Lego!

JodyBPM

Does anyone else have a lego mad child?

How do you keep the sets together/store lego etc?

My 6yr old DS is lego mad, and is lucky enough to have been given lots of lego/megabloks etc kits, eg star wars, dr who factory, power rangers etc, plus he has a big tub of bricks etc. Originally we stored each set in its own plastic tub with the instructions for making that kit, but as any 6 year old would, he empties all the tubs out together, mixes the pieces up etc. He's been playing with his lego this morning, and I just went up to his room, and every single kit, plus his big box of bricks have been emptied out onto his bedroom floor - I'm never going to find all the little bits for each set! Some of them have hundreds of tiny pieces!

So what's the answer? Do I just give up and store all the bricks together in one giant tub, hold on to the instructions, and when he wants to try and make one of the kits he just rakes through the giant tub to find the pieces he wants?

Obviously its great that he's using his imagination and the lego is of course there to be played with, but it makes my eyes water a bit, as I know some of the kits he has been bought for birthday presents were very expensive and now I can't see how he'll ever be able to find the pieces again!

Is there a sensible way of storing lego? Maybe separate out the blocks by size/type etc? Of course its unrealistic to imagine they'll stay sorted however I do it!

warehouse

JodyBPM wrote: »

DDo I just give up and store all the bricks together in one giant tub, hold on to the instructions, and when he wants to try and make one of the kits he just rakes through the giant tub to find the pieces he wants?

Yes, that's exactly the answer.

I also have a 6 year old who loves his lego. The only things I try to keep in one piece are the accessories for his lego train set, IE the station. The giant box with all the bits in gets heavier by the day .

gingin_2

I have a 12 year old who still secretly likes lego. I keep all the old stuff in a massive container. If your son gets bigger sets I would try and encourage him to either display the bigger sets and make sure you hold on to the boxes and instructions, or put them back in the box and put them away as they can go for a lot on Ebay, especially if they are discontinued.

I think spearating and storing blocks is a recipe for a big headache but I admire you if you can make it a success.

mummyroysof3

i got my son a box for his lego that i asume was actually made to keep screws and nails seperate. its ideal for all tiny or odd shape bits and rest gets chucked in a tub together,he is pretty good at keeping sets together though
like this...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stanley-STA194745-194745-Sortmaster-Organiser/dp/B002KHLRTE/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1334581363&sr=8-12

JodyBPM

Yep, I definitely seeing that sorting and storing separately is a recipe for disaster and is just going to cause me stress.

Obviously lego is a toy and is meant to be played with, and a six year old simply isn't going to keep things ordered and sorted.

I was wondering about one of these http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LEGO-OFFICIAL-BLUE-STORAGE-TOY-BOX-BRICK-CONTAINER-BENCH-PADDED-CHAIR-SEAT-/260962295822?pt=UK_HG_ChildFurniture_RL&hash=item3cc290a00e

to put all the bits in, and a display folder to put all the instructions in, and then maybe a smaller box to keep all the minifigures together. (just need to check the dimensions of that bench to make sure it will fit all his lego and fit in his tiny box room!) It does bother me that all the kits are mixed in as he must have literally hundreds of pounds worth of kits (bought mainly by family as birthday/xmas pressies) but first and foremost they are his toys and not an investment!

Anyone have one of those benches? Are they any good? Or any other suggestions of a nice looking storage box that would look OK in his bedroom? He has too much to fit into the big plastic container that the general building blocks came in...

The_One_Who

When I was younger I just kept the Lego in a drawer that I kept under my bed. So maybe getting one of those under bed storage boxes would be good. I don't think there's much point in attempting to separate out the different blocks, raking through the box is half the fun!

Do keep the instructions though, you never know when he might want to build the proper set. I'd probably just keep them in a polypocket or a folder. No need to complicate things.

londonsurrey

It depends on your priorities and how keen your son's interest is.

If the primary purpose is for the Lego to be a fun educational toy, I'd focus on providing the means to tidy the stuff away. If a giant container works for him, then all well and good. If he wants smaller containers, then as long as he uses them, then get those if you can.

If the child is really into Lego, then if the time comes to sell it, then simply get him to make the item that went with the box. You will have to the unassemble it.

Use the resource you have, i.e. the little Lego guru sitting on the floor!

Spendless

My friend with 3 boys keeps hers in something that resembles what kids keep their book bags in at school. She got it from one of the catalogue companies eg Great Trading though I can't recall which one. I was lucky cos my DS only ever wanted to build his own designs, and was never interested in the kits so could throw all lego into 1 tub. Does he have lego other than the kits? If so you could keep the kits together, for times when he wants to build a particular model and a tub of 'everyday' lego for when he just wants to play without building a specific design.

shegirl

JodyBPM wrote: »

Does anyone else have a lego mad child?

How do you keep the sets together/store lego etc?

My 6yr old DS is lego mad, and is lucky enough to have been given lots of lego/megabloks etc kits, eg star wars, dr who factory, power rangers etc, plus he has a big tub of bricks etc. Originally we stored each set in its own plastic tub with the instructions for making that kit, but as any 6 year old would, he empties all the tubs out together, mixes the pieces up etc. He's been playing with his lego this morning, and I just went up to his room, and every single kit, plus his big box of bricks have been emptied out onto his bedroom floor - I'm never going to find all the little bits for each set! Some of them have hundreds of tiny pieces!

So what's the answer? Do I just give up and store all the bricks together in one giant tub, hold on to the instructions, and when he wants to try and make one of the kits he just rakes through the giant tub to find the pieces he wants?

Obviously its great that he's using his imagination and the lego is of course there to be played with, but it makes my eyes water a bit, as I know some of the kits he has been bought for birthday presents were very expensive and now I can't see how he'll ever be able to find the pieces again!

Is there a sensible way of storing lego? Maybe separate out the blocks by size/type etc? Of course its unrealistic to imagine they'll stay sorted however I do it!

I LOVE these http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Search/searchTerms/LEGO+STORAGE.htm (and want some myself, the big kid that I am:o) and reckon they'd be THE best thing for storing Lego...just because it's giant lego:D

mummyroysof3

JodyBPM wrote: »

Yep, I definitely seeing that sorting and storing separately is a recipe for disaster and is just going to cause me stress.

Obviously lego is a toy and is meant to be played with, and a six year old simply isn't going to keep things ordered and sorted.

I was wondering about one of these http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LEGO-OFFICIAL-BLUE-STORAGE-TOY-BOX-BRICK-CONTAINER-BENCH-PADDED-CHAIR-SEAT-/260962295822?pt=UK_HG_ChildFurniture_RL&hash=item3cc290a00e

to put all the bits in, and a display folder to put all the instructions in, and then maybe a smaller box to keep all the minifigures together. (just need to check the dimensions of that bench to make sure it will fit all his lego and fit in his tiny box room!) It does bother me that all the kits are mixed in as he must have literally hundreds of pounds worth of kits (bought mainly by family as birthday/xmas pressies) but first and foremost they are his toys and not an investment!

Anyone have one of those benches? Are they any good? Or any other suggestions of a nice looking storage box that would look OK in his bedroom? He has too much to fit into the big plastic container that the general building blocks came in...

like the look of that..seems cheap for what it is compared to those that shegirl added the link for

londonsurrey

shegirl wrote: »

I LOVE these http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Search/searchTerms/LEGO+STORAGE.htm (and want some myself, the big kid that I am:o) and reckon they'd be THE best thing for storing Lego...just because it's giant lego:D

Lol. How very odd!
I wonder if they snap together