LEGO Organization: 10 Tips for Taming the Bricks

By
Parker Barry
Categories

Most parents love the amazing creations kids build with LEGO, but we sometimes loathe the piles and stray bricks cluttering our living spaces. Here’s how to keep the lid on LEGO chaos and promote open-ended play with these classic toys.

  • 1. Enlist your kids in the process. There’s nothing more frustrating than setting up a beautifully organized system and having kids ignore it.
  • 2. Take time to observe how your kid plays with LEGO and identify where hot spots for messes exist, then plan your organizing system around what you’ve observed.
  • 3. Depending upon the size of your kid’s collection, consider sorting by general categories (bricks, tiles, decorative pieces, moving pieces and plates), by individual type (cones, sloped pieces, windows, animals, etc.) or by piece size.
  • 4. Use transparent drawers or bins with labels and photos for easy cleanup.
  • 5. After kids build a pre-structured, themed set, mix those pieces with others for kid-inspired, Pure Play fun.
  • 6. Explore all organizing options from expensive pre-made systems to DIY projects to find one that fits your time and budget. Check out Pinterest and other sites for hundreds of storage ideas.
  • 7. ​Depending on your kid’s play style, c​hoose a fixed, one-room organizing system or mobile storage.
  • 8. Promote open-ended play by mixing up your system each year or when LEGO play grows stale.
  • 9. Think safety: Do you have little ones around for whom tiny LEGO pieces could be choking hazards? Proper storage allows access to right-age kids while baby proofing.
  • 10. Adjust. If your kids don’t like the system, keep trying!

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