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Subject: 
Re: I'm sorting by color now!
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.build
Date: 
Thu, 4 Nov 1999 18:31:09 GMT
Viewed: 
510 times
  
In lugnet.build, Jeremy Sproat writes:
...after almost a year of sorting by form and functionality.  That's more than
30,000 Lego pieces, sorted by color into about a dozen plastic drawers
measuring roughly 11 x 13 x 3 inches.  (1)

Oh no!  It's so hard to find The-Piece-I-Need now!

Well...not yeally.  The larger bins -- namely black, light gray, red, white,
and yellow -- overflow single drawers and will soon be given a secondary sort
by form.  Technic pieces (except for beams and plates) are sill kept aside and
sorted by form; the same applies for minifigs, animals, baseplates, wheels,
pieces with labels or stickers, and some other stuff.  The goal is to keep
each drawer no more than ~ 80% full.

I was dreading the re-sort, and I was especially not looking forward to
playing within this scheme.  But it has proven to be exceptionally good.  I'm
so glad that Barbara made me do it.  :-,

I've discovered something about the way I build, something which Barbara has
tried to point out to me for quite some time.  Sure, it's harder to find
The-Piece-I-Need exactly, but while rooting through the bin I discover pieces
which work much better.  As a result, new creations look better (in a
monochrome sort of way) and are built faster than before.  Also, less time is
spent agonizing over the right color during the design of a new model, which
is a Good Thing.  To paraphrase Don Knuth, "premature beautification is evil."

I am totally blown away by how well this works.  What is everyone's take on
it?  Are some of you who previously sorted by form now sorting by color as
well?  Vice-versa?  What experiences have you had in switching from one
organization method to another?  How frequently do some of you change sorting
methods?

Cheers,
- jsproat

1.  Sterilite "ClearView" 3-Drawer Organizers.  These things are awesome.

--
Jeremy H. Sproat <jsproat@io.com> ~~~ http://www.io.com/~jsproat/
It's not the same log.  It's not the same log.  It's not the same log.
It's not the same log.  It's not the same log.  It's not the same log.
              It's the same log.  It's the same log.  It's the same log.

jerremy ~

i've sorted by color since day one, and it's the only way to go-go, baby!

after color division, i go brick, plate, slope, with plates divided into large
(a 4x4 plate being the smallest of these) and small (including all 2x). reds
dictate a need to sort out inverted slopes into their own bag. i sort them all
into heavy duty ziplock freezer bags, which are all kept in a 3x3 foot clear
lucite cube.(just barely, these days)

the black bricks, plates and slopes have their own sorting/ storage bin, a
clear lucite, 3 compartmented biscotti display bin with a lid. i wish i had one
of these for each color!

browns, dark greys, and the other newer colors haven't been sub-divided by
piece type yet, but will when volume dictates. i just subdivided the greens
during the last round of sorting.

i use lots of plano brand tackleboxes for everything else from clips and tiles
to monkeys and hinges. these go through constant rearrangement whenever a
compartment runs out of space.

i like clear storage containers, and have been using large plastic jars
(biscotti/ pretzle containers fron sam's) for technic pieces, turn corners,
tall slopes, and wall/ post pieces. these aren't sorted by color, just shape,
but the containers allow me to see the pieces inside.

but yeah, i'm a big fan of the sort by color method.

later ~ craig



Message has 1 Reply:
  Re: I'm sorting by color now!
 
(...) one (...) Color, for sure. I'm a big fan of the "Walmart Box" (can't beat #pieces/$). I use a separate box for each color of the basic bricks. Each box is sub-divided to 1x1, 2x2 etc using zipper-lock freezer bags. Each box is labeled (...) (25 years ago, 4-Nov-99, to lugnet.build)

Message is in Reply To:
  I'm sorting by color now!
 
...after almost a year of sorting by form and functionality. That's more than 30,000 Lego pieces, sorted by color into about a dozen plastic drawers measuring roughly 11 x 13 x 3 inches. (1) Oh no! It's so hard to find The-Piece-I-Need now! (...) (25 years ago, 4-Nov-99, to lugnet.build)

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