If you have kids between the ages of 7-13 in your house, chances are great that you have Legos. And not just a few Legos, but masses of them! When each Lego set contains on average a minimum of 75 pieces, you can bet that those little pieces wind up everywhere.
So what’s the secret to a good organizing system for Legos? I’ve seen many systems in many homes, and most of them don’t work well because they are missing one or two key elements. There are three elements you need to have in place for a good Lego organizing system:
- Space to build Legos
- Space to store the loose bricks
- Space to display the finished Lego buildings, vehicles, etc.
Space to build Legos: Most kids seem to like to put together Legos on the floor, probably because that’s where they have the most room. Sometimes parents will allocate a desk or table surface for them, but all too often, that space is too small. Kids like to spreeeaad out when they build Legos, so they inevitably end up on the floor. Might as well go with the flow and give them some floor space, ideally in a room with a door you can close! (Maintenance tip: We ask my son to pick up his Legos off the floor most Sunday evenings so we can vacuum.)
Space to store loose bricks: Those plastic Sterilite drawers work great for organizing all of the loose bricks. Don’t get too carried away by setting up an overly complicated organizing system. Most kids can’t or won’t maintain a color-coded system, I have found. Let them determine how they want to sort their Legos, and don’t be surprised if they sort them in a way that makes no sense to you. That’s fine, so long as it makes sense to the child, who will be responsible for maintaining his or her Lego system.
Space to display the finished Lego creations: Most older children will want a place to display the 700-piece creation they spent 6 hours putting together (younger children don’t seem to care as much about displaying Legos, probably because they are actively playing with them). This is where shelves come in. You can get floating shelves for a wall or use the shelves in a bookcase. If you use a bookcase, it’s handy if you can store bins for Lego storage down on the lower shelves while reserving the upper shelves for a Lego display. You might need to set a limit on how much display space the child gets, because this area can quickly fill up and take over a playroom or bedroom!
So if you have a Lego fan in your house and seem to struggle with Lego storage, see if perhaps your Lego system is missing one of these three elements. Happy Organizing!
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