I have about a hundred lbs of loose, random LEGO and I need to figure out how to best sort and separate the pieces... what categories do you recommend for easy navigation? I have TONS of different pieces like train, boat, etc. stuff that I have no idea what to do with.

 

Need to come up with a gameplan so I can figure out what to store it in, how many totes I need, whatever. Feeling super overwhelmed with this!

Great topic!  I've tried color....size....bricks vs. tiles and other types...of organing...and gave up.  I am just about decided on pulling the brown, tans and greens from my huge lot...and sellin *** it on.  I will never buy mixed lots again..unless there are at  least some manuals.  There s 0 money in this type of legoing...unless you spot gold in the mix...or rare figures.  Even if my wife and I figured 10 an hour each to sort...we spent at least 20 HOURS now...and are basically no further than we started.  Those lego sort heads are useless.

 

I make automated mfg equipment for my real job...and started experimenting making a vibratory sorting bowl....but there are jus  too many different sizes and shapes...it would take at least 4 bowls cascaded...and it wouldnt be possible without a vision system and air jets.  I wonder if some of the huge bricklinkers have automated or semi automated sorters.

Let's all chipped in and rent out the UPS Central Sorting Facility down in Lexington for a few hours.  We can reprogram the conveyor system to sort out all our bricks.  I can always dream.

By color is certainly the easiest way to go about it imo, but yeah, it can be overwhelming.

I can't even come up with the categories for sorting yet... there are so many random bricks.

Color is fine for a smaller amount but once you get to a certain point, sifting through gray or black becomes a ridiculous process.

By color is not a very practical way to sort. When you need a certain piece and have to sort through a pile of stuff the same color it makes it difficult to find anything. Here are a few things I do.

 

first seperate all standard Mini figs, bricks, plates, and slopes into their own bins. I then organize those by size & color and it generally goes fairly quickly.

 

Then I make pre sort bins for:

Mini fig parts & accessories

Modified Plates

Modified Bricks

Arches

Technic

Tiles

panels

Wedges

Curved bricks

Curved slopes

wind screens

Vehicles parts

Bionicle

(i think I might be missing one or two, but its late & i need to sleep)

& Other (by the time you have everything else removed this bin does not seem as daunting a task.)

also Non-Lego

 

Then I sort further from those categories into my organizer bins.

 

I use bricklinks parts catalog as the basis of how I want my end result to be sorted and to determine what category certain odd pieces belong to.

 

hope that helps

I do part size. I throw mountain pieces, large windshields etc in one box, another box of plates bigger than 4x4. Bricks 2x2 or bigger in another bucket. I have a lego sorter (the one that looks like a big lego head) and I use that to sort the rest into tubs for the three different sizes. From there you can easily sort further without having the larger parts getting in the way. 

I had a big rubbermaid tote of mixed pieces. I sorted by colour, took me about two evenings. I feel like I need to sort by different pieces though.

I think you have to know what your goal is first. If you're just trying to identify what sets may be present, that's one thing. If your going to sell it off in mixed bulk lots, that's another thing, and if you're planning on building your own parts library or bricklink store, then you have to go all the way.

I just went through a 90lb lot with over 200 figs that were all jumbled up - individual hands, legs, arms everywhere. Old Harley Quinn's head with Han solo's torso and one orange arm, one blue arm - that kind of thing.

First sort (1 big bin for each category): all bricks (including modified), slopes, plates 4x4 and up, plates that aren't a square or a rectangle, plates 1-wide and 2-wide (same bin), anything that's 1x1, anything with printing or a sticker applied, all wedges and hulls, all minifigs parts and accessories, anything technic (except bricks), and anything "interesting" (like a slope in a rare color, an odd vehicle plate, anything that might lead you directly to only a handful of sets). I throw things like telescopes, goblets, coffee cups, "flames", bones, barbs, binoculars, and loud hailers in with the 1x1's. And then 1 bin for everything else.

Second sort: the "everything else" bin gets sorted into big pieces and not big pieces. Plates get sorted into 1-wide, 2-wide, 4-wide, and 6-wide. Bricks get sorted into 1x2, 1x3, 1x4, 1x6+, 2x2, 2x3, 2x4, 2x6+, and everything else (1x1x5, 1x2x2, 4x8, etc.). Slopes (both regular and inverted in the same bin) become 1x2, 1x3, 1x4, 1x6, 2x2, 2x3, 2x4, anything thats 2 bricks tall, and everything else.

Third sort: 1x2 plates get separated into modified and regular. If you are trying to re-create sets, you'll spend a lot of time going through modified 1x2 plates, so you can certainly subdivide these. Same with 1x2 bricks. If you're going for sets or inventory, then technic gets sorted into axles, connectors, lift arms, pins, gears, and everything else. The "everything else small" bin from the 2nd sort gets all the handles, panels, seats, stop bars and light saber wands, and barrels/ trash bins/ container boxes pulled out. The "everything else big" bin gets all windows/ doors, and windscreens pulled out.

Target has these cheap bins that they sell in bundles of 5. I think they're 6qt bins with your choice of green or grey snap on lids. They're like $5.25 for 5 bins. I got 40 of them at first, and also used large Lego PAB cups for some parts.

That ought to give you a really good start.

I've sorted a couple of big lots now (20 and 40 pounds) and I sort first by five categories:

 

1. Minifigs and their obvious accessories

2. All other LEGO

3. All building-type toys obviously NOT LEGO (MBs, BTR, Knex, etc.)

4. Trash (anything damaged and all actual trash)

5. Really odd things that might be LEGO to research

 

Then, I wash all the LEGO and dry it. And then I sort by color. And then I sort out the interesting pieces from each color to research for possible sale on Bricklink. And then I build lots out of everything else by color or compatible colors for lots on eBay. The "other building toys" I dump in one box lot for eBay. The minifigs I put together singly or in lots for eBay.

 

If I were ever trying to find/build sets I'd do it differently, but so far that hasn't been the goal.

I have about a hundred lbs of loose, random LEGO and I need to figure out how to best sort and separate the pieces... what categories do you recommend for easy navigation? I have TONS of different pieces like train, boat, etc. stuff that I have no idea what to do with.

 

Need to come up with a gameplan so I can figure out what to store it in, how many totes I need, whatever. Feeling super overwhelmed with this!

When I was sorting all my spare pieces, I started sorting by color and within a color, I would sort by certain types of pieces like plates, bricks, etc.

I think you have to know what your goal is first. If you're just trying to identify what sets may be present, that's one thing. If your going to sell it off in mixed bulk lots, that's another thing, and if you're planning on building your own parts library or bricklink store, then you have to go all the way.

I just went through a 90lb lot with over 200 figs that were all jumbled up - individual hands, legs, arms everywhere. Old Harley Quinn's head with Han solo's torso and one orange arm, one blue arm - that kind of thing.

First sort (1 big bin for each category): all bricks (including modified), slopes, plates 4x4 and up, plates that aren't a square or a rectangle, plates 1-wide and 2-wide (same bin), anything that's 1x1, anything with printing or a sticker applied, all wedges and hulls, all minifigs parts and accessories, anything technic (except bricks), and anything "interesting" (like a slope in a rare color, an odd vehicle plate, anything that might lead you directly to only a handful of sets). I throw things like telescopes, goblets, coffee cups, "flames", bones, barbs, binoculars, and loud hailers in with the 1x1's. And then 1 bin for everything else.

Second sort: the "everything else" bin gets sorted into big pieces and not big pieces. Plates get sorted into 1-wide, 2-wide, 4-wide, and 6-wide. Bricks get sorted into 1x2, 1x3, 1x4, 1x6+, 2x2, 2x3, 2x4, 2x6+, and everything else (1x1x5, 1x2x2, 4x8, etc.). Slopes (both regular and inverted in the same bin) become 1x2, 1x3, 1x4, 1x6, 2x2, 2x3, 2x4, anything thats 2 bricks tall, and everything else.

Third sort: 1x2 plates get separated into modified and regular. If you are trying to re-create sets, you'll spend a lot of time going through modified 1x2 plates, so you can certainly subdivide these. Same with 1x2 bricks. If you're going for sets or inventory, then technic gets sorted into axles, connectors, lift arms, pins, gears, and everything else. The "everything else small" bin from the 2nd sort gets all the handles, panels, seats, stop bars and light saber wands, and barrels/ trash bins/ container boxes pulled out. The "everything else big" bin gets all windows/ doors, and windscreens pulled out.

Target has these cheap bins that they sell in bundles of 5. I think they're 6qt bins with your choice of green or grey snap on lids. They're like $5.25 for 5 bins. I got 40 of them at first, and also used large Lego PAB cups for some parts.

That ought to give you a really good start.

 

Going to give this a shot this weekend... appreciate everyone's insight!!

 

End game here for me is that I want to be able to start and finish a few MoCs and I'm having a difficult time sifting through a bunch of giant unorganized totes. Might make a few posts about this to keep people updated on the progress... should be entertaining, if anything.

Oh, and I've got my handy labeler ready because I need to have everything not only separated and organized, but labeled for no one's convenience but my own sanity.

A couple days later and I still feel like I'm going to in circles trying to sort out all this stuff. Every single time I think I've made some decent progress, I find a bunch of new pieces that I hadn't planned on.