The Ultimate LEGO Storage Guide
This comprehensive guide helps you understand your LEGO collection, find the best way to organize your bricks, and discover the best storage solutions for your home and budget.
Introduction
Thank you for reading the LEGO Storage Guide. A well-organized LEGO collection helps you find the parts you need faster. Moreover, the best storage solutions keep everything tidy and reduce the chance of stepping on a LEGO brick.
It has helped LEGO enthusiasts around the world store their collections better, and I hope it helps you too.
LEGO storage is an ongoing challenge for many enthusiasts. Families with young children may simply want to reduce the chance of stepping on a brick in the middle of the night. Older builders with very large collections need a well-organized solution to understand what they have and quickly find what they need.
This guide is designed to help you organize, sort, and store your bricks: from understanding your collection to choosing the right strategy and storage solution.
Background
I started searching for the perfect way to organize and store my LEGO bricks when my collection began to grow significantly. By talking to many LEGO enthusiasts, I learned that there are many different approaches to sorting and storing parts. These experiences inspired me to write this guide.
Why Focus on LEGO Bricks?
This section focuses on the best ways to organize your loose parts. Why? Because most LEGO collections contain many unused pieces that are not sorted by set.
70%
of LEGO collections consist primarily of loose bricks that are not sorted by set.
Research among nearly 200 enthusiasts showed that it doesn't matter whether you have a small or large collection—in both cases, it is likely dominated by loose elements waiting to be used in a great creation.
Organization vs. Storage vs. Sorting
It is not easy to decide how to organize your collection. Let's start with the difference between these three related terms:
Organization
A set of rules that help you decide which bin to put each piece in.
Storage
The large or small bins in which you keep your LEGO pieces.
Sorting
The process of putting each piece in the right place.
In other words: you sort your LEGO bricks into your storage based on your system of organization.
Getting Started
Organizing your LEGO collection can seem overwhelming. For many people, it feels like a chicken-and-egg problem: you need to try different storage bins to choose the perfect organization system, but you don't want to buy bins until you know what you need. This guide helps you choose the right organization based on your needs, rather than through trial and error.
Let's organize your collection in three simple steps:
- 1Understand your LEGO collection: We look at the primary builder in the household, how many bricks you have, and where you want to keep the collection.
- 2Organize your collection: We determine the right level of organization based on the size of your collection and your preferences.
- 3Find the best storage solutions: I show you the best options for collections of every size.
While personal collections are the focus of this guide, these recommendations may also be relevant for teachers, BrickLink store owners, or professional LEGO artists.
Understanding Your LEGO Collection
How many bricks do you have? What do you like to build? Let's first analyze your collection before choosing the perfect storage solution. Before buying storage materials, it's important to make sure they meet your needs.
Age of the LEGO Builder?
Very young builders don't need much organization; they create models inspired by the parts they encounter while building. Whether you're 5 or 50 years old, digging through a pile of loose bricks is a journey of discovery. While older builders usually prefer more organization, it's fun for everyone to discover a brick you've never (or haven't recently) seen.
Young Children
All you really need is a bin big enough for all the bricks. Since no organization is needed, you're looking for a solution that is quick to set up and easy to clean up.
Older Children
As children get older, their collection may outgrow one bin, or they get frustrated searching for a specific piece. This is the time to look at organization in broad categories. While many people start with sorting by color, most adults (and some children) prefer sorting by type.
Experienced Builders
As collections grow and builders become more familiar with the elements, they often want to sort their collection further. The typical progression is to start by sorting basic bricks and plates per element, and eventually move on to less common parts.
Size of Your LEGO Collection?
Let's estimate the size of your collection.
Count
If you know which sets you own, you can look up the number of pieces per set and add them up.
By Volume
Approximately 250 pieces per liter.
By Weight
Approximately 700 pieces per kilogram.
Sets for young children have larger, heavier bricks, while sets for adults contain many small, lightweight parts. So these estimates are not very precise, but they do help in determining your strategy.
What Do You Like to Build?
Do you build trains, sculptures, spaceships, or Architecture sets? Or do you build in different styles?
With thousands of unique elements, sorting is a huge task. An important way to simplify this is to focus on the parts you use most often. If your passion is Technic, for example, you might want a precisely sorted Technic collection while quickly sorting the rest of your bricks (which you rarely use) into broad categories.
Portability?
Where do you store your LEGO? Where do you like to build? Do you need to take your bricks to school, a friend's house, or an event?
LEGO Storage for Small Collections
Tired of stepping on your children's LEGO? New to the hobby? Let's look at the best solutions for smaller collections.
This chapter focuses on solutions for collections small enough to fit in one bin, where you (or your child) can quickly find what's needed. This usually means a collection of less than 3,000, but sometimes up to 5,000 pieces.
Is your collection too large for one bin? There are also solutions that help with sorting by category.
Drawstring Fabric Storage Bag
One of the best solutions for a small collection is the drawstring fabric bag. This is perfect for children who like to build on the floor. The idea is simple: a large fabric bag that lies flat on the ground, with a raised edge to keep the bricks contained while building. It's a great way to prevent losing bricks and it's easy to clean up: pull the strings and everything disappears into a pouch.
- Suitable for: Less than 2,000 pieces, easy cleanup, indoor portability.
- Capacity: Up to 3,000 bricks (depending on size), but ideally fewer so you have room to build on the bag itself.
- Portability: Perfect for moving around the house or hanging up. Note: with some models, small parts may fall out if you hold the bag upside down.
Recommended: On our homepage you'll find links to the best storage bags and play mats.
Under-Bed Storage
When your collection isn't sorted, spreading out is the best way to find something. That's why under-bed storage solutions are ideal: they are shallow and wide, so you don't have to dig through a deep layer of bricks. Cleanup is simple: slide the bin back under the bed.
- Suitable for: Less than 5,000 pieces, children who build on the floor, easy to hide.
- Capacity: This is one of the best solutions for a child with a large collection. A full bin can hold up to 10,000 bricks, but searching becomes more difficult.
- Products: There are various plastic bins with wheels or wooden drawers available that fit precisely under a bed.
LEGO Play Table
Some parents choose a dedicated play table. Most versions have a tabletop with studs, so children can build directly on it. Some models have a hole in the center to sweep bricks into a bag or bin.
- Suitable for: Less than 3,000 pieces, a dedicated LEGO spot.
- Note: Many of these tables are designed for very young children and have limited storage space. Sometimes they are awkwardly designed so you can't easily access the storage when the tabletop is on.
DIY tip: You can easily glue LEGO baseplates onto an existing table that is the right size for your needs.
Large Plastic Bins with Lids
Large plastic bins are often the cheapest option. A large bin can hold an enormous number of bricks. I recommend transparent bins because you can see from the outside where the small parts have settled to the bottom. A wide, shallow bin is better than a deep one because you can more easily dig for the right piece.
- Suitable for: Less than 5,000 pieces, small spaces, limited budget.
- Capacity: Count on approximately 250 bricks per liter of capacity.
- Portability: Very good, especially if they have a lid with clips.
Stackable LEGO Storage Bricks (The Official Boxes)
LEGO themselves sell official storage boxes that look like giant LEGO bricks. At first glance, this seems like a great product.
⚠️ Not Recommended for Loose Bricks
Unfortunately, the design is not ideal for storing small loose parts. Small pieces (like 1x1 bricks or minifigure accessories) get stuck in the deep grooves on the bottom. Additionally, they have square corners on the inside, making it difficult to grab small things. Because they are opaque and often come in LEGO colors, searching is difficult.
✓ Great for:
They are very nice as decoration! Use them to store other things like manuals, DUPLO, electronics, office supplies, or candy.
Ready to Get Started?
Browse our recommended storage products and find the perfect solution for your LEGO collection.
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