Subject:
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Sorting strategies [was: Re: Rebel Blockade Runner . . . Holy Moly ! !]
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.storage
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Date:
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Tue, 7 May 2002 17:46:03 GMT
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Viewed:
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5084 times
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Frank Filz <ffilz@mindspring.com> writes:
> Mark wrote:
> > I wonder how hard it would be to get some of those trays that come
> > at a bead store. Ever been to one? I go with my wife
> > occasionally. People get all these beads in little trays, roughly
> > a foot sqare with different sized compartments (rounded bottoms,
> > remember beads are hard to get a hold of). If I recall correctly
> > trays come in a variety of sizes as well. Hmmmmm, time to head
> > off to alexander beads methinks.
>
> I've thought about checking those out. I have a feeling they would
> be too small to be useful. The ideal sorting tray is about 12"x18"
> and 2" deep, divided into 6-25 compartments. For some stuff, a
> larger tray, 15"x25" and 4" deep with 6-10 compartments is valuable.
>
> The key to efficient sorting is lots of compartments, and regularity
> is good. My "small plates" tray, a 24 compartment Advent Calendar
> tray, can be used almost without sight since I've trained my hands
> to know which bin is which - this tray has compartments for almost
> every small special plate and tile (though the ones which still go
> in 3700 Plano boxes all go into one compartment).
I don't think this is necessary for efficient sorting. I just pick
out a handful of pieces of a given type, then put them in their bin,
and then a handful of pieces of either the same or a slightly
different type, and repeat.
But then, I'm not as meticulous about sorting as some people. I do
not make any effort, as a general rule, to put only identical pieces
together. I sort all of my LEGO into only 21 drawers (plus four Plano
boxes for the Technic bits):
* "SPUDs, POOPs, & BURPs" [bagged]
* Bricks & plates in six drawers: Nx2, Nx4 [bagged], Nx3, Nx6&12,
Nx8&16 (plus4x4), 1x1 plus Nx10&14&18. N in this case is 1, 2, 4,
or 6. I recently bagged up the Nx4 drawer as an experiment, and may
do the same for the other drawers if I end up liking the result.
* What I call "Brackets" - all the 1xn bricks and plates with various
things sticking off the sides, headlight bricks, etc. [bagged]
* Hinges, swivels, and hitches [bagged]
* Curved & cylindrical pieces of all types [bagged]
* Minifigs, landscaping, animals, and minifig tools/accessories [bagged]
* Windows, doors, and transparent pieces [bagged]
* Wheels of all kinds, plus train parts
* Unsorted Technic bits
* Tiles and brick separators ("Lego wrenches" I call them)
* Printed pieces, corrugated bricks, "log" bricks, etc.
* Slopes [bagged]
* Inverse slopes [bagged]
* Aircraft parts (wings, tails, propellers, rotors, helicopter skids, etc.
* Baseplates, basebricks, and other large pieces
* Unsorted parts - partly assembled or disassembled models, etc.
I have three of the 7-drawer IRIS cabinets from Costco. Each of these
sections represents one cabinet. My collection may not be as huge as
some people, but if it were I would probably use larger drawers rather
than create too many new categories. I don't want to spend too much
time sorting, and a little raking once in a while is fine by me.
Sorting for me is a multi-stage process. Say I'm disassembling a
model or a new LEGO set I bought. I'll grab up pieces that go into
the same drawer and then drop them in that drawer. Later I'll go
through drawers and sort them on an as-needed basis. There are
usually some loose pieces mixed in with the bag, as a result.
The categories that are bagged are generally by type, with pieces of
all colors, and perhaps pieces of similar function, mixed together.
Transparent pieces (mostly space canopies) and slopes are grouped by
color instead. I use small Ziplock bags from the local plastics shop.
If I need to dig through the contents of a bag to find a particular
part, I'll dump the bag out into a plastic bowl (one of the new
disposable bowls from Ziplock), find what I want, and then pour the
bowl's contents back into the bag.
--Bill.
--
William R Ward bill@wards.net http://www.wards.net/~bill/
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
AMAZING BUT TRUE: There is so much sand in northern Africa that if it were
spread out it would completely cover the Sahara Desert!
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