It happens to a lot of us as parents. We are in the store looking for the "perfect gift" for our kids. Then we turn down the LEGO aisle. So many to choose from! Such cute ones too. They look like so much fun that you can even picture helping your kid put them together. It will be a bonding experience. And who doesn't love LEGOs?! Its the "perfect gift"! So we buy them for our kids. And so it starts...
One set leads to another, and then another. And then one day your kid says that they need the big box of 500 random LEGOs because they want to make their own creation, not a pre-made set. You love that they want to be creative, so you add to the collection! Now they have so many LEGOs that you start to think, well how should we store them? What is the best way to organize all those tiny little bricks? You know they can't just stay on the floor, because that is just a big mess, and a hurt foot just waiting to happen when you step on one of them! You know you will too because that is what happens. And it hurts!
So, here are some ideas:
A clear crate/bin is one good way. This is our method and you will see below why it is perfect for my son! Something you can just dump them all in, slip under the bed, and pull it out next time your kid wants to play. And it is pretty easy to do clean up when you are just dumping them in a box. The disadvantage is that out of sight, out of mind, unorganized, and they might not get played with as much. Not to mention that when you are looking for that one particular lego or color, you need to dig through them all.
A multi-drawer cabinet is another idea because it is organized and out in the open. This option has different drawers that can even help separate the LEGOs into colors or shapes. Yellow in this drawer, red in this one, etc. This is great for finding the color you need but does not help at all when it comes to finding the LEGO shape you need. In that case, if you like to sort by the shape you can buy a sorter box. It exists. It's like sifting for gold (in this case the magic missing piece that is always needed, but impossible to find!) It has different sized grates so you put your LEGOs in and shake it. The small LEGOs will fall to the bottom tray and you can continue to sort like this till they are all separated by size in their own trays. That would take a lot of time, but for a very organized person it's a good option.
Sorting by Set. If your child loves to build LEGO pre-made sets but then takes them apart, you can use zip-lock bags to keep the pieces and the instructions for that set together. This is a great way to ensure they can build the set again in the future without having to dig through hundreds of random pieces. And you always need the instructions if you want to build it correctly.
But, what it really boils down to is that the best organizing system will be the one that works best for how your kid likes to play with them. Today I realized that my method of storage bins is perfect for my son. Absolutely perfect!! I told him to go do something creative. Apparently he heard "go make a huge mess, dump out all of your LEGOs, go make something cool, and I will help you clean it up later since I told you to do it". Anyway, he ran up to his room and that is when I hear the sound. You know that sound...that of hundreds of LEGOs getting dumped out of the bin onto the floor. Bet you can hear that sound I am talking about. The big mess sound that all parents know well. The one that you don't really want to see what it looks like but you know you need to. So, I waited a while, but then I slowly walked up the stairs. As I turned the corner to walk into his room I heard the really happy voice saying, "Mom, come look at what I made!!" He was so proud of himself and could not wait to show me the boat and hockey stick that he had made out of his LEGOs. What parent doesn't love seeing their kid proud?
And the cleanup won't be so bad when we get to it (we have more creations to make tomorrow). So, for tonight I will walk carefully in his room.
Let your kids create, let them feel proud, have fun playing with them, make memories, and find the perfect home for all those LEGOs!
Share below the best way for you to store your LEGOs!
