Subject:
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Re: Sorting
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.robotics
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Date:
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Thu, 30 Dec 1999 20:22:57 GMT
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Original-From:
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Ted Michon <tedmichon@home.com(Spamless)>
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Viewed:
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936 times
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Since my older son received his first LEGO set at age 3, we have been keeping
the parts in plastic storage bins made by Emplast. We are up to 18 large drawer
bins and 9 small drawer bins. The large ones have 18 drawers and the small ones
have 60 drawers, for a total of 864 drawers. We have them in a 9 wide by 3 high
array on one wall of the family room. The bottom row starts 18 inches off the
ground and under it we have 20 or so LEGO tubs which get the bulk storage.
(Additional bulk storage goes in the original Rubbermaid shoebox containers
(they no longer make this size, to my annoyance) and LEGO tubs).
There are several great things about the Emplast drawers. First, both the large
drawer bins and small drawer bins have the same overall size, so we can mix and
match them in our 9 x 3 array. Second, drawers are metric, just like LEGO, and
conveniently so: All drawers exactly accomodate a 16 bump long brick. The small
drawers are exactly 6 bumps wide. The drawers are clear, so you can see what
you want, though most of our drawers are labelled. We typically store things in
areas by family (rectangular thick bricks, rectangular thin bricks, RR,
Technics, vehicles, etc). Within an area, we array things horizontally by color
and vertically by size and/or other characteristics. For example, we have a
section of 4 large bins that is 6 drawers across by standard colors and, 12
drawers deep by brick length.
The system has worked very well for us and now holds about 95,000 bricks. When
kids come over to play LEGO with the boys for the first time, they are amazed
by how quickly they can find a particular part.
The downside to this system, of course, is that you have to put the parts away
in their own bins. My wife and I find the job therapeutic at times, but the
boys generally hate it. Depending up how many different parts are involved, a
10,000 brick put away job can take an entire weekend (or seem like it).
The Emplast bins are available nationwide. Locally, I buy them here in Southern
California at Home Base. They run $12 to $18, depending upon whether they are
on sale or not.
Good luck.
-Ted Michon
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: Sorting
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| I should add that it's not literally the "putting away" that the kids hate (with regard to keeping parts in bins), but the sorting prior to putting the parts away. Putting things in drawers goes quickly, making sorted piles does not. -Ted (...) (25 years ago, 30-Dec-99, to lugnet.robotics)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: Sorting
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| I have reciently aquired several of the Akro-Mils bin type boxes. These are ideal if you are using a bench or some other permanant work surface. They may be viewed at (URL) and (URL) The 2nd pic shows one of the dividers. In all I have 175 of the (...) (25 years ago, 29-Dec-99, to lugnet.robotics)
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