The LEGO Storage Solution I Recommend to Everyone

I’ve been a parent for almost fourteen years and I can tell you with a great deal of assurance that LEGOs are the most long-lasting kids toys you can buy. Of course, LEGOs are also one of the very best toys, ever. They’re great for open-ended, constructive play, and parents love to build with them just as much as their kids. 

Yes, they’re an investment at the time of purchase. But when you consider their cost per use throughout the years, they might just be the least expensive toy you ever buy! The only thing left, then, is to figure out a way to store them so they can be enjoyed for years and years — without you losing your mind. 

Once my kids started getting into LEGOs, I saw pretty quickly that I needed to decide on a storage solution and implement it. Some people love these Swoop Bags, but I wanted a system that would keep the LEGOs in order and could easily expand as we added more LEGOs to our collection. This eliminated options like keeping sets together in their original boxes or even transferring them to their own sturdier boxes, as we don’t have a whole closet we can devote to LEGO storage! Plus, the stress of trying to make sure that the kids kept their pieces together and didn’t mix them up, etc. wasn’t something I wanted to take on. (It also would have been futile and would have hampered their creativity.) 

After scouring Pinterest and other online resources, I decided on a color-coded system. This involves putting all LEGO pieces, no matter the set, together by color. I know: the idea of mixing sets that cost over a hundred dollars can feel a little like you’re about to jump into a freezing cold lake, but it’s for the best. 

When kids want to rebuild a set, all they need is the instructions. When the bricks are sorted by color, the kids pick out their pieces relatively easily from among other LEGOs of the same color. The system is completely open-ended; you can continue adding LEGO sets until you run out of room. 

Which begs the question, where do you put these color-coded LEGOs?

The best option I’ve found is IKEA’s TROFAST storage series —  and I’m not the only one who loves this LEGO storage solution! The units can be put together in whatever way suits the space you have and it’s easy to add more drawers as needed. The bins are super user-friendly, too; just pull them out! No box lids to wrangle.

One other key component to successful LEGO storage is making sure that the instruction booklets are kept intact and accessible. Through a lot of error, I’ve decided one of the best ways to do this is to fill a binder with page protectors and slip the building directions into each page protector. 

Setting up this TROFAST LEGO storage system is a great family project. It’s soothing to sort by color, especially if you have an audiobook going! But the best part is getting those LEGOs in order so they’re ready for many more wonderful LEGO-building days. 

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