Give each storage location a stable code, sort into manageable part families, and record where pieces move—not just what you own.
1. Start with a collection you can finish counting
Choose one tray, one mixed box or one recently purchased lot. Photograph it, give it a temporary location and work through it before opening another. Trying to catalogue everything at once makes it harder to tell what has already been counted.
Keep three working areas: uncounted pieces, pieces awaiting identification and confirmed stock. A piece can be physically sorted without being confidently identified. Keeping that distinction prevents a plausible guess becoming a permanent inventory error.
2. Sort by part family, then refine the busy categories
Begin with broad families that fit the way you build: bricks, plates, tiles, slopes, Technic elements, wheels, minifigure parts and specialist pieces. Give your most-used families their own bins and leave less common categories together until the collection grows.
Colour can be a useful second filter, but a box containing every red element may still be slow to search. If you often need a particular shape, keep similar shapes together and use colour to narrow the final selection. There is no single correct arrangement: measure success by how quickly you can retrieve an item.
3. Label the location, not just the contents
Use a short, stable code such as ROOM-A / SHELF-02 / BIN-03. Add a human-friendly label such as “small plates” without making that label the only identifier. The bin code should remain meaningful when its contents change.
A useful location record includes the code, a description, the physical room or shelf and the items stored there. Avoid vague locations such as “somewhere in the garage”. If two boxes look identical, put the code on the front and lid so either can be found without opening it.
- Label every active bin before adding inventory.
- Keep a separate review tray for uncertain matches.
- Reserve a clearly marked area for sets currently being built.
4. Keep assembled sets and loose pieces distinct
An assembled set is not automatically a source of loose building stock. Track owned set copies separately, especially when one copy is complete and another is missing figures or parts. Record the condition and completeness of each physical copy rather than letting one good copy stand in for all of them.
When pieces are reserved for a rebuild, note that reservation before comparing the remaining stock with other builds. Otherwise the same rare piece may appear available for several projects at once. Keep set numbers and location codes with dismantled sets so a dedicated set bag does not quietly become a mixed lot.
5. Make maintenance smaller than the original sort
Record a move when you make it. If you transfer five pieces from a drawer to a build tray, move five in the record rather than changing the location of the whole lot. Sales, gifts, receipts and recounts should also leave a clear record.
Recount one bin at a time when its physical contents no longer match the inventory. Investigate the difference before replacing the number: a piece may be reserved, awaiting review or already issued to a sale. A repeatable ten-minute maintenance habit is more useful than a perfect catalogue that stops being updated.
Use the same system in Bricks & Giggles
Create storage locations, review identified items and confirm their quantities before adding them to stock. Use the location contents view to retrieve pieces, and the transfer and count workflows to keep the record aligned with the physical bin.
Start with one real box and one reliable location. Add detail as it becomes useful. The goal is less searching and more time building—not an administrative project that takes over the hobby.