How do you store Lego sets?

[Jessiejessiecat]

Hi everyone!
My soon to be 4 year old is fully immersed in Lego. He likes to follow the instruction booklets and doesn’t free build. I would like to find a way of storing the sets so he can see the boxes and take them out to do himself. Does anyone have any creative ideas? We don’t have loads of space… thank you!

Put the instructions and the matching pieces in a ziplock bag and then just put them standing up in any box/basket you have lying around. Clear some shelf space to display the finished models (instructions go back in the bag and box). If his collection gets too big, start organising the sets into different boxes for different themes (eg police sets, Star Wars sets etc).

I’d just get him addicted to online gaming instead. It saves the pain of standing on stray pieces of Lego and the stress of trying to find the perfect storage system.
If he only likes to follow the instructions, then I think it’s a case of build, leave up for a period and then take apart and store in a bag with the instructions. Some people keep the box too but we never had the space for that. If he does begin to free build, then IKEA trofast seems to be the best solution. We have three six drawer units with different drawers for each colour, people, vehicle bits, other bits and that sort of thing. The DC are now teens who don’t go near Lego and one of the challenges for this summer is to have a proper sort out and decide what we keep and what we sell.
Does your DS have any tubs of general pieces rather than sets? It was only once we had a couple of those and some base plates that mine started free building. You could encourage him by asking him to make a house with a door and two windows or a maze. Or there are books of Lego ideas or plenty of ideas on the internet. I preferred books as it meant they didn’t go off at a tangent and start looking at other things

My DC are teens and still love Lego.

No set has ever been taken apart and stored in its set.

Every single one has been broken up and we now have boxes and boxes of mixed up Lego. I have never gone through it to organise, there is simply too much.

DS used to get Lego sets from grandparents every birthday and Christmas and we just have stacks of it, all jumbled up.

DS is going to sell some of it I think, you can sell it by weight, not sure how much for.

But yes if you don't have too much yet, follow the PPs advice before you end up like us.

Well I gave up after years and built my son a shed.
over years we have shelfed built in wardrobes
shelf’s, kallax units, trofast units.

We are also team ziplock bag!

Re: ziplock bag - i'd cut out a pic from the front of the box and put it in the bag facing out so he can see what the kit is at a glance.

Keep a few sets on the shelf. Mix the rest up so he learns to free build. Get some books of ideas for free building- there is a good Lego animals one- and then he will get more confident with free building

I had ziplock bag system for ages and then DD went and mixed it all together 😩

Mine too. At one point, a set was purchased at every time we went food shopping!

We have massive containers of it. We have 5, all stacked in the wardrobe. It’s chaos when all 5 containers are out, when friends come over and they do marathon builds over a few days. Luckily, it’s all in their bedroom so at least I don’t have to look at it.