If you’ve got kids, you’ve got building bricks and you need these best LEGO® storage ideas. As a mother of three and a professional organizer, I’ve taken time to gather all the best genius LEGO storage ideas, tips and products, so you can tame the LEGO chaos and all those little pieces (and save your bare feet, too).
Don’t give up if you don’t find the right solutions for you right away, because with more than 135 tips, products and ideas, you’re sure to find ones that will work for your specific situation. Lots of LEGO storage ideas mean lots of solutions that will work for you.
Whether your LEGO collection consists of just a few building bricks and LEGO sets or you’ve built up an impressive LEGO collection, there are many clever ways here to get organized.
Do you keep LEGO sets together?
It depends on your answer to these questions:
- Are your children very young?
- It’s usually too much to ask of children under the age of 12 to take the time to keep the pieces of sets separated.
- Are you willing to clean up and put LEGO sets away every time your child plays with them?
- Is it realistic that you will have time to collect all the little pieces, separate them into individual sets and put the sets away each time your child plays with them.
- Do you have the time and are you willing to do this?
- Do you have many sets?
- If you only have a few sets, it may be possible to keep the sets separated and the pieces of the set together, but if you have many sets, it will be much more difficult.
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Does your child prefer to build sets again and again?
- If it’s important to the way your child plays with LEGOs to be able to find all the pieces required to rebuild sets, then you should keep sets separated and together.
- Does your child prefer to create and build their own designs?
- If you child is less committed to rebuilding a set according to its original design, then breaking up sets and organizing bricks by color or size will work better for you (tips on organizing LEGO bricks are below).
- Does your child play with LEGO sets after the set is built or does your child prefer to display the set?
- If your child is playing with sets, often pieces fall off and get scrambled up with other loose blocks. This makes it difficult to keep sets intact and stored separately.
- Do you have the space to keep the sets stored separately?
- It takes more space to keep sets stored separately. If you have limited space and lots of LEGO bricks, you may need to break up the sets to fit in your storage space.
The best solution for most people is often a combination of storing sets separately and storing bricks mixes together.
- You can choose a few sets to display, which is storing them separately.
- You can choose to keep a few favorite sets stored separately for future rebuilds.
- You can decide to store sets separately until the pieces get mixed up. Once that happens, don’t worry about it any more.
LEGO Storage Ideas
The product images below are clickable links that take you directly to the products so you can explore the measurements, specifics and current prices.
Storage bags and swoop bags are a great solution for younger children to clean up and store building blocks because it’s easy for them to do.
You can purchase name brand LEGO storage bags or find other similar storage options (you may already have a bag that will work).
The bags also make it easy for kids to carry their LEGOs to an open table, play area or floor space for playtime. The bags with built in play mat are a great idea for travel.
Giving children their own LEGO table encourages creativity and LEGO building because the projects can remain safely on the table (and out of the way) when the child takes a break.
Organizing tip – look for tables that also have storage drawers built in.
These storage tables are easy to move so you can keep it in the living room, , a playroom or the child’s bedroom and move it when you need. This allows the hard work put into building to be preserved rather than needing to clear the dinning room table or kitchen table for meals.
Under-the-bed storage options are great for small spaces with limited storage.
LEGO Storage Box with Compartments
Containers with small compartments area great way to separate and organize small pieces to make them easy to find later.
These containers can also be use as a LEGO sorting box or tray. A sorting tray makes it easier to find a particular piece needed for construction.
Some builders don’t like sorting trays, but consider whether this organizing tool will help you organize and store your building pieces in a way that works well for your needs.
Containers for LEGOs
In choosing your LEGO storage system, decide whether you want storage containers with a lid or open bins. There are benefits to both choices.
The benefits of closed containers:
- The lid secures the tiny pieces so they don’t fall out and get lost.
- It’s easy to stack multiple lidded containers on shelf or in the corner of a room. This is particularly helpful for small spaces.
- Lidded storage containers can be stacked on the shelves of an open storage unit. This provides an ideal compromise between closed and open storage by keeping the bins out where they can be seen.
- Bins with lids are often the best choice for older kids who are more likely to take the extra step of putting the lid back on the container.
- Lidded containers are a good option when the LEGO storage box has to be moved from the storage location to a desk or table for use.
The benefits of open organizational systems:
- It’s convenient storage for both parents and children
- The open bins allow for easy access.
- Clean up is easy since LEGO blocks can be tossed into the bins.
- Open storage is often the best choice for younger children because it’s easier for them to access pieces and to put them away.
These acrylic storage boxes and shoe boxes are linked to Amazon products, but you can also find similar items and LEGO storage options at The Container Store or department store.
Plastic drawer systems come in different sizes, including ones small enough to sit on a desk or shelf. They can be an affordable way to create the perfect solution for flexible storage. There are even stackable drawer system options that can fit under the bed.
LEGO Storage Ideas IKEA
If you have an IKEA store nearby, you know that it’s a great source for affordable organizational systems.
If you don’t have an IKEA available, the IKEA products below are available through Amazon.
You can find cube storage shelves at IKEA, Target, Walmart and on Amazon. These shelves are affordable and a quick and easy LEGO storage organizer. They’re also a great choice because they can transition to other storage when your child is older and may want to display or store other items.
The advantage to rolling carts and bins with handles is that they can easily be carried to the top of the table or other flat surface for building.
Display LEGOs
There are many product that make it possible for you to proudly display your works of art or LEGO figures.
You can choose a wall display case to maximize your storage space by using the otherwise unused vertical space in a room. A shelving unit is a great storage solution for completed LEGO kits.
DIY and Creative LEGO Storage Ideas
Place LEGO sets in plastic zippered bags. Label the bags and store them in a wood crate, bin or the DIY clementine crate project below.
Take advantage of the otherwise unused space under your child’s bed. Build your own under bed rolling LEGO storage bins with this tutorial from Happy Housie.
Use a clear divided Lazy Susan to organize LEGO blocks by color. This is a great idea for small pieces that are difficult to find in a large bin of bricks.
Use the free plans from Addicted to DIY to make your own personalized wood LEGO storage cubes. This DIY LEGO storage cube is both a LEGO storage solution and a fun room décor piece.
Use a train table that your child has outgrown or that you find at a yard sale for LEGO building and to store LEGO blocks.
Make a bin with handles to store LEGO bricks and baseplates with this tutorial from The Handyman’s Daughter. The bin has a clear front so it’s easy to find the exact block you’re looking for.
Repurpose a rolling tool box or tool box with compartments. These both are designed with drawers or compartments that are perfect for sorting and organzing building blocks.
Build your own under-the-bed storage bin with removeable dividers. The bin is on wheels to make it easy to access. The tutorial is from Bright Green Door.
Upcycle an outdated coffee table into a LEGO storage table with this creative tutorial from Infarrantly Creative. This tutorial can be adapted to make your own DIY LEGO table from furniture you already have or can find at a yard sale or thrift store.
Attach LEGO base plates to the wall to create a LEGO wall for play, display and storage.
Place drawer dividers in an upcycled dresser or drawer unit to create organizing compartments for sorting LEGO pieces and storing them. This makes it easy to find the pieces needed.
A repurposed fishing tackle box is a good way to organize small LEGO peices.
DIY Repurposed Can LEGO Head Storage – It’s easy to organize and store LEGOs with a DIY Repurposed Can LEGO Head Container you can make for pennies & in just minutes. Looks just like the LEGO storage heads you see in the store but costs almost nothing.
Your child will have fun designing the expressions to put on each side of the container.
If you’d can find plastic containers in a larger size to upcycle as well. You can use spray paint if you’d like them to be yellow.
Upcycled Comic Book Clementine Crate – You can decorate the crate with any theme you choose. The crate works well as a sorting tray and as an organizing bin.
Create a LEGO Travel Box with this DIY tutorial from Dukes & Duchesses.
Repurpose an old bookcase or shelf unit for a DIY display area LEGO organizer.
Make a DIY LEGO tote with this tutorial from Her Toolbelt. This tote can be used as both storage and for portable LEGO play.
Use an over-the-door shoe organizer with clear pockets to organize LEGO blocks or figures.
Expert Tips for LEGO Storage
- The first step for LEGO brick storage is to decide whether you want to keep all the small pieces of LEGO sets together or whether you’ll mix sets together.
- You’ll find that most LEGO fans fall into one of 3 types:
- Builds a set and displays it
- Builds a set, displays it briefly, takes it apart and rebuilds again and again.
- Builds a set, takes it apart and intermixes set pieces together for their own creative building design.
- Knowing which type of LEGO fan you have will help you choose the best organizing system to encourage creative play and neat storage.
- If you decide to keep loose LEGO blocks, decide whether to organize by
- Color
- Brick size
- All together in one large bin of all blocks stored together
- It’s a personal preference choice. Be sure to consult with your children about which organizational system is the best way for them and their building style.
- Consider that it is often easier to find a particular size and color brick when you have organized your bricks by size because your brain will pick the color out quicker than an individual sized piece. For example, if you have all your 1×2 bricks in a container, you can quickly locate a red 1×2 brick. But if you have to sort through an entire bin of red brick to find a 1×2 brick, it will take longer.
- Choose how you will organize and store your LEGO bricks by considering:
- The size of your space
- What will work as convenient storage for your needs, preferences and space
- Decide whether LEGOs will be kept in a kid’s room or other room. Some families who have a large collection and dedicate an entire room to their LEGO organization. But if you have limited space, there are many creative LEGO storage ideas here that are the best solutions for small rooms.
- Decide whether you will keep LEGO sets in the box they came in. If you do, keep the instruction manuals in the box.
- The boxes are flimsy and not standard sizes, so you may decide to store the LEGO pieces in a plastic storage bin instead of the cardboard box.
- If you do want to keep the pieces in the box, put all pieces in a large zippered plastic bag inside the box.
- You can also choose to store the LEGO bricks in a plastic bin and keep the product boxes in another storage area, such as an attic or basement.
- Another good idea to organize and store instruction manuals is to put them in page protectors in a binder. Before you go to all that work, check first to see if your instructions are available online.
- Containers with dividers, such as tool boxes and bead organizing containers can be a better way to store little LEGO pieces.
- Clear storage boxes and drawers are the best choice for quick, visual identification of contents.
- Place a sheet or blanket on the floor for a play and building area. When the child is done, simply pick all the blocks up by lifting the four corners of the blanket. This creates your own DIY LEGO floor mat that also works for storage.
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Be sure to pin these LEGO storage ideas for later, because we both know you’ll need to refer to these ideas again as your LEGO collection grows and changes.
You can find all our best organizing ideas for kids in the table below. You can scroll though the table and look for ideas or search for specific ideas with the magnifying glass in the upper right-hand corner (on desktop). Click on the topic and then click through the specific article.
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