How to Sort Legos by Category

Determine your needs. Before you start to sort your Lego, you have a few decisions to make. Do you want to divide your Lego bricks into the smallest categories possible? Do you want to divide by part and color? What will you divide your parts into? For ease of use, nothing beats a set of plastic drawers for hardware, screws and nails, etc. They offer varying sizes with multiple storage units for customization and capacity. If you plan on simply dividing into a few general categories, then a few large Ziploc or plastic containers will suffice. However, you only need to divide your Lego bricks by type if you want to experiment with modeling. If you only ever plan on building models from instructions, you can keep the sets together.

Begin your divisions. The most basic level of dividing Lego is fourfold. You divide the pieces between flat strips, single-side bricks, double-wide bricks, and widgets, which contains everything else, e.g. hinges, pins, swivels, and so on. For most basic purposes, single and double-side bricks can be sorted together for the saving of space. Widgets should generally at least be divided between mini figures and accessories, that is the people and their weapons, tools, etc, and everything else, including lights, hinges, and the like.

Specify your divisions. Now that you have your pieces divided into a few general categories, you can get specific. Once you have a pile of bricks, you can divide it by color or by size, or both. If you are planning on building very specific models, you should go head and be as particular as you can with parts, dividing by both size and color. A separate drawer for 2x1 blocks of black, grey, and white, can save a lot of time on large projects. However, parts that are easier to distinguish, such as large flat plates, can be left together. Now is also when you will determine whether all "light'" parts will go together, including sloped and stud pieces, whether they will be divided by color, or whether they will be divided by shape. For "light" pieces, it is generally advisable to be as specific as possible. However, for other widgets, dividing simply by type is usually sufficient.

Store your parts. Once you have pared general divisions down to smaller, more manageable categories, you can now store your Lego. If you have chosen to divide the parts into containers, you should label them and make sure the lids are secure. If you plan to store them in drawers, you should be cautious in making sure the divisions are complete, and again, the parts should be labeled.

Build your models. Now when you choose to build a custom model from scratch, you can easily start with a foundation of bricks and platforms, continuing to accessorize with more bricks, then widgets and mini figures.