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I think the correct approach to this is to consider the whole process and not just the sorting part, although the short answer "sort by form" will still be valid. The whole process is not limited to sorting, but in a more general way goes from the moment you decide to store a part away to the moment when you retrieve it to put it in a model. As such, you ...

It's been worked out by multiple groups who decided on different systems. The disagreement is based on what information was publicly available from the Lego Group at the time, what pieces had been manufactured up to that point, and what features the category authors thought were salient. To really appreciate the magnitude of the problem, just try ...

While they won't do the sorting for you like that clever youtube video, there are a couple of commercial sorting products that can help you bulk-group your legos by size as a preliminary sorting mechanism, through differently-sized grates. Box4Blox has been around for a while. Good review of it at Brother's Brick. Lego has recently produced their own ...

I have a fairly large collection. Processing bricks is a lot more pleasant with my homemade device, which is vaguely similar to the devices above, but made from MDF. Note that the commercial products have holes that are square, not round, so the size of bricks that is blocked by them is kind of variable. My sorter has two sorting levels, one with 30mm ...

The LEGO company has indeed regularly issued storage solutions. They may be great for kids (the latest ones are brick-shaped), but let's face it, for serious fans they are mostly pointless. And expensive. Depending on the size of your collection and your sorting method (which is another debate, but remember to sort by form first, not by color), you'll want ...

Properly sorting is the best solution, although it doesn't seem like that is what you want. Before starting, it helps to have a quick look through the pile and pick out any interesting bricks you might use. If you don't have your mind set on an exact design, it can be just as much fun to build using parts picked out before hand instead of constantly ...

One thing you could do is to presort your Lego bricks. Take your giant pile of Lego bricks and try to split it up into 5-10 categories. Those categories could be color, size, or any other features, it doesn't really matter. (I'm a Technic builder, so I would sort them into axles, pins, pin-connectors, beams and gears for example.) To get the best results ...

Here's a video I found: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6lZ9rSZwDzE Keep in mind that the time it takes you to build and use one of these is probably greater than the amount of time it takes to sort by hand. EDIT: I don't think slots would work great as the bricks could fit into multiple shapes/sizes of holes. One thing you ...

If you have a lot of unsorted lego, it isn't easy to apply a fully-developed categorisation system without a lot of work up-front. One way around this is to develop a sorting system gradually. Exactly how you sort will depend on the size of your collection, the profile of your pieces, the time you have available and the categories that are convenient to ...

First group by fit. So you put for example normal bricks on one stack, those technic bricks with holes on another and so on. Then start grouping the different sizes of your bricks like 7 long bars with holes, 9 long bars with holes and so on. I never sorted by color, but after the last step, if you have still to big stacks, you should do that.

Some hints that work for me: Get to know your lego. There is no point looking for a component that isn't there. Get someone to help you. Sometimes other people can spot what you've missed. Small people often have sharper eyes than big people. My 7 year old son can spot things far more qickly than me. If you're looking for a small piece, it is almost ...

You may want to use a smooth surface on which elements can glide easily without being scratched This allows you to move unwanted parts around quite fast so that you can find the one you're after. But I agree with others, ultimately you'll need to sort. The smooth surface can help here too, and one good trick is to focus on retrieving elements which are ...

I too think you answered yourself partially. You don't want 6 separate containers for these colors, which seems sensible; but on the other hand you admit yourself you mix some other colors when they are easily distinguished. Which I fully agree on: the first sort you should make is by part type anyway, and only afterward, if you have too much of a part, you ...

First thing to do would be to get together any building instructions you have and attempt to build those sets one at a time noting any missing elements as you go. Once this is complete and if you still have unsorted pieces, you could use a website such as Bricklink.com to try to identify the sets and then use Peeron.com to source the building instructions ...

Depending on what you have, your best bet is probably to re-build each set, and sell than as complete. Try BrickLink if you're not in a hurry to sell. You can see how much sets are selling for, and price yours accordingly. You can list them until they sell, and they only charge a small percentage when the items sell. If you want fast cash, sell them on ...

I'm going through the sorting process right now and I've gone with the following compromise: Old light grey and new light grey are sorted separately because they are hard to distinguish at times, yet clearly different most of the time. Old dark grey and new dark grey go together, because I don't have enough of either to justify a separate box, and they are ...

Seems like you've answered your own question (for now) by saying that you don't think your collection is big enough to justify such sorting. On the other hand, one might suppose that your collection will eventually get to that size, at which point, you'll have to decide if you need to separate them for storage, or if sorting while building is 'good enough'. ...

Before you start: It can be a big help to sort the parts, at least in some rudimentary way. Sorting by colour is least helpful, by shape much better. Don't dismantle partial assemblies until you've either (a) identified the sets that they come from or (b) you're sure they won't help you identify particular sets. To help you identify the sets: Search ...

A pigeon hole drop panel connected to the rear of a rack of pullout storage trays is a proven way to sort small parts. Just toss your bit into the correct slot and collect the sorted pieces from down below. I haven't seen one built specificly for LEGO elements, but the idea is sound. It would work great in a studio situation where large sorts, frequent model ...