Lego Storage Solutions for Kids (or adults)
April 26, 2008 by Jennifer Chait
Filed under Home & Living
A reader question: “Any tips for millions of Legos in a very small, and confined space?”
That’s a tough one, because the best way to save on toy storage space in small spaces is to go with wall mounted solutions. However, a ton of Legos can be heavy. That means wall-mounted shelving (in most cases) is out. One, it could wreak the wall, two your kids will never be able to lift a heavy box off a wall shelf, it’s dangerious.
After wall storage, the next biggest Lego space saver is to have smaller boxes stacked on already present shelving units, or stacked inside a closet.
As an overall Lego storage tip, you could go with compartment boxes, but my money is on your kid almost never sorting Legos by color or type. Kids like to toss and go. That said, open bins are fine.
At my house, we use a big fat plastic bin with handles on each end. We can easily pick it up and carry it around and it fits under Cedar’s little table in his room. It has a lid, but Legos are a daily event at my house so we put the lid away in a closet.
Following are some Lego storage ideas…
If you’ve got no floor space, but do have a lower shelf that can hold boxes – say a bookcase:
Obviously you can use literally any sort of box on a shelf, although it helps if it’s light enough for a child to lift, and has handles. One nice idea is to use one of the heavier mobile file boxes you see at office supply stores. These have heavy lids but fit on most bookshelves.
Translucent Tote Boxes – stackable heavy vinyl over a metal frame, plus each box features a reinforced bottom for added strength.
BOX4BLOX – this one self sorts bricks by size!
The $2.00 cardboard box – that’s right, I said it. I’ve got no issues with using this sort of storage when necessary. I’ve seen kids seriously crack and break $30 plastic boxes. if you’re just going to pull it off a shelf once in a while, why not use a $2 solution. Bonus – this doubles as a child art project (let your kid color it) and it’s totally recyclable.
If you want your Legos to move easily out of sight when needed:
Use hard shell suitcases – they slide right under a bed or fit slimly in a closet. The rub of old hard case suitcases is that they’re tough to find new. Most stores carry bags now. However, check your local thrift store or garage sales – I bet someone you know has an old suitcase they never use.
Guidecraft Moon & Stars Storage Unit – I like that this one offers smaller easy to carry boxes, but that they store altogether. Also it’s mobile so easy to move.
Wheeled 56 Qt Clear Plastic Tub
PIN Medium or Large Wooden Storage Bin – designed to fit under most tables, and look fairly good while doing so.
If you’ve got a free living room corner:
If you’ve got some room or lots of room to spare:
Make your own Lego storage box
LEGO Multi Table – Small or Large – play station that also holds the bricks.
If your kids don’t have too many Legos:
LEGO Play Wall 2 piece set – one of the very few wall solutions for Legos. Very cool, and it looks like fun – you can make Lego numbers and letters.
If you’re a Lego extremist read:
My problem is not the loose legos. My problem is: what do you do with the hospital they built, or the train station, or the Star Wars ship? Taking them apart is not an option – they put them together so they can play with them. So now I have these big lego THINGS that I can’t quite figure out what to do with. Low shelves work for some things, but I may strangle my inlaws for buying the kids that lego airplane that fits absolutely no where but the floor.
I have the same problem. Currently, I use a bookshelf that’s deep enough for the big items. My son was very happy to see them displayed like that. Problem now is, where do I put the books? He plays with his Legos on the floor and has piles separated by his own system. But, he knows where everything is. So, this tells me there’s organization. I buy shoe boxes to help his keep organized but he perfers the pile method. He likes going to places where things are in lighted boxes. I’m thinking of having some of his displays lighted. I think he’ll get a kick out of that. I hope this helps. My son has a Lego airplane too. Try hanging it from the ceiling.
bms2000 my son gets many lego sets, but he’ll build them, then disassemble, so he can build something new. To be honest, I’ve never heard of kids who build the set, and then leave them built. I’m not sure what you’d do. Lego sets built are not so easy to store. Can you talk your kids into enjoying them for a while, then taking them apart? Cedar sets his on the fireplace mantle for a few days, then takes it apart after he’s shown it to everyone. One thing you might do is make a little lego scrapbook – have your kids take a photo, then they may feel ok taking them apart.
I don’t have a problem displaying the Lego kits, because like jennifer my son like to take them apart and rebuild them.
My issue is finding enough space to store all the kits, with out using sandwich style bags. I have been looking for a storage box. small with a enough room to keep the instruction with the paices but small enough to fit lots of them in the closet shelves and still look nice and neat.
I agree with the storage space issue! Also, I find my son likes to spread the Legos out on the floor to play, not on a table. The best solution I’ve found are the Bricksack (www.bricksacks.com). My son has several that he organizes by theme (Star Wars, Viking, etc). They close up like sacks and fit neatly in a toy box. When he wants to play, he takes one out and it opens up to lay flat on the ground so he can see all of the pieces. When it’s time to clean up, he just tosses the few strays back onto the circle and cinches the cords to form a sack again and places in his toy box.
OOPS! The url for the Bricksacks is http://www.bricksack.com. Not as I stated above. Sorry!
Here is what I do for storage of the big lego creations….I take a pic of their object (airplanes, cars, etc). We then have the picture forever digitally and can print if off if they want it. Then they can take it aparts and build more! Afterall, it’s about imagination and not just preserving something they have built from directions!
My son loves to play with what he has built (the castle, ship) with all the people. Isn’t that why they have the people so you can play with it? He doesn’t want to tear it apart after he spent hours putting it together. What’s frustrating is when the “ship keeps breaking” and he has worked so hard to make it. How can I make it permanent?
Martha,
For our last Lego Creation we got super glue. We glued all the pieces. You have to be careful and my son could not do the gluing…..but I sat patiently as he placed each piece and then I glued. I had to make sure I didn’t glue the moving parts, but so far so good! My son no longer has a meltdown when he plays with his Lego Creation.
I no longer hear, “Noooo, it is coming apart, it was so hard….Mommy, I was just paying with it and it came apart!”
Hope it works for you….just remember it is a lot of work, to wait and glue each piece and it can get messy.
Good luck
Caroline
My older sons have always played with their legos that they have built. Sometimes they leave them up for months at a time and sometimes they tear them down and build something else to play with. We had a playroom just for legos so storage wasn’t a problem. Each boy had his own table (my husband built them) for completed or nearly completed projects. Extra bricks were either under the table in shallow bins or in plastic storage drawers. Now that my 3rd son is getting into legos and we no longer have the extra bedroom just for legos, I am piling completed projects and loose bricks, etc. onto poster board and sliding them under our sofa and loveseat in the family room (we have skirts on them so they are hidden) This would also work if you wanted to slide it under a bed. Really big items have to be put on a shelf but it really helps to have a quick way to put up the thousand pieces that are spread around on the floor hahaha. Bins are great but the problem is your child may have spent a hour going threw the bins looking for just the right pieces to build what he needs. If everything gets scooped up and thrown in a bin at the end of the day – it’s really frustrating to have to start over. Some things take days to complete especially as they get older and start doing more complicated designs. Hope these ideas help!
Over the past 20+ yrs I have had huge amounts of lego’s in my home and the easiest clean up ever has been a vinyl table cloth spread out on the floor. Clean up is a cinch, pick up each side the legos slide to the center and they get dumped back into the rolling tote like a cement shoot, fold up the table cloth place ontop of legos put the lid on the tote and wheel it out of sight!