Sorting Lego by colour

[ThePowerball]

I am considering sorting my DCs very considerable Lego collection into colours. At the moment it's all just dumped into drawers. There are 8 drawers so they could be separate.

It will hopefully help then rebuild sets?

Has anyone done this. Is it just a phenomenal waste of time? I am realistic that I'll end up doing 90% of the sorting.....

@MrsAvocet unhelpful comment and really unkind (as you would have known as you typed it)
Fwiw, my now grown up ds describes me as the best mum ever. So maybe colour coding Lego isn't the best measure of a persons parenting skills

We did this years ago at DS's own request, but I think sorting by set is a much better idea.

He sounds delightful @MrsAvocet, you must be very proud.

We did this a couple of years ago BUT only because DS had a lot of Star Wars sets that we planned to sell and needed to tick off every piece to the instructions. It was worth it as we made about £1200 but I wouldn't have done it if he was still playing with it.

Type is much more practical. If you need a 2x2 orange then it’s far quicker to find it in a big box of mixed colour 2x2s than in a big box of reds, and also if you’ve lost a piece for a set then you can replace it with the same shape of a different colour.

We've been doing this. But we also build all the sand bits together within the colours so all the 2's built in a long line, all the flat bases etc..
It's incredibly therapeutic.
We've put all the "terminal ends" - the bits that finish something like a flat end or a claw in a small bag then all the round single luggies (like the bastard red ones from guns etc) in another bag.
Then we're going to go through his big sets and find all the parts and rebuild them.
Done the fire station and half way through the police station but had to order a few missing pieces.

MrsAvocet yes that is a horrible thing to say.
If it wasn't for Covid I would be displaying at a model show this weekend. Probably they type of event you take your kids too. If it wasn't for folks who sort Lego by colour you wouldn't have amazing models to coo over.

We have all the instructions and all the boxes. I was hoping to spare myself the pain of finding all the bricks for each set.

But maybe it's the way forward.

There's still be enough spare for imaginative play I imagine...

Sort by type.

We have a trunk that it tends to get slung into and a Really Useful 8 Drawer set that a few times a year, I'll spend a few hours sorting it in to. DS appreciates it being sorted, but does not engage in the process.

We have
Large Random
Small Random
Blocks
Flats/ tiles
Base plates
People/ animals/ plants
Angles
Vehicles

Life is too short to try to keep on top of sorting every piece, but it does mean thar DS doesn't have to rummage through the trunk for every obscure piece.

Sort it by colour then glue the drawers shut, stops them messing it all up again.

For me “the sort of person who sorts the Lego by colour” is someone who values aesthetics over practicality. “The sort of person who sorts the Lego by colour and type” is the sort of AFOL with an admirably huge and well organised collection whom I can only envy from afar.

Sorting by size would be pretty quick if you made sifters of various sizes and shook it through the holes. Would that have any value? Considering it

DD sorted her vast collection by colour. She is fastidious about returning pieces to the correct drawers. DS gives zero fucks and has a large pile of mixed lego on his bedroom floor. They are both happy with their own arrangement!

Some Lego fans pay other Lego fans to sort their bricks for them.
ThePowerball teach your kids good sorting methods and there's their future career sorted.
("Sorted" - didn't actually plan that pun)

Sort by type!!! I also put labels on each drawer so its easier to find things.
We have 3 of these for bulky/plentiful pieces: amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00AZL79UI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1]]
We have 3 of these for all the little bits: amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01M7QUL2Z/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1]]

I wouldn’t do colour but I would take out all the interesting bits/hinges/wheels etc and put them in a separate box. Also put all figures in different box.

If you need a special piece then colour won’t matter.

@bookmum08 I definitely do not have the DC for that. They have many wonderful skills and will at some point be useful people in society. But they won't be neat and tidy. Or de-clutterers. Ever.

All the crayons are in a mixed tub. The boxes thrown away. My childhood self would have been horrified at this.

I was that child who would organise my Lego into colours and keep it tidy, I loved organising things (yes my Pokemon card were in number order as well). I think I was alone in my objectives as other kids didn't seam to care. If your child is like me, let them do it themselves they enjoy it. If not like me then leave it. Your work will go unnoticed at best, cause an issue with a 'you touched my lego' fight at worst.

Hmm.
I've read all the experts, assessed the evidence, but still wasn't convinced that lockdown should be lifted til I read this thread

I cant think of any task that reminds me of that Greek myth where he had a roll a rock up a hill everyday, only for it to roll down again in the morning and he had to start again.
That might just be life with my kids though

I would sort it, accepting that it would get all get mixed up again. Otherwise I wouldn't be able to lie there in bed at night knowing it was downstairs NEEDING to be properly organised and time was slipping away...

My husband describes his mother as "the sort of person who sorts Lego by colour".

That made me laugh! My DC tease me that when we have a big Lego session I inevitably start sorting. I find it very relaxing.

We have two huge crates full. Their grandparents for a couple of years bought them a set every week! Generally they get built and kept "good" for a while. Then they get modified, bit my bit, until eventually they are broken down and join the general boxes.

My favourite sorting is mini figure parts. I currently have a shoe box filled.

We spent a rainy Sunday afternoon doing this. I found it incredibly relaxing and three months on, it’s still holding. We also sorted mini figures, wheels and odd bits from sets.

I am about to embark on this - have just ordered 2x 9 drawer towers from the Really Useful Co together with 9 15 section trays. So one tower will have the bigger blocks by colour and the other tower will be sorted by the various little shapes.

@7Days 😂 I appreciate that only lockdown would make me feel this way. But now I do feel this way. And my DC aren't back until September....

It's better to sort by type.

We do singles/doubles
Special pieces that have a slide edge
Eyes / pieces that stick out for eyes / wheels
Clear pieces, windows

Also, we have a ziplock bag full of specialist set pieces (I already know these are incomplete.) An example is the fire engine set. There are so many specialist pieces for that, it's quite helpful to start with.