Sorting LEGO – The never ending journey…

One of my never ending LEGO projects is sorting LEGO.  Specifically, I’m sorting a Large LEGO Lot (LLL) I bought a while ago.  This particular LLL came in two 20 gallon totes, and a small container on minifigures.

To me, sorting LEGO is an iterative process; one you refine in subsequent phases.  Keep in mind, I am developing my methodology on the fly based on things I have read from others that came before me, and adjusting based on my own experience.  I’m not saying this is the way to do it.  All I’m saying is this is how I’m doing it today!

First Round of Sorting LEGO

In my first round, I sort by color.  If you google “how should I sort LEGO”, half the results will say, “DON’T sort by color!”  Just hear me out.  Remember, my goal is to rebuild sets quickly so I can sell them and recoup my investment.  I tend to rebuild a handful of sets AS I am sorting. I just keep an eye out for specific pieces.

When all my parts are in one big bin, it is impossible to find a 1×1 needle in a 20 gallon haystack.  Sorting by color gives me an immediate edge.  Need a red 1×2 grille brick?  Now I just have to look through my red bin.  MUCH easier at this point.

Ok, so I don’t sort by individual color.  If I had more room, and longer arms I might.  I need to be able to sit in one place when I sort.  This helps speed the process.  I decided to combine contrasting colors.  As you can see, I combine white and black.  Yellow and blue.  Light gray and dark tan.  And so on…

Second Round of Sorting LEGO

In my second sort, I pull out specific elements and store them in the parts containers shown below.  There are a bunch of them on the market.  I bought these units from Stack On from Amazon because they were economical at the time.

The things I sorted into these bins are smaller items and often used pieces like:

• 1×1 plates with clip
• 1×1 round bricks
• 1×2 plates
• 1×2 tiles
• etc.

I have a few more of these storage bins sitting around.  As I buy additional LLLs, and do more sorts, the parts I choose to store like this will increase.  I want to maintain a balance between flexibility and the ability to quickly locate what I need.

A “Sort Of” Third Round of Sorting LEGO

I say this is “sort of” a third round of sorting because it actually happens during the second round of sorting.  In this rack I have 10 parts trays.  Each tray has a specific purpose, but contains multiple colors:

• Large plates
• wedge plates
• Wedge bricks
• 2×6+ bricks
• Etc.

Overflow Parts

After I pull out the specific bits that go into the small bins and the large trays, I’m still left with a bunch of specialty parts.

• Slope bricks
• Ladders
• Railings
• Doors
• Windows
• Etc.

These stay in these closable bins.  Again, this still helps me with the rebuild process.  Need a white 1x2x5 brick?  Go to the white bin!  It’s all about creating order out of chaos.

Rebuilding the Sets

As I’ going through the sorting process, I look for LEGO blobs; chunks of models that I can hopefully identify easily.  These are the blobs I pulled from this LLL.

At this point, it’s off to lego.com to download instructions and getting down to work!