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

InDubious same here! For a year or two I knew where all the pieces went, then around 2009 it got too much for me and I left them to it.

I don't think it's been used since S1 made something for his engineering bursary interview, back in 2016. Should get it in the loft, really. Maybe we could (whisper it softly) sell the Millennium Falcon first? That's an awful lot of grey.

Oh god. Mine are too young for lego yet but I know this will send me over the edge!

This whole subject upsets me so much I can’t actually read the thread !

@InDubiousBattle

We don't have a Lego box, we have a Lego System. It involves LOTS of mini drawer units filled with tiles, flats, roof pieces etc and many tidy tubs with carefully organised accessories, hair bits etc. It's a complicated,long winded waste of life!! Dp loves it and will spend hours 'sorting' the lego.

Your DP is a fine human being.

Funny thing is, my ex gave ds a large Lego set one Xmas. A couple of months later he asked to take the set to his house when ds stayed with him for the weekend. He was appalled when I gave him our big Lego tub ( half the size of a wheelie bin) and the instruction book from the set. He expected me to hand him the pristine set, pieces sorted into their plastic bags and in the original box.

He actually expected me to spend my evenings sorting Lego pieces - whilst working full time, doing all school runs, cooking, cleaning, shopping, washing, ironing, helping with homework.....

My ILs kept all the sets made up on their loft, with a catalogue of all the instructions ever, and the most of the boxes.

Mixing of Lego sets is A Big Thing here, and it makes DH twitch. A lot. We colour sorted all the lego (and with multiple sets bought for birthdays and Christmas for six years, there is a huge amount) and planned to re-set lots of it over lockdown (before the realities of double working and childcare set in and we lost every evening to making up what hadn’t been done during the day).

Certain Lego - specifically “Daddy’s lego” - must not get mixed up.

I’m off with the DCs this week for the second week of the Easter break. Stuff’s open again but it’s going to be heaving, innit? I might pitch Lego sorting as an activity. I predict DS1, who takes after me a tiny touch, will be all over it. DS2 will agree in principle then spend the time surreptitiously mixing piles and gauging our reactions (nuclear).

We’ve reached saturation point where there is so much Lego it’s impossible to find the bit you want. It was in a Trofast roughly by colour but that’s fallen by the wayside

I am contemplating taking a week off work and building the big sets to sell them. But I just can’t face it. There’s just too much. So much. Everywhere. And never the bit you need. I’ve got Lego trauma

It's DS' Lego. It all lives in a big swoop bag. He makes things once, some things stay in tact, but most is mixed up. I couldn't give a crap, he likes it like that. It can be scooped up and put away easily.

All the instructions are kept in a big plastic folder, but never looked at.

Boxing day

Yes! I bought one of these a couple weeks ago, it's a life changer!

Right my quote function doesn't work. That's annoying. I was referring to the lego drawstring storage mat bags, I'd urge anyone with lego to get one.

Had a chat with the DSs...both wanted to keep divided into sets but we pulled them all out and ascertained quite easily that about 90% of them were incomplete or mixed already with others so they have descended into the abyss aka the massive free-stylin’ box in the living room I may have shed a tear There are two sets which DS1 keeps in his room which he is adamant are complete so he’s keeping them there. Harry Potter sets, with Harry Potter Lego advent calendar add-ons are secure in front upstairs bedroom.

All instruction manuals have been rescued, stuck back together and are being flattened as we speak under a coffee table book.

That leaves six potentially complete sets requiring detailed piece by piece analysis as to whether they are complete. Three are fucking huge. Lego obsessives may come and help if you like - I’ll put the kettle on. We’ve still got some Easter eggs kicking around as well.

I had two boys into lego who asked for and got virtually nothing else for birthdays and Christmases for many years. There is literarily thousands of pounds worth. All mixed together, about 8 underbed stores plus about 20 ikea blue crates. It's a lifetime project i think. We need a big empty room and to sort by colour initially and then try to reform into sets. We have a crate full of instructions also but I think it's incomplete and no-one knows any more which sets they have.

@Wafflehouse

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.

I'm envious!!! I LOVE building sets from instructions, much more so when there's a massive mixture of sets!!

I haven't. All kits stay as kits. The odd box and cup of general blocks bought are sorted in colours or pieces.

@actiongirl1978

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.

When he moves on. I could look after it for you for a year or so & rebuild all the sets & then put them in individual zip lock bags.

DH and I are slowly going through all the kits and checking what is missing. We have a lot of kits with more than I expected missing so it is quite depressing.

Oh gosh.
We haven't got to the Lego stage yet, but I have only just got over the mixing of play dough colours so I am not looking forward to this!!!!

No set complete. They’ve all gone in.

The big Lego box in the living room has been re-named The Abyss. We will never find a specific piece again.

DS1 went through one of the instruction manuals and wrote ‘missing’ in big scrawly eight year old boy handwriting next to every missing piece, and there were many.

Can’t lie, he was nearly put up for adoption.

@ElphabaTheGreen

Had a chat with the DSs...both wanted to keep divided into sets but we pulled them all out and ascertained quite easily that about 90% of them were incomplete or mixed already with others so they have descended into the abyss aka the massive free-stylin’ box in the living room I may have shed a tear There are two sets which DS1 keeps in his room which he is adamant are complete so he’s keeping them there. Harry Potter sets, with Harry Potter Lego advent calendar add-ons are secure in front upstairs bedroom.

All instruction manuals have been rescued, stuck back together and are being flattened as we speak under a coffee table book.

That leaves six potentially complete sets requiring detailed piece by piece analysis as to whether they are complete. Three are fucking huge. Lego obsessives may come and help if you like - I’ll put the kettle on. We’ve still got some Easter eggs kicking around as well.

Longs to go....

Ours is sorted by type in plastic drawers. Much easier to find what you are looking for than when they are sorted by colour.
It helps that both me and DD1 love sorting things. In fact we got almost as much enjoyment in sorting as we did in building.

All you mixer-uppers, just you wait 30 years and then look at how much complete vintage sets in their boxes are fetching.

@expectopelargonium

All you mixer-uppers, just you wait 30 years and then look at how much complete vintage sets in their boxes are fetching.

So, so much at the forefront of my mind. I CLEANED UP on my 80s Strawberry Shortcake dolls which I’d kept pristine as a child because I had an anal mother that taught me to hang onto their feet on the rare occasion I was allowed to take them out of the house so they didn’t become separated from their shoes. The companion animals had to stay at home. DM clearly had premonitions of eBay way back when.

I often dream of winning the lottery, as do we all. No word of a lie, this is my list of priorities, in this order:

1. Quit work
2. Do more exercise
3. Spend the rest of the time sorting Lego

I Am a Rock Star.