So, after buying many Planco tackle boxes for sorting my small collection, I found this same American made brand of drawers. I now have 4 of them and use the Lego Architect's labels for each drawer. I now have lots of Stanley and Planco storage boxes empty. (they were too inconvenient to grab parts out of). So, this video is a validation of the storage system i chose. Thanks.
With the 4x6 drawers, I would dedicate one row to a specific color. I am more color picky than part picky myself. 4 drawers. One for bricks, other for modified bricks, one for plates, another for modified plates. I would get two of these, and sort them by Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, White, Light Grey, Dark Grey, Black, Misc. Bricks and Colors, Wheels, and Transparent pieces. I have one storage compartment already that I can save for minifigures, other colors, tracks, baseplates, etc.
I tried the color approach for a year or two but it wasn't working out for me. If I know that every piece in a drawer is the same (or at least a few closely related pieces), all I have to do is pick out the color, just a lot faster for me to find colors than shapes here.
I was recently looking at buying more of these drawer units. They're up to $45 on Amazon now and in the 50s-60s at the hardware stores. I first bought them at Fry's Electronics (defunct) for about $25, and they also had a gray+red color scheme available back then which I liked. Apparently the gray frame got discontinued, they still have black+red but that doesn't look as good to me. My guess is the black+red will also go away - they probably discontinued both the gray frame and the red trim pieces, and are just mixing the black+red to use up leftover parts. I could be wrong though. I might switch over to the "AkroBins" now, since they come in more variety of sizes which I need for some items (not for Legos). Man, Legos have changed. I haven't used them since I was a kid, but I don't even recognize most of the pieces you showed. Even the one you said has "been around forever". I kept mine in a cardboard box lol - but they've been passed down twice and I think they've probably all been lost by now. There were 2 castles, an airport, a bunch of space sets, one set of Technix, and some really old "little kid" Legos from before Duplos mixed in it. Greatest toy ever invented, and I can totally imagine building something with them today, although the variety of pieces they apparently have now looks a bit overwhelming.
Great memories, I first got my bins from Menards (did I say that in the video?) They were $20 at one point but if course I only bought 2 or 3 at that price and soon enough Menards stopped selling the Akro brand. Having grown up with the newer parts getting introduced a few at a time, I probably haven't realized just how specialized the elements have become over the years, but a quick look at the sets from the 80s and before, huge difference for sure.
Those exact bins are not around anymore, but I think these are the same size; www.amazon.com/Stalwart-75-MJ4645102-Portable-Storage-Organizer/dp/B017W2Q6PG/ref=sr_1_10?keywords=tool+shop+bins+with+removable+containers&qid=1636331182&sr=8-10#
This is really cool - thanks for posting. I've been ready to ditch color sorting for about a year now. Could you tell me where you found the "toolshop" bins?
Hi there Fuzzy, I got those bins at a home improvement store known as Menards here in the Midwest, but I've noticed the same size containers in some of the Stanley brand bins as well. I'll see if I can track down a link to something compatible, as I'm not sure the Toolshop bins are stocked anymore.
Sounds promising. I also found the ones I was thinking of on Amazon: www.amazon.com/Stalwart-75-MJ4645102-Portable-Storage-Organizer/dp/B017W2Q6PG/ref=sr_1_10?keywords=tool+shop+bins+with+removable+containers&qid=1636331182&sr=8-10#
There are quite a few similar styles I've seen around, Tool Shop comes to mind as well. I'd like to stick with Akro-mils as long as possible, they keep everything in grid.
