Tanner has been long overdue for a good Lego storage solution. The kid has been obsessed with them for the last two years and they are always a big unorganized mess – usually scattered all over the floor.
A few weeks ago, I searched “Lego Storage” on Google and was pleasantly surprised to find I wasn’t the only one who had an issue with Legos scattered all over the floor. I found some great pictures and great ideas. I decided that out of all the ideas, I liked the ones where clear plastic bins were used and they were separated by color.
I immediately went on an online search to find a cart of enough plastic bins to segregate the array of colors of Legos he has. I was a bit surprised to find what some stores are actually getting away with charging for a simple cart of plastic bins. It’s plastic, people, NOT titanium.
So I was sad and thought that this project would have to be put on hold for a little while until I could a) afford to buy the cart, or b) magically happen upon a cheaper version randomly in a store one day. Then I had an “a-ha” moment…(I love those)…and realized that I had this piece of furniture that I had never exactly made practical use from (this is actually an old pic I took when I was considering selling it on Craigslist! THANK GOD I didn’t!):
It was perfect. All I had to do was take measurements and find either two or three plastic bins that would fit perfectly across each shelf. Off to the dollar store I went. I found 12 that fit perfectly in the shelves when set three across.
Now to the organizing. This step took the longest. I enlisted Tanner’s help because I knew he’d a) be into it because he loves anything to do with Legos, and b) he’d be more likely to keep it organized if he too spent the time organizing it. (And I’m happy to announce that so far, it’s worked!)
I decided the bins definitely needed some cute color labels. I couldn’t find exactly what I wanted, so I decided to get some construction paper, freehand the letters and cut them out.
Then I used some Mod Podge to stick them onto the bins. I first did a thin layer on the front of the bin, then I stuck the letters on, and went over them with another thin layer.
I let them all dry and then put them all back into the shelving unit. And here we have the finished product:
Oh, and I kept secret the best part about this particular storage unit…which made it even so much more perfect:
The top opens so he can keep his boards in there and build on them when playing! It’s like shelves and a table in one! I can’t believe it never donned on me to use this piece for this purpose sooner!
Let me know what you think! Drop a comment below!
