Overrun by Lego - storage ideas needed!!

[toomuchmonthatendofthemoney]

DS turned 5 recently and got lots and lots of lovely Lego, which is ace. Except that its taking over my house!!! little bits spread everywhere and he seems to expect me to know where any required little bit has landed!

So, we need a storage solution. DS can be quite particular and wants to keep his Star Wars lego seperate from the Atlantis lego seperate from the standard lego etc. Some bits like Lukes landspeeder are quite big but others are little individual characters. I think something with different size drawers like a toolbox on top of art/craft drawers storage idea might work?

I am assuming the Lego obsession will go on for a number of years so am willing to get something decent that really suits the job but any vfm brilliant ideas very very welcome in the meantime also! Help!!

If you aren't bothered by what it looks like then this solved our Lego problem!

www.homebase.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=110&storeId=10151&partNumber=8753407&c_3=3%7Ccat_14417975%7CUnits+With+Drawers%7C14417992&c_2=2%7Ccat_16849245%7CStorage+and+Shelving%7C14417975&c_1=1%7Ccategory_root%7CFurniture+and+Homewares%7C16849245

Sorry for the ridiculously long link! Not pretty but very practical and can be easily put away at the end of the day.

That Store'n'Go looks very good.

We use a toolbox (well several now!) with small item storage in the top, an inner, lift out tray for current projects, minifigs and those all important wheels, and then a big bit at the bottom for everything else.

You could have several toolboxes, one for each range. (we are Lego obsessives in our house but even so the stuff multiplies in the night)

The challenge is keeping the small bits separate from the big bits, something my DSs and DH don't seem to care about much. I sometimes fantasise about some kind of nested basket storage so that the small bits naturally drop to the bottom but the larger stuff can be lifted out above it. [anorak emoticon]

Several plastic toolboxes are what we use with our kids (8 and 5) for classic bricks. We also bought some food saver tubs for special Lego. It sounds organised and well-meaning, but it isn't quite as clear-cut in reality... as my five year old regularly does Lego fusion and we have hybridised Creator, Toy Story, Medieval and City stuff and he wanders around with it as a acts out stories.

I use Ikea storage buckets/containers for my DS's lego - they come in different sizes and are transparent plastic so can see exactly what is inside ...

We had a huge flat box which slid under my brother's bed, almost the size of the bed. It wsa great, because if you have a shallow container with lots of surface area, it's much easier to find the bits you need. Then just chuck everything in there. Keeping Lego sepatate and organised is defeating the purpose, IMO!

Bedrollers.
They are low and wide, with castors, and with lids, so you can stack them on top of each other too!

This means you can keep the lego in while you build, and it is so low that children can easily find the bricks they are looking for.

ah, same idea as Annie, I see!

I'm with Annie and OldMoo - 1 big box here with standard bricks, city, atlantis, hero factory, star wars and belleville all mixed in together then 2 trays (1 for each child currently old enough to play with lego) for them to work and sort pieces on. I am actually pretty anal about tidiness and keeping toys in the "right" box - but the best thing about lego is using your imagination so it's different from anything else! (woebetide anyone who puts a bit of duplo or playmobile in the lego box though!)

ikea trofast unit, the one that's fairly low and has got three sets of drawers

we've got 7 small drawers and one medium, small drawers easier to rummage through to find the right bits

DH then cut a board to go on top of the unit that is slightly larger than the drawers that fits and supports 4 x 2 lego base boards

job done :)

tbh though, that only fits about 1/4 of the lego, the rest is in the loft! and the duplo lives separately. We have a lot of lego!

we have 5! large tool boxes with the individual compartments for bog standard lego (we have one for people alone)

All the star wars lego is made and displayed on 4 shelves (may need another one

Atlantis/indiana/castle/rock monsters/ etc are in different plastic boxes.

We dh had to become organised anal about the lego as the kids stopped playing with it as they could never find the bits.

Woe betide any random visiting child mucking up The System

you need more beds then, lapin.

DH had three younger sibs and by the time the youngest was into Lego it had completely merged - Result? The canny youngest sib inherited (and kept) the lot and he is the one with no kids...

This kind of explains our need for a System as pinkhebe describes.

wow thank you for all the replies, will def look into these ideas. keep 'em coming!!

I am of a very different opinion A big part of the fun to be had from Lego is the searching. The time comsuming sound of Lego bricks being tipped out and rubbed over on the floor is surely a parent's delight? When playing with Lego alongside children, looking for that "particular" bit is a shared pleasure. No? It's about problem solving, the challange, ask any man builder. The only storage solution we have ever used it that it all gets put away into a big box, not left on the floor, except for the models which were displayed and enjoyed until we needed the space!

we have towers of these www.reallyusefulproducts.co.uk/usa/html/onlineshop/fullrange_rub.php

Like this but you can choose different colours useless website though

www.reallyusefulproducts.co.uk/uk/html/onlineshop/rub/tTower11x4l.php

Thank you so much sooz28. (sorry only just seen this) Will have a look at it.

Legoland shop sells special storage containers with little drawers.

Perhaps not exactly what you were looking for, but there is a v. creative idea here

I bought about 20 clear stackable storage boxes of varying sizes from Staples. Eack one has a sticky label at the end and they are stacked inside a fairly standard cupboard. Works brilliantly.

Second the Ikea Trofast. Lots of shallow boxes, medium boxes and shelves for the made up stuff. It also does for Playmobil, but the boxes are now labelled so that they can put it all away properly and it doesn't offend my ocd!