Plastic Tubs and Drawer Cabinet Thing for LEGO Storage

So there is a lot of Lego and it's time to sort it. All up there is maybe 1/2 a typical red lidded garbage bin worth, which is very heavy all up. I know I'll need two or four large plastic tubs for just regular bricks and flat bricks, this makes up the bulk of the lego and doesn't need to be in special little drawers or anything. But I'll also need somewhere for two lunchboxes size worth of wheels, and four lunchbox sizes worth of windows/doors. Even the minifig heads alone are the volume of a few oranges.

I'd like to put all those things in little drawer compartments. Requirement is that the drawers can't be fully removed and all dumped out, so they need to be deep enough to rummage through. So I guess wide and flat drawers would be ideal, so they can be spread out in the drawer itself. But i just want it to be hard to mix up again, anyone using it should be forced to pick and choose from the drawer itself.

I've looked at some tool organisation things on eBay and Amazon and they look fine, but they are too small. I need big but compact storage that kids can safely use. And it doesn't need to hold all the lego, i can take some of the heads and wheels out of rotation, for example, because no kid will need 150 wheels at the same time.

I can see all the professional lego storage that is sold but that seems like a lot of money for something that is basically just a little plastic set of drawers.

Comments

  • +2

    IKEA has a huge range of these kind of things.

  • I solved this with stuff from Bunnings - not full on tool boxes, but the slightly smaller plastic stuff they have. You can get drawer style ones or ones that open from above. Not that expensive, either.

  • Check these guys out for inspiration

    https://www.reddit.com/r/LegoStorage/

  • +1

    I just went to reject shop. Pretty decent selection and cheap.

  • We've used ikea trofast, similar to
    https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/trofast-storage-combination-wit…
    but have used less-deep drawers, so 6 drawers, and organised the lego pieces by colours.
    Sounds like you have a lot more than we do, so maybe you'd need a bigger shelving unit.

    $10 Ikea voucher would help a little
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/531801

  • Free and simple storage I put together at no cost for a school's SciTech room.
    It consisted of cartons for A3 copying paper (from photocopy room,local print shop may be able to help you out), into which I put 2L plastic milk containers, cut off to the height of the box.
    The containers were large enough to be able to put your hand in to retrieve parts, and see contents.
    Each box held about 12 milk containers iirc.
    Boxes, with lids on, were easy to label and stacked into cupboards/on shelves.
    Likewise for model builds, we used A4 photocopy boxes. Build in the lid, the rest of the box is a cover to protect the stored model. Easy to label and store.

  • for large lots of sorted pieces, i use sealed sistema containers that nest inside their 60L and 30L containers. they are often on s
    for smaller lots, I use the 33x drawers from aldi, at $20 each is a bargain

  • I bought several sets of these instore and they stack up nicely: https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/p/ezy-storag…

  • One of these types? Not sure if they are too exy for you though as you might need a few?

    https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/c/office-sup…

    Requirement is that the drawers can't be fully removed and all dumped out, so they need to be deep enough to rummage through.

    I have this one that I use for receipts, bills, documents etc I know for a fact you can't pull the drawers out completely from the plastic frame unless you push some clips in. But nothing's stopping them from tipping the whole thing upside down I suppose.

    Probably need to go and check them out in person to see if they suit your requirements.

    Edit: Bunnings have these also (I don't own them though)

    https://www.bunnings.com.au/clear-stackable-single-drawer-un…

    https://www.bunnings.com.au/all-set-horizontal-twin-drawer-s…

    https://www.bunnings.com.au/all-set-vertical-twin-drawer-sto…

  • A popular set up seems to be IKEA Kallax (but be prepared they’re not cheap for what they are) in tandem with variation on configurations such as 4x4 or 8x8 with a worktop on top. That is centred in a room, or alternatively Kallax on walls with a plastic tub storage.

    Another option could be Pax wardrobe with pullout drawers.

    Unfortunately anything is going to pricey I suspect.

    I just keep all of mine in a huge clear plastic tub, but likewise I’m going to have to sort something out.

  • Probably the best guide to storing LEGO I've read is this one: https://brickarchitect.com/guide/bricks/

    I highly recommend reading the whole thing, as I've made mistakes in the past in sorting/storing lego. The "I'll sort it into bins with separate colours" was the worst mistake, despite the fact it sounds like a good idea on the surface!

    The highly recommended storage solution for large collections in that article doesn't appear to be available in Australia… at least not cheaply enough to be viable.

    So here's my recommendation set assuming you go for something a bit bigger/more sorted:

    1) Wait for Aldi to have their Jan/Feb sale on the Workzone 33 drawer accessory organiser. These have been $19.99 the last two times offered (Jan 2020, Feb 2019).
    http://offers.kd2.org/en/ie/aldi/pAfg/

    2) Grab the similar item from Jaycar for a little bit extra (bulk discounts available)
    https://www.jaycar.com.au/33-drawer-parts-cabinet/p/HB6330

    3) Spend more and get some of these that stack well and have multiple options of drawer sizes
    https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/253661607171
    https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/253071348666

  • Aldi's storage solution is back for 2021, on-sale Jan 23rd. Only really useful for those with medium-large to really huge collections though!

    https://www.aldi.com.au/en/special-buys/special-buys-sat-23-…

    Note: not the open bin version. Go for the drawers.

    • That looks interesting. I still need a solution. I'm actually still sorting the lego, every time I think I'm almost done another bag or box gets discovered. There is just so much. None of those individual drawers would be big enough for minifig heads alone. Seriously need to roughly value it all for insurance afterwards. But these containers from Aldi could be as good a solution as any that doesn't require an expensive import from overseas.

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