Storage: stacking vs. shelves

[Morgan19]

I've read plenty of high-level "how do you store your LEGO?" discussions over the years, but now that I'm starting to properly sort and store my own collection I realize I'm interested in a very specific topic: namely, examining the stacking vs. shelves methods (examples below).

Stacking:


Shelves:


The difference is basically having the storage 1) sitting directly on top of one another or 2) nestled into shelving units.

At a glance, the "stacking" method seems the most economical, if not necessarily the neatest-looking, because you don't have to buy drawers and shelves like you do with the aptly-named "shelves" method. But then I wonder about any potential weight or tipping-over issues that may exist without the shelves to keep everything in line.

Given the two options, can anyone offer up advice and/or personal experience regarding your preferred method?

Thanks!
m19

[sadowsk1]

It looks like stacking would save money initially, but with the shelves it looks like it would be nice to remove a container and have it a little more portable.

[dr_spock]

Right now I'm using stacking. I do not have a lot of bricks. My stacks are about the height of a table. They sometimes get tipped over. I would use shelves bolted to the wall if I go higher.

[vynsane]

I feel like those stacking plastic units tend to sway quite a bit, especially when stacked that high, so that would be the first detractor to that method. Secondly, the shelves look more aesthetically pleasing and 'professional' (for lack of a better word). To me they make the difference between 'hobbyist' (which I would like to be viewed as) and 'creepy old toy collector' (which I often feel viewed as), but that could also be partly caused by the basement vs. finished room thing.

[knicky]

Stacking I could just imagine one of those bins falling in the basement and as in any basement; something would disappear. I dont have a basement full (yet!) but I do like the shelves better. I personally have all disassembled models in plastic ziplocs with model number, name, year etc in chests which dont lend to stacking very well. My wife and I plan when we buy a house to have a glassed-in shelving display model room as well as a shelving space as seen in picture 2 though...

[Morgan19]

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. I've come to the same conclusion that, while more expensive at first, the shelf + bins method will be both more versatile, attractive, and ultimately safer in the long run. So hooray for $0.97 Sterilite storage totes from Target!

m19

[Wim]

I like the drawers method myself. I've gone with the more expensive "Alex" drawers from Ikea recently. The 6-drawer units are great, can be easily moved around (until you start stacking them anyway) and make a nice display surface too.

The drawers are 16"x23" (3 of them roughly 2.5" tall, 3 of them 3.5" tall). I use Schaller bins as dividers so that I can fit lots of different pieces in them and when a bin fills up, I move up a size in bins and move bins around to other drawers. The bins ended up costing more than the drawer units, but are really nice and it scales up well. It makes building a breeze. Right now I have 3 drawer units sitting in my Lego room, with a 4th one ready to build when I need it (but I'd have to take most of my models apart before I'd need the 4th one I think).

Once you get so much Lego of a particular type/color that those bins and drawers stop being useful is when you need to start looking at pure storage and start using an overflow type system (large bins on shelves in a much larger room).

Edit: Here's a few example drawers (Technic): http://imgur.com/a/vR88Y" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Oberst Hajj]

I've just started in the Lego hobby, and I am going to be more of a MOC builder so I researched several options for storing and sorting all the different bricks.

After looking at many containers both online and in stores, I finally decided on the Smart Store System from The Container Store.





There are several different sizes of the container, S and M are the same size except for depth, and l and XL are the same expect for depth. You can then chose from four different inserts to organize the contents better. They have a short video showing all of this on the page I linked to above ("See how it works" over on the left hand side).

It's not the cheapest storage method, and it does have a few draw backs, but so far it's the best I've found.

The two setups I picture above, both are the small totes, cost $16.00. As you can see in the first photo, the smaller inserts work pretty well for sorting all the small to medium size blocks (a 10x12 plate will fit at the top of the inserts, they are tapered). The second photo shows the medium inserts. These will work for the longer bricks or colors where one might have a lot of a certain brick(s). It also works pretty well for holding sub assemblies of a current build (as in the picture).

Pros

• Positive locking latch keeps the lids on no matter what the totes do
• Clear so you can see what's inside
• Positive stacking (slot/groove) keeps them in place on the shelf/floor
• Nice looking when stacked
• Easy to add more totes/inserts as collect/color grows
• Easy to re-organize totes by just moving the inserts around

Cons

• Kind of expensive
• Inserts are not a perfect fit to the inside of the totes (they slide around a little, but this does allow you to store some larger parts outside of the inserts, but still in the same tote)
• The lid does not seal against the top of the inserts (pieces can fall out inside the totes)

I'm still trying to figure out the best tote size and insert setup to maximize storage for the least amount of money. Initially I've gone with all small totes and a mixture of small inserts and medium inserts. For my small brick collection, this is turning out to be two small totes, 15 small inserts and 1 medium insert per color... for about $38 a color. Although, you could go with a medium tote and have 13 small inserts and 1 medium insert (the equivalent since you would need to use the Handled Tray) for $32. I guess it would just depend on how much you wanted to sort the different bricks.