Why I Stopped Organizing Legos

When my son was young, a fellow mom asked how I organized his Legos? I paused and said, “I don’t.”

Being clutter-free does not mean perfection. Toys were not neatly stowed every night, certainly not Legos.

I learned pretty quickly that organizing Legos was unnecessary. In our house, we love Legos. The benefits far outweighed the clutter and our loose organization system worked well.

The LEGO Group

The LEGO Group makes a high quality, fair trade product. My son would request a special set for Christmas or his birthday from his grandparents.  Legos are what I call a “work-horse” toy because they stand the test of time. They also encourage friends and siblings to play together.

But I learned that the more toys my son had to clean up, the less he played. And the fewer toys he had, the more he would play. With Legos, he was creative and content. He played with mini-figures from Marvel and Harry Potter at the same time. Sometimes all in one body. We did not stress about lost pieces or deconstructed sets. 

When this Lego-love began, I was in a season of hosting kids in my home. So I prioritized the toys everyone loved. Legos were at the top of the list with a goal of more playing and less organizing. And yet, my house remained uncluttered. Here’s how.

We Downsized Unused Toys First

If you’re fighting a daily battle with Lego-clutter, I would assess all other toys first. Donate the toys they no longer use. You have to make room for Legos. Removing unused toys means less clean up and more content play.

If kids resist, work with them to create a Lego Play Area. Keep only select toys that they play with often and focus on open toys. Open toys do not have batteries. Open toys can be played with multiple ways and inspire imagination and creativity such as blocks, cars, trains, or dolls. A black cape is an open toy, a Spiderman mask is a closed toy.

Collect the unused toys in a box and label it with today’s date. After three months, if your kids have not requested the toys, confirm that they like the clutter-free play space you created and donate the extra toys. Donating kid’s toys without their permission breaks trust and they will resist letting go of items in the future.

Set Boundaries for Play and Display

Assign a room or section of a room for your Lego Play Area. For many years, my son preferred the corner of our family room, near us. When he was older, he moved to the basement where he and his friends played for hours.

Designate a shelf for their finished creations. Rotate as needed and send older displays back to the general Lego population where they can inspire new creations. My son’s favorite sets are displayed in his room for safe keeping. Give your kids boundaries but let them choose. You will be amazed at what they come up with. My son worked on a single house design for over two years. Years later, he talked about this very item and how much time he and his best friend spent on it.

Embrace the Mess

He did not clean up every day. Our clutter-free home had enough margin for this. Every week or two, we restored order and vacuumed the space. My son and I would refill the LEGO bins together. He instructed me on what masterpieces were in-progress so I did not interrupt the artist at work. I loved listening to his stories and ideas.

Don’t Worry About the Sets

Recycle the cardboard boxes. Many people talk about reassembling and selling sets but I think it’s unlikely they will ever do so. The LEGO sets belong to my son so they are his to decide about selling them or not.

Keep the instruction books or don’t. We keep some of the books in a drawer but rarely reference them. The LEGO Website maintains the building instructions for current and retired sets. You can download them anytime. Additionally, there is a LEGO Builder app where you can register your sets and use interactive instructions to rebuild sets without the paper manuals.

Choose the Right Storage Bins

Choose bins carefully. Most bins that are advertised for LEGO storage are impractical and useless. Pick a bin that is shallow and snaps closed. I like these because they stack together nicely. And they are easy to sift through to find the brick you’re searching for.

Make Sure There Is Shushing Space

Storage bins must allow room for “shushing.” Shushing is the sound and the act of a hand running through Legos looking for a specific color and shape. Our bins were not organized by color when my son was young. It’s ok. Seriously, just let it go.

Conclusion

Living clutter-free means embracing imperfection. My approach was to help my son reduce his toys to what he truly loved and played with. And that was mostly Legos. We made space for them. The organization was not perfect but it was manageable. I knew that someday the LEGO mess would be cleaned up forever.

And now it is. And I miss it.

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