LEGO Storage Ideas and Solutions

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LEGO storage ideas for sets, minifigs, random collections, and special displays! Learn how to keep LEGO sets and minifigures organized and sorted with cheap and affordable containers, bins, bags, and more.

lego storage idea

I fully admit it: as a parent of two kids who deeply love LEGO, the storage and organization of those little bricks and minifigs used to drive me absolutely crazy.

When our kids first got into collecting LEGO, we went into it without any storage ideas and regretted it pretty quickly. And after a while of examining how our kids use their LEGO and like to play with them, we came up with some LEGO storage ideas and solutions that work well for our family.

We started with a set of DIY LEGO display shelves (more on that below!) and now we have a fully organized system for LEGO that makes it easy for our kids to access and keep organized.

How Do Your Kids Play?

Before you start setting up a system of LEGO storage ideas, it’s important to get to know how your family likes to use and play with LEGO. Keep an eye out or talk to your kids about how they like to play so you can make a plan that will be easily accessible for them (and easy for them to keep organized!).

For our kids, we discovered that there were three main styles of LEGO play.

LEGO Set Building. Our kids enjoy building and re-building their favorite sets over and over again, using the instruction booklets as they build. It’s handy for them if all of the pieces of the set are pre-sorted and the booklet is with the pieces from the set.

Minifigure Play. They also love to play just with minifigures sometimes, exchanging pieces of characters to mix up new ones. They set them up as targets for target practice, they make stories up with them, and manipulate them in imaginative play.

Free Building. The third way they like to play with LEGO is to just build freely with the classic bricks. These are LEGO bricks that don’t belong to any particular set. The kids spend hours making their own creations as they free-build.

lego minifigure display idea

Cheap LEGO Storage

Before we dive in, one thing to note: LEGO storage ideas don’t have to be expensive! The ideas that are outlined below are simple, affordable (read: cheap), and totally effective.

The one investment that you will probably have to make is just a little bit of time, as you organize your LEGO bricks at the start. It may take some initial effort to sort through all of your sets or bricks.

But once you have them sorted, it will save time and headaches every time your kids play with them.

Containers and Bins for Storing LEGO Pieces

When it comes to our kids’ toys, we have a few goals about their storage.

  • Toys should be easily accessible for kids, and easy for kids to clean up/put away.
  • They should have storage containers that kids can open and close by themselves, and which keep them sorted well.
  • Ideally, they should be able to be put away fully out of sight.

With all that in mind, we came up with a few LEGO storage ideas for containers and bins that would fit all of our criteria.

You’ll need:

Below I’ll outline how we use each of these!

LEGO Table Alternatives

Before I share our LEGO storage ideas, I have one more tip!

I know lots of people have LEGO tables for their kids to play with and that’s how they organize their LEGO bricks. But in our house, we don’t have a dedicated playroom or the space to house a whole LEGO table.

So we have a different solution for when the kids want to spread out the LEGO and play.

Instead of a whole table, another really great idea is a play mat. It’s a simple solution that has a lot of benefits.

  • You can fold or roll it up to a very small size and store it away.
  • It keeps the LEGO bricks off of the floor or rug where they’ll get stepped on (ouch!).
  • After play, it’s easy to use the mat to funnel all of the bricks and pieces back into their container.
  • Kids can spread their LEGO over the mat to see all of the pieces easily.
play mat for lego play

Organizing LEGO Sets

So let’s talk about LEGO storage ideas and how to keep everything organized! Like I said, our kids play with LEGO in three very specific ways. So we arranged storage for each purpose.

This is the easiest, most affordable way to organize LEGO sets.

For each set, you’ll need a Ziploc baggie, gallon sized, with a slide zipper.

Place the LEGO bricks and any extra parts from each set in a baggie. Then add the instruction booklet in front of all of the pieces to identify the set.

We have found that all of our LEGO sets fit in the gallon-sized bag, but if you have a larger set you might need multiple bags. All of our bags stay in a drawer in each of the kids’ rooms.

Finally, we find that the slide zipper is crucial on the Ziploc bags so that kids can handle opening and closing them on their own.

lego set storage idea
how to store lego in a drawer

Storage Tubs for LEGO Bricks

If you have lots of LEGO bricks from a classic box that don’t belong to a particular set, we find that a storage tub works well. Our favorite tubs for LEGO are at Michaels, but you can find similar ones online.

I love this particular tub because:

  • It holds lots of bricks but it’s still light enough for a kid to carry.
  • There’s a handle on top and clasps on the sides to secure it.
  • It’s clear so kids can see what’s inside.
  • There is a removable tray which is useful for sorting pieces or separating a piece that the kids are working on.
lego bricks and play mat with storage bin

Make a LEGO Minifigure Display Shelf

Organizing LEGO minifigures was one of our biggest issues. Our kids love to mix and match minifigs, use them for play, and move them all around the house.

So we needed a place to keep them organized that was easy for the kids to access and play with.

We built a set of custom LEGO Display Shelves and it was so easy! Lots of friends have recreated it and it works every time.

It’s an easy and really affordable way to have a place to organize LEGO minifigures and keep them from taking over your life!

LEGO display shelves
LEGO display shelves

LEGO SET Display Ideas

And finally, if you have a kiddo who loves to display the creations or sets that they build, we have found that some open shelving works really well!

It’s perfect for sets that involve a lot of play or scene building. This way, kids can build out the sets and leave them on display for a bit, while they use them for imaginative play.

how to display lego

Ideas for Organizing More Kid Stuff

If you love these LEGO storage ideas and solutions for organizing LEGO, you have to see our other kid-friendly ideas and hacks!

lego minifigure display idea
lego set display
how to store lego in a drawer
lego storage ideas

LEGO Storage Ideas and Solutions

Yield: LEGO Storage
Active Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: Easy
Estimated Cost: $20

Here's how to store and organize all of your LEGO sets, bricks, and minifigures!

Materials

  • Ziploc gallon baggies with slide zipper
  • Storage tubs

Tools

  • Shelves

Instructions

    1. Place the LEGO bricks and any extra parts from each set in a baggie. Then add the instruction booklet in front of all of the pieces to identify the set.
    2. We have found that all of our LEGO sets fit in the gallon-sized bag, but if you have a larger set you might need multiple bags. All of our bags stay in a drawer in each of the kids' rooms.
    3. Finally, we find that the slide zipper is crucial on the Ziploc bags so that kids can handle opening and closing them on their own.
    4. Next, place any random LEGO bricks in a clear plastic storage tub.
    5. Place any LEGO minifigures onto your DIY minifig shelves.

Notes

I know lots of people have LEGO tables for their kids to play with and that's how they organize their LEGO bricks. But in our house, we don't have a dedicated playroom or the space to house a whole LEGO table.

So we have a different solution for when the kids want to spread out the LEGO and play.

Instead of a whole table, another really great idea is a play mat. It's a simple solution that has a lot of benefits.

  • You can fold or roll it up to a very small size and store it away.
  • It keeps the LEGO bricks off of the floor or rug where they'll get stepped on (ouch!).
  • After play, it's easy to use the mat to funnel all of the bricks and pieces back into their container.
  • Kids can spread their LEGO over the mat to see all of the pieces easily.

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6 Comments

  1. Where did you get your display shelf? Or what brand is it? This would fit perfectly in our space but your affiliate link doesn’t work 🙁

    Thank you!