on the front of the storage in this video. Is that just super gluing a 1x4 plate to the front so you can attach what you need to? I have zero labels on my drawers so finding what I need is either memory based or by pulling out every drawer. 😂
1. BASIC full block 2× any length
2. 1x any length
3. Flat 2x any lenght
4. Flat 1x any length
5. 1x1 studs, round,square, pillar
6. all translucent
7. Standard roof slopes
8. Standard Inverted roof slopes
9. Small Wedge pieces and long roof slopes.
10. Pinkish, purple, coral pieces.
11. Plant pieces
12. minifigs
13. Large unusual pieces
14. Small unusual pieces
15. 16. 17. technic sorted
18. 19.wheels car airplain train elements.
20. Printed or stickered.
21. All tiles.
22. Minifig and doll accessories..wheelbarrow bikes paint brushes ect.
23. All plates from 3x3 on up
24. All angled plates and angled brickes.
25. Any and all clip and joint pieces.
26. All round 2x2 on up pieces.
That's quite the system!
I forgot the part-ridge in the pair tree. Really though I did forget a few more like animals.
Most excellent.
Oh the sisyphean effort of having to sort my childhood collection (three average sized bins, two massive tubs, and a few misc containers here and there) before I know what I need to order, but having nowhere to efficiently keep the sorted lego as I go haha. I like your tackle boxes, but I have no idea how big my collection will be once sorted.
You and me both!
So, in addition to my jealousy over normal color vision, I'm also jealous of the obvious, almost OCD, level of organization you've got. I've been spending so much time this last week, getting the mess I have rearranged. Which is compounded by something that I've been putting off. Which is my late brother's stuff. He collected weapons, skulls, and left quite the mess in his bedroom. I'm now getting a handle on it because he's been gone 18 months now, and grieving is over. His room will be a showroom for sales until it becomes my Lego showroom/storage/personal pick a brick station. I'll be posting a video in the next couple weeks and would be ok with trading knives or something else for Lego. Or even sending you a gift of something that catches your eye. If you could only see my buckets, boxes, and bins of shame. If you're watching my posts, I'm sure you have seen some of my problems.
I'm on it, I swear! Know anyone who wants a pool table? Although like a piano, they require professional movers that can be pricey, moving inside a city and moving across state lines are not that much different in cost. Lmk, anyone. Very nice pool table in good shape at a discount.
Sound like you have quite the project ahead of you!
It is a lot easier to find a color in a bin of the same part than it is to find a part in a bin of the same color.
lol this is something I was wondering about when my mom asked me to try sorting out my old lego pieces to potentially give away and I just sort of gave up after a bit I did sort by piece though
Question..... So do you store the bulk of a piece in a larger box or do you still by color? I utilize a Dewey Decimel system that so far has worked, I DO have to look at a index card to verify the # I need but for most part its pretty quick. But I tried those types of containers, but found I would have MORE than 1 bin spot would hold.
Definitely a “type of part” sorter. But your system looks great. Where is the table mat from by the way?
Rebrickable
ruclips.net/video/IxxhpCoinFg/видео.html
As a metalworker and a woodworker and a mason i can strongly say that sorting by piece is better
Wouldn't you think those things would apply differently as color doesn't play as important of a role in those trades?
Sort by what you have the most of. If you have 20 different pieces in 8 different colors, then you sort by pieces. If you only use 10 pieces but have them in 15 colors, then you sort by color.
That's smart
I always sort by colour! But the way i store my collection is also absolutely unhinged…
Hey Chris! I am a college student and have gotten really into your videos recently and you have inspired me to create things! Only issue is, I don’t have a Lego collection! Is there a certain Lego product or set that you think could work as a small collection I can play with here at college without taking up too much space?
Love your videos :)
That's a tough one. Moderation is not something I'm good at, lol. Do you use LEGO studio? It's a great way to build without having LEGO at your disposal. Thanks for watching my videos I'm glad they inspired you!
@ ive defenitely tried out studio, though just like you I enjoy the hands on experience that real life Lego brings :) as an engineering student hands on stuff is defenitely my cup of tea! I’m sure I can figure something out so I can participate in the December challenge 😁
December challenge update coming tomorrow
I got nothing to say. I need about 100 hours to sort my stuff but I'm working on it.
I posted three videos on what I've got working and I called you out on one, but it's all in good fun!
I may want tips on soldering if you have any, but I think I can figure out what I need to do. Then, I will have a mostly Lego infinite mirror. I shouldn't need flux to connect wires should I? I've never done it before, but that's never hindered me, and failure is a learning experience, so I ain't worried either. I just need more time to get things done!
Im a good welder, but honestly, I haven't ever soldered, but I hear it's quite easy. I'm not typically one to work on electronics.
I sort by use case or theme
You’re sorted by piece, not by color. You put your bins of the same color in the same organizer, but when you look into them, they are sorted by piece.
The reason people normally discourage sorting by color is when one big bin has all parts stored together, making it difficult to find small pieces within all the large pieces.
Yeah my system does both.
Folks like me who say “you should sort by part, not by color” would describe your system as sorted by part.
I would say that my description of “by part” and “by color” matches what Tiago uses in his video from April 13, 2022 titled “Sorting Lego like a PRO” where he says “Never sort by color” but shows a drawer full of gray parts sorted by piece.
He also shows what “by color” means when he shows a whole pile of black parts mixed together. So for those of us who say “sort by part”, you are sorted by part, not by color. 👍🏼
It’s just a matter of semantics, and clarifying what we mean when we say “don’t sort by color”.
Well put I should phrase it different.
It's both but I tend to lead with type vs color because the colors I usually try and stick them together, so red 1x4, blue 1x4 are all in the same place, with the 1x4 but because I stack all the same pieces together and interlace them, I really end up with the type leading the way.
ruclips.net/video/lcPtJU0-3p0/видео.html
(example video of how I do it and I still have to update this too)
What sorting containers are those? Do you have a link?
Ohh tackle boxes
ruclips.net/video/lqBagleMjbA/видео.html
Heres a video about them
I so enjoy your videos, would love to chat w/ you sometime 👍
You can always email me bricksculpt.chris@gmail.com or hop on the discord server. Thanks for your support!
No stupid brain! Smart! It's what works for you!
Lol
I’ve just recently started sorting, it’s a controlled mess! All the modern Lego, from about 2000 (my kids and hand me down) to current is sorted now by color (after sorting out the fego! I’m looking at you megablox!). Some has been further sorted by parts and placed in small bags with the part number written on it. For MY (and my brothers) vintage Lego, I’m once again sorting by color and part. I don’t know why I’m making that cut off of timelines for Lego, maybe someday it will all be combined. But eventually it will all be color and piece sorted.
The best organization system is the organization system that works best for you. I used to be more rigid in my thinking regarding organization. However, over the years I've seen and learned a lot of things that would have seemed counter-intuitive, but ended up working much better than the rigid organizational systems I would have initially thought. Being flexible and having hybrid methods often ends up being the best method.
Different people's brain work in different ways. Some people may see a plate piece that happens to have a clip on it. Others see a clip piece that happens to have a plate on it. Neither person is wrong, but how they choose to organize their parts will most likely be different. Expecting others to organize the same way you do is silly, because their brains work differently than yours (and that's NOT a bad thing).
I totally agree it has to make sense to the user.
I have very smal lego room (about 9 square meter) my loose lego bricks collection is almost 250.000 Bricks and in total about 9400 different bricks. I use primairly ikea plastic boxes in conjuntion with griplock bags. I use the sorting system from rebricable and each family of bricks has his own box. Then in this box i sort mostly by piece. Greetings from the Netherlands on rebriclable aka as opa_ijsje. (translation: granddad icecream).
Sounds like a good system to maximize the small space!