At what point does one abandon keeping Lego sets separated?

[ElphabaTheGreen]

My DSs are Lego-mad and we’ll get them a set each for every birthday and Christmas. I’m completely obsessive a little finicky about keeping them separated into sets, since the bloody things are so expensive and I’m a little anally retentive, but the DSs tend to build the designs once then deconstruct them and freestyle thereafter, meaning the sets get slowly intermingled with the massive random pieces box we have it’s killing me...the mixing is killing me...

At what point did you go ‘Fuckit’ and chuck them all in together? I may need therapy to do that

Pretty much straight away. Our rule is that if you want to keep it made it goes in your bedroom otherwise it gets slowley bastardised into other builds.

The only thing that has ever stayed made is the Lego Speed cars.

People keep them separate? I did not know this.

Immediately

Day 2. My ds made each model on the front of the box, then made up his own designs.

I do have a binder with all the instructions in.

Mix it all up but keep the instructions so they can rebuild. It’s a toy after all so let them improvise.

Immediately. They make it once as it’s supposed to be made according to instructions then it gets destroyed and goes in the big box. They get to use their imagination after that. That’s the point of lego.

I would have kept them separate like you but other people look after my DC in my house and they all get mixed up. Only yesterday I spent 5 hours trying to find all the bits to re make a Lego A wing Star Wars set. Seeing the sets all mixed up makes me feel like I’m failing at life.

I got one if my children a couple of Minecraft Lego set's for Xmas. She opened them all up and immediately mixed them up and made her own. I really couldn't be arsed constantly remaking Lego sets.

I think we gave up as soon as a second set came into the house. Ds is having a big build this week and listing missing parts to order. Problem is some parts are so specific now that when the set is retired it’s not always possible to get them so those sets are either improvised or get used for random builds.

Just buy a load of DIY sectioned tool boxes and sort The little pieces into those for therapy.

We keep them all separate in their own little ziploc bags. DS has ASD and likes things to be kept with the appropriate bits. We had them all in one giant tub at one point, but the annoyance of finding the exact bits that the instructions called for was more trouble than it was worth.

@FourOnTheHill

I would have kept them separate like you but other people look after my DC in my house and they all get mixed up. Only yesterday I spent 5 hours trying to find all the bits to re make a Lego A wing Star Wars set. Seeing the sets all mixed up makes me feel like I’m failing at life.

YES.

The Harry Potter Lego sets...I literally keep them in their own room so they don’t get mixed. DSs appear to respect that and keep them reasonably intact since the different Hogwarts sets fit together.

This thread is making me sweaty.

Never kept it separate. DS11 has had lego for every birthday and Xmas since he was 3. It is literally all his presents from us, GPS, friends at parties.

We have £1000s in lego. And it is all on his bedroom floor in bits! He has patches where he works. Otherwise the floor isn't hoovered and he makes new sets constantly. We keep waiting for him to ask for a computer console or similar but lego is everything to him.

I don't intend to sell it, it will be passed down to his children.

After the initial build they slowly get broken up and added to the one big box

I should add his pre 11+ scores for non verbal reasoning are significantly above all his reading and writing and maths.. which I put down entirely to his lego love and spatial skills.

I agree with the failing at life thing!

Does anyone store their Lego in anything other than a big box?

From the start, in my ds's case. I think it's great for creativity. Some of the sets, he display it on the shelf, but slowly changing by adding extra etc. Some he just disassemble and use it to create something free style.
My ds separates pieces into colours.

We have lots of shallow trofast trays that pieces go in. DH occasionally sorts by colour/ size. I just throw them in. Life is too short

DD1 likes to keep her sets complete.
DD2 likes to adapt and improve.

DD2 is not supposed to touch DD1s Lego. Its a constant battle...

OP I feel your pain. My boys are older now but I went through this and had periods of keeping them separate but also of giving up and letting them mix. I used to compromise by mixing themed sets and not letting more than one 'big box' out at the same time. Eg we had a box which was all Star Wars, another one was Harry Potter and another was pirates of the Caribbean etc etc etc. That worked OK and gave more flexibility for random play whilst still being able to make up the sets if we wanted to.

When they had grown out of it and moved on I spent a few enjoyable months putting the sets back together myself and building each one a final time so I could photo them to sell on eBay.

We only have a few technical sets left now which I do t think I will ever part with.

We use one of these for storage

www.stuffel.co.uk/

The kids stuff gets mixed up but woe betide them if they touch my lego sets!

Ds keeps all his separated by theme (so a box of ninjago, a box of hp, a box of fire city etc etc etc). Dd prefers to keep all of hers in a big Scattered pile on the floor (we fall out about this often, I think it should be in a box, but she argues how would she find the piece she needs). So really, I think it needs to be up to the owner of the Lego how they want to store it.

If we'd have kept the Hogwarts castle in one piece it would be worth £500 today.. but you'd have to pay me 100x that to waste my life to lego sorting

@mellicauli please send it to me as I have withdrawal now most of ours had gone. I would love to sort out a hog warts castle.