Does anyone else have a love/hate relationship with LEGOs? They are such an incredible toy for creativity, engineering skills, and so many other things... and yet, if you've ever stepped on a LEGO or multiple LEGOS you know all too well that their awesomeness immediately disappears.
After reading this, we hope that you only have a love/love relationship with LEGOS moving forward. It can feel like an impossible task to find a way to store Legos that will keep your kids playing with them but also can contain the mess. We have a few suggestions for you today.
LEGO Storage Systems
1. Under the Bed - all together OR separated by size and/or color
Under the bed is a great place to store LEGOs because you usually have a fairly large space to work with, it hides the mess, and it's easy for kids to pull out containers and sit right then and there and play. We keep all our LEGOs together in an under-the-bed box because it has a larger surface area and is easy to dig through, so the LEGOs don't get dumped out in an attempt to find things. If you want them under the bed and separated by size and/or color, you can put them in storage bins with dividers.
In the picture below, the storage bins were then placed in custom toy bins, which can be more aesthetically pleasing as well as add another layer of protection from babies and toddlers if you need it. You can find a wide range of bins like this at Target and a lot of places. Along with sorting by size or color, it can also be helpful to separate out LEGO people and accessories like motorcycles and boats, and then keep all the bricks together in separate containers.
2. Display LEGO Mini-Figures on a Shelf
I have a client who keeps all her LEGO guys on display on a fun rack. It serves as a unique and colorful wall hanging as well as storage for her LEGO guys. You can find it on Etsy.
3. Sort LEGOs by Color (and incorporate them in with your other toys)
Not everyone likes to have their LEGOs hidden under a bed or shut away in a closet. In the picture below, we sorted the LEGOs by color, put them in shimo bins, and put them on the toy shelf with the other toys and books the children in this home played with. It works great for this family.
4. Store LEGOs by Sets
Place all the pieces for a specific set in a bin. Our bins from The Container Store come in many different sizes. The shoe box size would be ideal for the average lego set and the tall shoe size works great for larger sets and pieces. They are stackable, so this works really well if you have a closet or shelving system dedicated to LEGOs.
If you need a system that doesn't take up as much space, you can store your LEGO sets in the same way that I love to store games (read my blog post on game organization here). Put your sets into zipper pouches (they come in all different sizes), stick a label on it (my favorite labeler is linked Ptouch Cube Plus label maker), and store it in my favorite nordic bins or chancellor baskets. You can even give each bin or basket a theme, i.e. Harry Potter LEGOs in one, Ninjago in another, etc.
5. Store Your Instructions in an Accessible Way
Figuring out what to do with those pesky-but-necessary LEGO instructions is no joke. Here are a few ideas that might work for your family.
Keep the instructions with the set. If you're storing your Legos by set, this option works great. Just stick the instructions in that shoe box bin or zipper pouch, and you're good to go.
Put each set of instructions in a paper protective sleeve, and store the sleeves in a zippered binder (the instructions tend to slip around in the sleeve, so the zipper part is a must!). You can organize them by LEGO family or even alphabetically, so finding the instructions you need is easy.
Use the LEGO building instruction app. It's got great ratings and it seems like they're adding new sets from the past all the time. You can pull it up on any device and let your kids go to town.
Search for any Lego set instructions on Lego's website under Customer Service. You can search by name, number, theme, etc.
Look up any Lego set instructions on Brickset and easily collect all of your sets in one place with "My Sets" when you sign up for a free account.
6. Plan Ahead for Easy Cleanup
However you organize your Legos, plan ahead for how Legos will be played with and cleaned up in the end. You can keep a mat or sheet close by if you don't have a designated table or space for playing with Legos. You can even store the sheet or mat in the bin that you keep the Legos in so Legos are always played with on that sheet. Simply grab the sheet and use it to dump the Legos back in the bin. This is a similar idea where the container itself doubles as the playing mat.
Kid-Friendly LEGO Storage Ideas
Talk to your kids about how they like to play with their LEGOs. They will probably have an opinion on which option will work best for them. Are they interested in sorting by color when they clean up? Are they more likely to play with them if sets are kept together? Or are they more creative when everything is jumbled together? Most likely, whatever system they choose will be fun for them to sort and set up as well, so you'll have some help. We would love to know if you try any of these tips and if they work for you!
Jen is the founder of Reset Your Nest, a Professional Home Organizing Business in Utah (servicing Salt Lake City, Park City, Ogden, Alpine, Highland, Mapleton, and St. George). She loves creating order and systems out of chaos and is known for bringing a beautiful aesthetic as well as easy to maintain function to any space. She shares her tips and tricks on Instagram @reset_your_nest.
Love these ideas, I’m curious if anyone has experience with sorting by color instead of set, does it keep your kids from building the sets again cuz it’s harder to find, are they making their own things more when they’re sorted that way?