Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Works-For-Me-Wednesday-- LEGO, K'NEX storage







My friend Bestbug has two boys that are amassing quite a K'NEX collection that was taking over the living room. After using a toolbox in order to store Ticklebug's Hotwheels , I suggested she use an empty large tackle box that I had laying around the house. She took me up on my offer and this is what she came up with. Isn't she clever? Makes me want to play with all the pretty colors!



The box came with several drawers/boxes but I purchased 2 extra at Walmart for a couple of bucks. They come with dividers that you can arrange to fit your pieces depending on how you prefer to sort them. Each has a secure snap top lid. There are many sizes and styles to choose from. I found the best selection of boxes to be at outdoor stores like Bass Pro Shop and Academy Sports. If you only have a small collection you could purchase just the small utility boxes.


An added benefit of having them stored and sorted seems to be that the kiddos play more with them once they can see what pieces they need more readily.


Anyhow, that works for me. What storage works for you?


Head on over to Shannon at Rocks In My Dryer for more great tips!

19 comments:

Lady Why said...

Oh that is so wonderful and organized! I love it!

Melanie said...

Ooooooo, I like!

Unfortunately, I've got one of the "dig and dump" type LEGO players. Organized would drive him nuts. :-D

Unknown said...

Wow... that is gorgeous! I'll have to try something like that with the LEGOs we're amassing in the house!

FrazzMom said...

Fabulous!

Mrs. O said...

I lovwe this idea!

Awesome Mom said...

Nice! I use those plastic shoe box sized boxes to help keep my kid's toys neat. They are young but have already learned that you have to pick up one box before you get another out.

Anonymous said...

WOW! I love this idea! Love it! K'nex and lego have taken over our home! Thanks for the tip!

Kristin said...

Genius! Thanks for sharing!

Milehimama @ Mama Says said...

That makes ME want to play with them! What a great tip. We are moving in a couple of weeks and probably will be staying in a motel for 2-3 weeks until the house is ready. My boys want to take their K'Nex but I was dreading it! Right now they are just dumped in a pile in a dishpan.

Awesome! Thanks!

Kristen said...

LOVE THIS. So are the kids actually able to put away the Legos/Knex in this organized manner? My biggest problem is usually the cleanup so all the Legos are all dumped into an underbed storage container that they can easily dig through and chuck everything into when they're done. But having it organized would eliminate the, "Mom, can you find the see-thru red one? I NEEEED it!"

Wifeof1Momof4 said...

Thanks for the tip. I will try this idea!

ames said...

Brilliant! Even if it doesn't stay organized, at least it can stay self-contained.

Anonymous said...

I love all things organizational and this is fantastic! My boys don't have any legos/Kinex yet (4 1/2, 3, and 1 1/2 years) but when they do I'm heading out to copy your system. Fab.U.Lous!

(My boys do have the bigger/chunky version of the Kinex and they love them. I do too because they aren't choking hazards to the youngest!)

Mamabug said...

Melanie, "Dig and dump" might work well for a toolbox-- that makes it portable.

Kristen, I think the boys do put them back fairly well. If they are only taking out a few at time then the number to be cleaned up is minimal. The bummer is when you trip over it and spill it like I did the other day. I got really good at matching my colors. : )

Amy said...

Brilliant! We're not to the k'nex stage yet, but it's just around the corner. Thanks!

Dawn said...

I love tool and tackle boxes to store stuff... what a great idea!

Peggy said...

I have been DESPERATELY searching for something like this...THANK YOU!!!!! We have a baby boy coming soon and I just had nightmares about him being suffocated in K'nex!!!!! Or my 9 year old son dissolving into tears as I had to put them away for a few years...sigh...again, thanks!

Unknown said...

Works-For-Me-Wednesday-- LEGO, K'NEX storage is a nice post. I like it . Thanks for sharing this post. For details lego storage and play table .

Anonymous said...

Just went out to bass pro and picked this up and few extra boxes! Thanks for the pro-tip, bass pro owes you and thanks too lol