Have you searched on Pinterest? Lots of ideas there

Thismlinkmshows a few different ideas. That should say; this link shows.

If you grandson is young I could see where he may be overwhelmed if they are not organized, but older kids (8 +/-) would probably not be bothered by the mess. If fact, it may add to the challenge when making creations.

I gave a huge bag of Legos to my grandnieces that had been my son's when he was a boy. The bag had a zillion Legos plus a few random instruction sheets. Their mom says they have a good time with them and sometimes use them to embellish the sets they own. Eventually they all end up in a big heap. Love Jo's comment about thick socks. Man those things hurt to step on them.

The woman who runs Lego programs at park districts and community centers brings here Legos in a big drop cloth that she just spreads out on the floor for the free-build portion of the session. The kids find what they want to make their own creations, and when time is up they gather the corners and drop the whole shebang into a big (big) Rubbermaid tote.

As for sorting, after years of trying to sort by type of piece (size, function, etc) we sorted by color family, in those clear plastic drawer stacks like by Iris. It's more pleasing to the eye, and they really found it easier to find the piece they wanted. The only departure from the color sort was mini figures and their accessories/"real-life" pieces and animals.

My kids are now 17 and 22, and still like Lego bricks, but even more expensively: the Architecture series. At least those stay put together. We use a watercolor brush to dust them.

The Lego Builders at Lego Lands sort by size, shape, and color, but they have giant pools for the kids to play in with everything mixed in.

DH and I are really into Legos and DD is getting into the Classic Legos, and I bought her a couple of 'starter sets' which are a bunch of starter type pieces with idea books. I keep the big sets separate though including my old sets which are worth a good chunk of money now.

You can find building ideas on the Lego site including old sets.

http://www.lego.com/en-us/classic/building-instructions

I might be inclined to keep a few specialty pieces in a separate container (like any motion contraptions or the jewels used for the guns of the minifigures) and I would probably keep mini-figures separate. There are some lego display cases for those. Other than that, I keep it all in a big tub with a big scoop. I have tried to impress upon the kids to put their scoops of legos on a blanket so that we can pick up the blanket and just dump the excess legos back into the tub.

We learned with the big sets, the only hope of keeping the pieces organized was when it was disassembled to keep all of the pieces together. If there are no base plates, I would pick up a couple for him.

What a sweet grandma you are! My DS is also a Lego lover. He has kept some of his big (expensive! It's so crazy!) sets assembled, and we dust them occasionally. The other pieces are kind of sorted, but not perfectly, into plastic shoe boxes, so they're not too deep. We keep the special pieces--wheels, people, etc-- in a big tackle box with several layers of compartments.

We're going to Disneyland soon, which means a visit to the gigantic Lego Store. It's very cool to see the enormous, complex things they've built, and any set you could ever want... but oh man you can spend a lot of money :-)

I've always told my son that any pieces left on the floor, or God forbid, stepped on by anyone, ow, will go in the trash. I know, I'm mean, but I've never had to do it!

Wow! Thanks everyone. I did have to organize them somewhat so we could try to find the pieces that go to the sets for which we have the instructions. They were all mixed up together. There is also a train set, but I'm setting that aside for a while. There was one whole space vehicle that was intact but no instructions, so I couldn't really take it apart. Well, I did, but didn't know what it was called in order to find the instructions online. I found a site that lists most Lego sets by year, so I only had to go through 2 years (maybe 700 sets!) before I found it. These were from the early 2000's, so it wasn't too bad. To give you an idea, I have 9 two gallon ziplock bags filled so far, not counting the sets that were pretty much intact or the trains.

I think there are base plates, too, which I'm assuming are the large flat squares? There are 8 or more of those, too. I might have to get a bigger house.

The blanket is the BEST idea!! We'll do that for sure.

maddielee, I had searched on pinterest, but missed that site you linked. It lead me to here which had some really great ideas, too. I love the shoe bag idea, but he plays with them in my dining room so have to be able to move them into the spare room when he's not here.

I read about putting them through the washer in a mesh bag...has anyone tried that?

As far as the washing machine, I would be afraid of some slipping out of the top and then ending up in a part of the washing machine that would cost me money to repair. If there was something I felt needed to be cleaned/sterilized, I would spray them with vinegar water. If I found one that was particularly grody, I would probably just toss it but we have so many legos it is not even funny. We do not buy legos too often anymore after the year I watched my son assemble a large, expensive set rather quickly. I did the math of how many hours it took him to build and how many hours it took me to earn the money and I decided that was enough.

Maybe you should invest in some Lego Slippers. :)

Some kids like to put their sets together and leave them that way. My kids would put them together, play for a bit, then take them apart and free-build with all their bricks. Except for the Millenium Falcon, wait, maybe it's a Star Destroyer (or, as DS said when he was 3, a Startdust Warrior) anyway, there's no surface big enough for it, so it's on the floor these last 5 years, deteriorating through sheer entropy.

We still have the instructions for most of the sets, though, so if the internet ever goes down for a week, we all will have something to do :)

Jlc - I've made similar "threats" about Legos getting tossed. My kids didn't really believe me until I saw one tiny cube while I was vacuuming. They were in the same room so I sucked it up. As soon as they heard the noise they knew what it was. I sacrificed ONE cube, but haven't had a problem with cleanup since! ;)

I have spent hundreds if not more on Legos for my DGSs. The older DGS has so many sets that it is overwhelming. The younger has many Legos also but nit as many. No matter what method of organization is used the seem to get jumbled into a mess. I love going into his room to see his built items. He has so many now that he can build complicated items and then display them on his desk hutch.

I saw the fabulous The Art of the Brick exhibit in December. We all loved it, from old lady me down to my 6 yo nephew. It travels the world so Google to see if will be near you. Right after the exhibit, I saw The Secret World of Lego documentary. I watched that as inflight entertainment but if it's available on Netflix or something, I'd recommend that also.

Sorry, I don't have any storage recommendations. :-)

It's so funny to go through life being oblivious to things (Legos) then something or someone (grandson) brings something into your life and you realize there is a whole culture you've been unaware of. We were looking for something Lego on youtube and I found that he liked watching other kids put them together, too. It's like he's immersed/obsessed, but luckily they seem to be good for his reasoning and motor skills; there could be worse things.

I don't know if I'll have the patience to go through them and put them together into kits instead of letting him search for the pieces (it's kind of an overwhelming number of legos for a 6 year old), but we'll see.

Thanks again, all.

Scrolled down quickly to comment; apologies if this has been mentioned...

After a couple of decades of working in recreation for elementary kids, I've found that a wide, shallow, translucent container (a.k.a. underbed storage box) is the best for corralling LEGO bricks. Wide enough that they don't spill out when the kids are digging around looking for their desired bricks, & shallow so they won't have to dump stuff out while looking for same. I keep ours on a large table that seats 8, along w/ the flat sheets for building on.

My son still has all the LEGO bricks, kits & figures from his childhood in an extra large underbed box & all the cousins & grandkids play w/ those when visiting.

As for separating/organizing the bricks, good luck w/ that; I have a hard enough time just getting many of them to simply pick up the bricks they knocked on the floor, let alone putting things back in any semblance of order!

& LEGO Club has a YouTube channel w/ many cool videos.

https://www.youtube.com/user/LEGOClubTV

Yes, clear, shallow. The under bed boxes are great.

Olychik, check to see if there is an AFOL (Adult Fans of Legos) event year you. We have visited an event called called Brickworld, and it is amazing what they build with the plastic bricks. Artistry, quirkiness, engineering, cleverness, all in one big room.

For those of us with neatness/OCD tendencies the only way to store them is in ziplock bags sorted by size/shape. So easy to find a piece when you need it. Sadly, my boys never saw it that way, and the legos always ended up all mixed up in big clear storage bins!

We have several large bins filled with pieces and quite a few sets that have been on display for a while ... Death Star, Taj Mahal and a bunch of other large star wars sets.

It's been many years, as our son is now 31 y/o, but he did have a huge passion for first Duplos and then Legos for many years. What I ended up doing with his, as they became more and more mixed together, is put them all in a nice-sized rubber storage bin that he stored in his room. There were a few small storage boxes we kept inside to hold any special pieces, such a Lego people, swords, shields, etc. I cut out the photos of the finished projects from the box fronts, backs, etc. and slipped each one, along with any instructions, in a very sturdy, large ring binder, using (many) clear vinyl sheet protectors. Photos first, followed by any instruction pages for that project. DS was not allowed to take them out of the binder, but I made sure that the one I used was very well made and would lay flat on the floor or table for him. He had a wall of bookcases in his room growing up and liked to display his finished pieces there . . . for a while, and then back in the bin they'd go. I miss those days, but definitely don't miss stepping on those rogue Lego pieces!

we too have several of the very large sets that remain assembled and displayed. if you still have the instructions, i think the only way you could assemble some of the larger sets is to carefully separate all the pieces first! some people think having the pieces all together in a bin and allowing kids to just build their own masterpieces is better for fostering creativity...

You don't have to have the instructions... you can find them on their page. I knew they'd have to have something like this!!!!!

instructions

If you've ever put together a more complicated set like a death star, you'll realize that once the death star pieces are mixed in with the rest of them, it truly is gone. Building those things when you KNOW you have just the right pieces and no more is hard enough!

Wide bins are less likely to be dumped into mountains--the more difficult they are to maneuver and flip, the better. :)

I'm liking the drop cloth idea a lot...

I have 2 kids who are obsessed with Legos. We have tried lots of different ways to store them, some of them quite OCD. But if you find yourself with large quantities and kids who use them often, I think even the best storage solutions are not entirely effective. We have Container Store Elfa shelving in our tiny playroom, with many bins of different sizes for Legos. At this stage the only separation of any kind is to keep the "hero factory" (big figures, lately with Star Wars characters included) in their own bins, although there are very few parts that are exclusively for those so there's a lot of intermingling. The kids also know that any precious/proprietary legos must be stored or displayed in their rooms. Otherwise everything is fair game for anyone to use.

Fwiw I like some of Ikea's options for storage; we have tons of these smaller soft bins (and some of the larger version) that the kids can use to store individual sets or prized creations. In general deep bins are a huge PITA, because the kids will dump them on the ground to try to find the one piece they desperately want. Finally I bought some kind of Lego scoop - called the Toydozer! - on Amazon last Xmas for my husband (who complains perpetually about picking them up.) It has been great for cleanup; I imagine you could just use a dedicated dustpan with the same results.

Wow! So much good info here and the sisterhood of Legos! Like I said, I had no idea and feel like I've discovered a parallel universe I didn't know existed.

Rob, the problem is the Legos are all mixed together and were originally sets but I don't know what they are. So I can't look up the directions, because I don't know what's there. I did find directions for one set that I didn't know the name of after looking through 2 years worth of sets on a website (maybe the same one you linked).

Tish, I hear you about the $. Luckily, I am able to afford them and can save his parents the expense. I send the completed sets home with him and storage is THEIR problem.

Carolb, thanks for that link. We'll be sure to check it out. If there is any time he'll pull away from actually playing with them!

Bp@home, thanks for the info about the groups. I looked and there is a convention in Portland THIS next weekend, but alas, I can't take him. I'll keep track of it and maybe next year.

Fori, I hear you. I think getting the pieces back into sets will be difficult or impossible and I'm not sure that's how I want to spend the years of my retirement. I think he's going to move into the freestyle building now that there is an abundance of different parts.

Lynn, great ideas about organizing the instructions. I would be inclined to keep the boxes, but think that's impractical. And once they are opened the value is diminished anyway. Some of the sets that came with this bin I am borrowing are worth several hundred $$ now. Crazy.

SmallOH, thanks for the reminder about Ikea. I would almost rather stick a fork in my head than go there, but it might be the best idea.

Thanks everyone else for the ideas and Lego wisdom. I hope others can use the ideas, too.

You can find building ideas for the generic pieces. I'm doing that with my DD so she can see how bigger things are put together. Maybe look for building ideas for the 'Classic' boxes.

This made me LOL, because I have seen my nephews' room (when they shared one and had bunkbeds) look exactly like this, more than a few times! Talk about Lego overload!

As you can tell from my screen name, we are a Lego family as well. I love that DS was so immersed in Legos for so many years. They also introduced him to mechanical engineering and then into architecture. Legos are the best!

It is hard to get them back together from old sets. I think you're on the right track. But for fun imaginative build, we had the best luck with the dump onto the drop cloth. I usually just used a large sheet.

On etsy or if you're crafty, they sell ones that have the drawstring included. So after the dump, you can close the bag and hang it in the closet. DS was way too involved when we found that idea. His collection was too large.

Have fun! Legos are the best!! I'm a little jealous. This was the first year DS didn't ask for a set for Christmas. I still bought him the Lego advent calendar because it just didn't seem like Christmas without it.

Who else here receives the Lego Club magazine? They feature a section of photos sent in by members of their creations. It's free & I signed up years ago for our playcampers - they enjoy it very much.

Lego Club

P.S. IMPE, kids don't really need instructions to create cool stuff, often just tips, techniques &/or inspiration.

P.P.S., I solved the problem of a kid not wanting her/his creation to be destroyed by taking photos, so they can disassemble w/no regrets.

My kids never wanted to exactly recreate the model. Except...the one year I didn't get a Lego advent calendar. It was kind of fun: I had kept the previous years calendars, but most of the pieces had gone in "the pool". I was able to gather most of the correct pieces...and colors!...to make an advent calendar of minisets from years gone by. The nightly excitement was: how well did Mom do with gathering parts lol

I didn't read the comments, but I am guessing most people say what I do "Ha ha ha ha ha." What folly. The good news is, this is a solution without a problem! You don't need to do a thing.

When my son was younger, I was fanatical about organizing his Legos. I soon learned. Now his bed is on a platform in an alcove, with three large drawers underneath. Still Lego filled, but soon to be empty. Now that he can drive a real car he doesn't want to build them (finally!)

I recall many hours with DH organizing and bagging puzzles. We did that one weekend. And never again.

Well, I've spent two pretty long days organizing by color, just so I could try to find the pieces that go with the set instructions I have. And washing them. They are now laid around the whole house drying, as he is coming tomorrow with his little friend and I think it will be fun to let him have his first go at a freestyle build. The bin included a bunch of the base plates, so I think he'll be set. There are lots of wheels and half a gallon bag of people parts (I forget what they are called). And a quart bag of specialty pieces that look like I should keep track of them.

Carol, I enrolled him (or a fake him) to get the magazine. He will love that; thank you!

TqR, I love that photo - sent it on to his parents as we are all kind of overwhelmed with these things as it's just been a 2 month interest turned obsession and he's probably put 25 kits together (bad Grandma!).

IowaC, thanks for the idea to search using the Classic term. Will try that.

Legomom, I looked at those drawstring floor cloths. I'm going to see how a sheet will work first, but likely will send for one. Thanks for that. I hadn't heard of the Advent Calendar, so I guess that will be on the list at Christmas.

BpH I am impressed you recreated things. I literally spent 2 hours finding the pieces for a vehicle in one of the airport sets that came with these Legos. And there are 5 vehicles + the airport to find pieces for. We'll see how interested he is before I go further. I used to have a life.

Mtn, once they are organized and I get the pieces I need to rebuilt the sets, I won't really care how jumbled they get. But he's kind of a fastidious kid, so he's likely to keep them organized. He always puts the lids on his markers and has since he started using them. He's NEVER forgotten once. I find it incredible. His mom is anal/super organized so I think he gets it from her.

I hope you'll keep your son's Legos for the next generation. They are easy to put in a bin and stash and so fun for a little kid to play with Daddy's old Legos.

Thank you all. I feel such a sisterhood!

This has nothing to do with organizing Lego's (our 8 year old grandson has his Owen system) but I thought you all might enjoy seeing it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdDU_BBJW9Y

Olychick, the Advent calendar sets are small and easy to recreate, no worries. Order your Advent calendar early, they've run out in the past even at Toys R Us, Target, Lego Store, and Lego.com (oh, and they also have a Star Wars Lego Advent calendar, complete with Yoda in a Santa suit lol)

i think the problem with a sheet may be that it could tear, and that it might tend to rumple up more on the floor than a sturdy, somewhat stiffer drop cloth.

Yes, the Advent calendars sell out early. Mark your calendar for Halloween so you can get one. I have had to pay a premium on Amazon in years past when I forgot!

Also, if you are ordering from Lego.com or at an actual Lego store, the Lego VIP card is worthwhile. It's free, but they track your purchases and you earn money off future purchases. I think it amounts to 5-10% and some things qualify for double points. Also, Lego stores have mini builds every month and other fun and free activities only available to Lego VIP members (well, I'm sure you'll buy something while you're at the store, but the activity itself it free.) They also have the fun pick a brick walls where you can fill a container for a set fee. It's a great way to get some missing pieces or stock up for a specially created build of your own. The displays are fun to see as well.

I love Lego!!

Justgb..my grandson is going to LOVE that video. He really is interested in history/old fashioned things and inventions, so it's right up his alley. And I enjoyed learning about Lego's history, too. Thank you.

BP..he played with the newly organized Lego's yesterday for the first time (first time he hasn't had a set to put together). I just put the base plates on the floor and he spent the whole time with the bin of body parts and created the best creatures with them. No dumping yet, I'm not sure he's a dumping kind of kid, but we'll see, so I'll hold off on a drop cloth for now. I can see the problem with a sheet, now that you mention it.

Legomom, thanks for the tips. There is a Lego store about an hour from here (on a good traffic day). I might have to wait to take him when school's out. It's on my to do list with him.

I've been not exactly dreaming about Legos, but the images of all those pieces I've been sorting kind of run through my mind when trying to fall asleep, when I rouse at night and when I first wake up. I feel immersed.

So glad to see other grandmother's feeding the Lego addiction! My DS loved them and stills buys kits for himself and he will be 39 in August. He doesn't have children but my DD's boys love Legos. This year though only the oldest asked for a small set. I am sad to think that their Lego days are slowing down.

Before a Lego store moved in to our mall, the boys and I would spend a no-school day like this:

Drive to Michigan Avenue, and go to the Lego Store. For the grand opening, they had a mural-build where kids got a section of the mural to fill in. So we always visited "our" mural. Play with Legos. Go to Potbellies down the way for lunch. Back to Lego Store to buy something. Back to Potbellies for a milkshake (yum!). Maybe to Nordstroms so mommy could get some cosmetics. Then home. Took all day. I'm such a bad mom, the kids went to the fabulous city and spent the day indoors playing with Legos. Sigh.

Lego Store used to have some great non-brick merchandise: we got a "Lego Technic" winter jacket for $50 that lasted two boys 3 years each! Legomom, they came out with the Lego card just before my boys outgrew the Legomaniac phase; I could have saved so much money in the intervening 12 years. But, it still comes in handy for the Architecture sets.

DH and I still buy ourselves Legos, but they are usually the holiday ones or limited edition. We have a big winter Lego village for Christmas and try to add a new piece every year. We also have the Lego advent calendars. DD loves Legos as much as we do along with DH's cousins who are in their 40s.

We have a lot of Lego.

We use clear plastic storage bins, and loosely organize by theme. Otherwise best to organize by piece type.

We use clear stacking smaller cases for minifigures and accessories. There is a bit of a collector's market for some minifigures, so your GS might want to keep some of them as-built depending on what they are.

Yes to base plates!

Our kids dump the Lego into large shallow cardboard trays (like the kind that come that come with cases of bottled water) to sort for building. You also could use large baking sheet pans but I find that to be too noisy. Easy to pour the extras back into the bins when they're done.

Have fun!

Hollykay, I'm old enough that I doubt I'll be alive to see him outgrow the passion, but I can see how you'd feel sad. They all grow up.

Bp@home, I suspect your boys will have many more fond memories of their city Lego days than they might have had visiting museum and galleries or whatever else you might have done. Sounds like a fun day to me!

Iowac, I had no idea so many adults were into Legos. I didn't have them as a child so maybe it's some nostalgia for your childhood toys?

Oaktown, I temporarily put them in plastic shoe boxes sorted by color, with the people and accessories in another box, the wheels in a separate box, too. I'm looking for a wheeled stacking bins unit, so I can easily move them from the dining room where he plays with them, into the spare bedroom when he's not here. I LOVE your idea of the cardboard box for sorting. Easy to come by and like you say, quiet! Thanks.

Fun fact: Lego is the largest tire manufacturer in the world.

Olychick, the potential new National Parks Lego sets prompted me to check out This Vignette Bricks blog again, and this set made me spit out my coffee:

Called Shark Bait: just when Jar Jar thought it was safe to go back in the water.