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Hey, I know I'm late to this thread, but I only just now discovered this subreddit. I'm an American having the same problem, about to buy some stuff to organize and store several thousand loose LEGO pieces of various types. I too read the sorting and storage guide and, while it was great in general, its suggestions for divided drawers weren't useful (because they were all exclusive to the UK).

Anyway, I did some searching around, and I settled on some modular clear drawer organizers, to be inserted into some plastic drawers. It's more expensive than divided drawers, but I think it's more practical too, because you can take out each organizer cup, dump out its contents, put it back, etc., without disturbing the rest of the drawer's contents.

First the drawers, then the organizers.

I narrowed down my drawer choices to two options:

1. IRIS Medium 10-Drawer Cart with Organizer Top, Black, and
   
2. Sterilite 20938003 Wide 3 Drawer Unit, White Frame with Clear Drawers, 3-Pack
   
   The IRIS drawers have a useable interior space of about 2.5" high x 9.5" wide x 12.5" long.
   
   The Sterilite wide drawers have a useable interior space of about 2.5" high x 12.5" wide x 12.5" long.
   
   I like that the IRIS has casters, in case you want to store in one place but then wheel them around to somewhere else to build.
   
   I like that the Sterilite is more modular, in that you can stack as many or as few of the three-drawer units on top of each other as you want.
   
   In the end, I decided to go all in with Sterilite, first because the drawers are wider and a little shallower (deeper and narrower drawers are worse than shallower wider drawers, because pieces get buried underneath others, and it's hard to find them), and second because the modularity makes them more flexible. I can put them on shelves, for example. And if I ever need to roll them around (store in one room, build in another), I can always get a dolly, like this one, for example, which will fit two Sterilite units side by side. Also, the IRIS drawers came cracked from amazon, because there wasn't enough padding in the box.
   
   
   Now for the drawer organizers. I decided to go with STORi, which makes makeup organizers. They have a great modular system of clear acrylic cups, all 2" high, with width and length measurements that increase in increments of 3". So:
   
   

• 3" x 3"
  
• 6" x 3"
  
• 9" x 3"
  
• 12" x 3"
  
• 6" x 6"
  
  They stack inside each other as well. And they fit perfectly into both the IRIS and Sterilite drawers, in each case leaving about half an inch along both dimensions, which makes it really easy to lift one out without having to fuss. (I tried to upload a photo to imgur, but it's being fussy. If you're really curious let me know and I can try again.)
  
  Hope this helps!

Hi. The number of drawers is really dependent on your piece size and variety.

As for categorization, I think I can help! It's definitely not practical to keep each part in its own drawer. Instead most people sort by part (not color!), then decide on classifications as far as what to keep together. You want to keep your categories sufficiently broad, so you can easily know where to find things like plates, arches, bricks, technic pieces, etc but not be so cumbersome that you can't keep up with where things are. Labeling your drawers once you have them is very useful for this as well. As for the specific categories themselves, it really depends on your unique collection but I find this to be a good starting point: https://www.reddit.com/r/lego/comments/ayp1wt/print_out_of_rebrickable_taxonomy_poster_at_300/

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You can branch out from there based on the pieces you have more/less of. The first modification I would recommend is to keep all 1x1 bricks/tiles/plates separate because they just sink to the bottom of a big drawer otherwise and are hard to track down. I have a bunch of tiny bins just for them in a Stanley organizer like this: https://www.amazon.com/Stanley-25-Removable-Compartment-Professional-Organizer/dp/B00005QWYF/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=stanley+25+container&qid=1554229435&s=gateway&sr=8-1 but the akro mils drawers are also highly recommended here

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Hope this helps!

I realize this is a month old, but I wanted to echo this... Shallow drawers are great. My favorite so far has been this IRIS one: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ISOM972/

Removing the drawers is a bit different, but easy when you are used to their system. I only have one so far with my miscellaneous pieces by color.

I also have 2 of these Sterilite ones: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000K7RK6A/ where the drawer is about 1 inch deeper, and a couple inches wider. But that stack of 10 on the IRIS is awesome. The cost per drawer is much better on the IRIS versus getting 3 Sterilites...

I use the alto-mils craft cabinet , around $30 US dollars. I would recommend getting 2 drawers in the sizes that you need/want. The one I linked is a half small/large drawer combo, for sorting beams, pins, axles, and panels. However the link is to the American amazon website, so idk if amazon Australia is different. I have 3 of these drawers in all 3 different variations, and they are awesome. If you want some drawers right away, I would go to target and check out their drawers section. Good luck!

Edit: clarified as us currency. I would also check out hardware stores for nuts and bolt drawers.

I've never considered using one of them for storing the instructions, but I have to admit it seems like a good idea.

I store mine in a vertical file cabinet like this one that I bought for approximately 50$ so...

It's very convenient that way too.

Organized using Stanley 25, Stanley 10, Sterlite 1961, Sterlite 1962 and ziplock bags. In the Sterlites I have all my 2xX's, 1xXs, "slopes" (anything with non-right angles on it) and "inspiration pieces" (unique pieces such as tower spires and ship hulls). In the Stanleys, I keep all other pieces organized as specifically as made sense. There's still some further sorting I can do in those (e.g. all studs are together, not separated by color), but this feels like a huge win.

Seems like it would work OK for storage, but in actual use it would take up a lot of space, especially if you have a decent number of bricks that necessitate multiple cases.

If you want something more portable than the typical drawers, you might be better off with something like this.

This is what I use:

Mini drawers


Small drawers


Medium drawers


Large drawers






I also have clear shoe storage boxes on shelves which I found I like the best for the bulk of my Lego. They generally cost 94 cents to $1 in stores like WalMart and Target. These are great for sorting the Lego too. I have no idea how much my Lego weighs, but I have over 55,000 pieces (not including a few of the larger sets).

Those are all excellent. The small drawer unit also comes in a 5 drawer version:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B009YMVX1A/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1465137031&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=sterilite+storage+5+drawer&dpPl=1&dpID=41%2BdcEI3PFL&ref=plSrch

This is an alternative for the medium drawers that fit baseplates:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002BA5F70/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?qid=1465137440&sr=8-3&pi=SX200_QL40&keywords=sterilite+storage+wide+drawers&dpPl=1&dpID=31sTTgVL6NL&ref=plSrch

This is the same height as the large drawers, in case the large quantities don't require the full wide drawer
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00E9VQD9I/ref=mp_s_a_1_44_a_it?qid=1465137666&sr=8-44&keywords=sterilite+storage+containers&pi=SY200_QL40

Confirmed, thanks for sharing!

https://www.amazon.com/Akro-Mils-10124-Plastic-Hardware-6-5-Inch/dp/B01MCSZFVH/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1523130424&sr=8-1&keywords=akromils%2B10124&th=1

Thanks for the tip on depth. Going to give Akro-Mils a shot since Papimax is a bit intense for what I'm thinking. Will be trying out 2 of the 24 drawer and 1 of the 44 drawer and will see how far that gets me by sorting by brick area (too many unique pieces to keep true storage-by-part affordable). For large flats that get grouped together, I may end up using a pair of simple 3 drawer organizers I have laying around. Worse case I'll get another 44 and take advantage of dividers.

I'm months late to your post, but is this the ones that you bought? https://www.amazon.com/Akro-Mils-10164-Plastic-Storage-Hardware/dp/B000LDH3JC

How have you liked them over the last few months since your post? I'm just starting to buy Lego in bulk and really need some storage options.

As I've recently started down the path of resorting by part rather than color, I too have found the usefulness of a search bin. Based on recommendations, I've picked up a couple of these funnel trays at Harbor Freight. Inexpensive at $3. Or you can go with a similar popular one at Amazon. The sides are not tall so easier to reach into and sift around than typical bins/trays. Then easy to dump back into storage container when done. They're not big so having a couple around is handy to dump out a bigger bin to sort/search through.

I avoided the trap of sorting by color, but I'm at about #15 now. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005QWYF/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 are fantastic, until I get a wall of little slidey trays.

I have six of these and intend to buy a few more. They're highly customizable and I find the trays being clear to be a major plus (red trays were a problem). My collection is sorted by brick type and color.

File storage boxes, like these. I have two full of instructions. I do not use file hanging folders, though, I just load them up with the instructions.

these

and

these

Those are down to $30...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B003TV3NL0/

Small pieces:
Akro mills 64 drawer storage drawers. Sort by shape and consider grouping similar parts.

Medium pieces:
Akro Mills 24 drawer storage drawers.

Large pieces:
Just get 2-gallon buckets with lids from your local hardware store.

Labeling:
Take photos of each part on a white background. Cutout the part from each photo and tape or glue it on the front of each drawer.

https://www.amazon.com/Akro-Mils-10144-20-Inch-16-Inch-Hardware/dp/B003P2UOCO/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?keywords=akro+mills+storage+bins&qid=1566696139&s=gateway&sprefix=akro&sr=8-4

I have this printer https://www.amazon.es/gp/aw/d/B0030E5WYW/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?__mk_es_ES=%C3%85M%C3%85Z%C3%95%C3%91&qid=1521748043&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=Dymo&dpPl=1&dpID=41DPj3TNWoL&ref=plSrch

This was on sale last week for only a few moments! Don’t wait Akro-Mils 10144REDBLK 44-Drawer Hardware & Craft Plastic Cabinet, Red & Black, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MAV3GQ6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_jzfuDbKQCQ51N

This style:

https://www.amazon.com/Akro-Mils-30220-Plastic-Storage-Stacking/dp/B000GAS2RM/ref=sr_1_26?keywords=storage+bin+rack&qid=1566767058&s=gateway&sr=8-26

I know a guy with 100,000s of bricks that uses these.

Have you seen these?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000CRHD6K/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I1IK9Y0Y6JAJNI&colid=2SBZVKWK3KMZL&psc=0

I have the PT1230PC which is no longer available: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001IKKIVM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I just checked the price, turns out it was $40 but it came with one of the labels tape.

> Stanley organizer boxes

https://www.amazon.com/Stanley-25-Removable-Compartment-Professional-Organizer/dp/B00005QWYF

Link for the lazy.

I'm actually kicking around an idea for a rack to hold red solo cups. They hold WAY more, are dirt cheap, and are easy to replace.

Think of a shelf with lots of holes cut into it the diameter of the 2/3 line on the solo cup (the beer/ 12oz line).

This appears to be live again if anyone missed last time. Link here.

EDIT: And it's dead again.