Lego storage isn’t just about keeping your home tidy. Freeing your living space from cluttered piles of plastic bricks heaped in miscellaneous boxes sure is rewarding – and should save the souls of your feet from studded misery. But the real reason to store Lego well is to help you build well, spending your time easily accessing the right parts instead of rifling through mixed elements.
That’s not to say, however, that the best ways to store Lego all serve the same purpose. If you’re a custom builder who takes apart official sets as soon as they’re completed to get on with making your own models, you’ll have very different needs from a young family trying to keep Lego’s plastic palette in one place. Or perhaps you’re a Minifig collector eager to combine storage and display (in that case, you should also check our guide to the rarest Lego Minifigures ever).
The list below, then, offers the very best Lego storage ideas for all kinds of builders. It might not solve whether you should sort by color or parts (spoiler: we think parts is easier), but it will give you a guide whatever your needs – across a range of budgets.
Need to fill your new Lego storage? Our guide to the biggest Lego sets ever released will help you do the job quickly. Or perhaps our guide to the best new Lego sets of 2023 will help you establish a parts supply bristling with newer elements. Whatever you’re looking for, we know where the best Lego sets are at.
These are the best Lego storage ideas:
- Akro-Mils Drawer Cabinets – A pro builder’s favorite Lego storage
- Lego Cinch Bucket – Colorful and convenient Lego storage
- Stanley FATMAX Pro-Stack 10 Cup Organiser – High-end Lego storage
- Lego Minifigure Display Case 16 – Lego storage that looks great
- Ikea x Lego Bygglek collection – Lego storage for young builders
- Ziploc bags – The simplest Lego storage
- Hobby Craft Rolling Organizer (9 drawer) – Jack-of-all-trades Lego storage
- Lego Sorting Case To Go – Portable Lego storage
Akro-Mils Drawer Cabinets
A pro builder’s favorite Lego storage
A perennial favorite with the most serious custom Lego builders, Akro-Mils Drawer Cabinets are readily available across the likes of Amazon, and make the perfect option if you want to store your Lego around a serious building table, as well as have your Lego both neatly sorted and easily to hand. Peep at a serious home Lego workshop space, and you’ll often see these lining the walls and tucked under and around workbenches.
Made up of plastic trays in various sizes and arrangements, they offer a number of advantages. Beyond being affordable, fairly robust and lightweight, the small drawers let you quickly access single parts without having to pour the lot onto your desk – while their transparent nature makes it surprisingly faster to zero in on the parts you need, or glance around for inspiration as you ponder a build’s evolution.
There are many other options out there that offer a similar proposition for particularly serious builders, and those with large collections. But Akro-Mils remain a Lego builder’s favorite.
Lego Blue Cinch Bucket
Colorful and convenient Lego storage
At the opposite end of the scale from the trusty Akro-Mils drawer system is the official Lego Blue Cinch Bucket – a tough, brightly-colored drawstring bag designed to pack with a heap of mixed Lego parts. It’s a superb option for encouraging young offspring to do the tidying up, it’s perfect for storing and transporting mixed Lego, and they look great in any kid’s bedroom, or toy-strewn living room. There’s even a clear underside that lets you eyeball any pieces that may have found their way to the bottom of the bag.
They’re tough wearing and fold flat and small when not in use. They might be the opposite of suitable for meticulous sorting, but not every builder needs that.
Poke about Amazon and you’ll find all manner of cheaper Lego bags, some of which fold out into a building area that does a fairly good job of keeping the bricks in one place while play is underway. But the quality you get might be a bit of a gamble.
Stanley FATMAX Pro-Stack 10 Cup Organizer
High-end Lego storage
A longstanding name in site and DIY tools, Stanley’s FATMAX Pro-Stack boxes certainly aren’t designed for Lego. But they provide a great – if somewhat costly – option.
There are a lot of different boxes and trolleys and such in the range, all of which stack or otherwise work together as a modular system. The entire Pro-Stack line offers Lego storage potential. But here we’re talking about the Stanley FATMAX Pro-Stack 10 Cup Organizer.
Essentially providing stackable plastic trays with useful clear flip-top lids, what stands out here is that the many small sections within can be removed as their own small boxes. Things aren’t as accessible as with drawer systems such as the Akro-Mils above, but you get a great option for packing a lot of Lego into smaller spaces, with the building convenience of those removable ‘cups’.
There are cheaper options out there than Stanleys’, but here you get a component quality that should far exceed Lego needs. Going for a Pro-Stack? There are many options beyond the 10 Cup version. We much prefer the deeper organizers in the range.
Lego Minifigure Display Case 16
Lego storage that looks great
Back to official Lego products again, the Lego Minifigure Display Case 16 might not store many bricks per square inch. But for Minifigure collectors who want to both protect and display their most treasured Lego characters, it’s a perfect, eye-catching option.
Available in a number of sizes and widths, these display cases can be stacked, wall mounted, and take other small Lego builds. They provide quick access via opening fronts, and offer plenty of Lego quality. Seems like a dumb option? Minfigure prices can get staggeringly high, so they’re worth storing and displaying well.
Ikea x Lego Bygglek system
Lego storage for young builders
We cannot get enough of this Ikea and Lego collaboration. The Ikea x Lego Bygglek system boxes are essentially chunky plastic boxes sold for storing Lego elements. So far, so familiar.
However, beyond having a studded top and providing a stable building surface, they take the form of a minimalism-inspired building. As such, each can be the base for all kinds of architectural Lego creations.
They also stack together, allowing for the rapid creation of large buildings or modest high streets using the parts you fill them with. Or perhaps a giant blocky dragon. Really, these are best suited to younger builders, but they look so distinct and sharp, we think they’re a great addition to the home of adult builders too.
Ziploc bags
The simplest Lego storage
Yes, you read that right. We’re recommending plastic Ziploc bags.
Now, this is for very particular circumstances. If your collection is in 100,000-parts-plus territory you’re unlikely to be able to keep everything to hand in convenient little drawers. You’ll also almost certainly have the most common bricks in tremendously high numbers. Many of those might need to go into deeper storage, simply to make space and free your ‘to hand’ Lego store to offer more parts variety.
Any cheap storage box with a lid will do for pouring in thousands of parts. But rather than pour in a cocktail of mixed parts, you can sort them into bags contained within the larger box.
Bags themselves take up very little space (compared to, say, putting smaller rigid containers in the outer box). They’ll also keep bricks clean and odor-free if left in dusty or dank attics for years. They’re even great for tossing in manuals, the full parts of a specific set, or other Lego miscellany you’ve hoarded.
And they sure are cheap. You don’t specifically need to pick Ziploc, but a decent brand should bring more protection and fewer splits. Treat yourself to a range of sizes too.
Hobby Craft Rolling Organizer (9 drawer)
Jack-of-all-trades Lego storage
With roots in the charmingly old-fashioned drinks trolley, rolling organizers are a great option, in that they’re equally suited to high-end home Lego workshop spaces and kid’s play spaces alike. It’s a fairly simple proposition; you get a selection of drawers in a frame on wheels. There’s plenty of choice out there, but the Hobby Craft Rolling Organizer (9 drawer) hits a solid balance of quality and affordability.
Younger builders might simply use a rolling organizer as a piece of furniture for mixed parts, that can sit against the walls and be pulled out for play. Take your Lego more seriously? These deliver a superb option for your Lego building workshop, largely as some extra ‘desk space’.
Pull one alongside your main building bench, and the top surface and each drawer provide a great place for the extremely common parts you’ll have in high volumes and reach for over and over. Or, mid-build, you can temporarily put clutter and half-built sections so the main desk doesn’t get overwhelmed.
And the wheels? Being able to shift the drawers around as you build is more helpful than you might imagine. Once you’ve rolled a Hobby Craft Rolling Organizer, you’ll never look back!
Lego Sorting Case To Go
Portable Lego storage
Dirt cheap and an official Lego product, the Lego Sorting Case To Go doesn’t pack much capacity. Instead, it’s intended to let younger builders take parts on the road. It’s a fantastic option for when your offspring are half-way through a set, and need to pack it up and go, parts and constructed sections alike.
The To Go case certainly doesn’t have the capacity for larger sets, but it’s great to have to hand. Once you own one, you’ll wonder how you got by without it.
And if you’re an adult builder, it’s remarkably convenient when you need to rapidly pack away a modest selection; even if just to throw on top of your vast bank of Akro-Mils cabinets when you suddenly realize it’s 3am. And, remember, you’re still allowed to take builds on the road – even if youth is long behind you.
Need more ideas on what to put in your Lego storage? Here are the best Lego sets for adults. Out there is a Lego set for every price range, from cheap Lego sets to the most expensive Lego sets ever made.
Source: Wargamer
