Organizing LEGOs: Alternative storage idea for LEGO pieces

LEGO – at least the basic sets – are considered to be the toys that foster children’s creativity. It is also the main source of the mess in the house. Kids go crazy when they cannot find the piece they are looking for. Parents go nuts having to clean up and store all the itty bitty pieces. Not to mention that one of the worst painful moments in parenthood is when you step on that little tiny LEGO piece on your way to bed.

Here is the comprehensive list of issues we had with LEGOs.
1. Finding the needed piece
2. Clean up and storage
3. Organizing and storing specific sets.
4. Separating sibling’s sets (boys and girls LEGO’s, an idea which I don’t agree with)
5. Staying creative beyond the existing models.

Here is my solution. Instead of keeping the pieces each set/model together, I organized the pieces by color. I filled them into plastic ziploc bags.
I put all the colors in a medium size plastic box. I put the instruction guides on the side of the box. There we go.
This is one of the rare sets that is stored separately in a plastic shoe box. Its pieces are not that universal.

Later I organized all the LEGO instruction books in a binder.