We are probably like most homes of elementary-aged children. We could “tile” the floor and decorate every shelf with LEGOS (just slight exaggeration).

We definitely went through a phase a couple years ago of purchasing and receiving many new sets. They seemed to be the perfect birthday and Christmas presents for our collector kids, wanting to own all the Star Wars, Harry Potter or Ninjago Sets and “guys.”

But then we reached a point of what I call “saturation.” I realized that once they built a certain set, it usually just sat on a shelf collecting dust. Eventually there wasn’t any shelf space left. In addition, LEGOS seemed to magically appear out of nowhere, in car door cup holders, on stairs, on kitchen counters and of course in every kids’ room and all over the playroom. I declared a “freeze.” I discouraged the kids from even spending their own money to buy new LEGOS, reminding them what happened to their old ones.

So, it’s been nice. We’ve really just enjoyed what we’ve had for the last year or so. I’ve loved watching the boys and their friends make original creations and hold various LEGO building contests: Which one is “better”? Which one can survive when you hang them off the stairwell from a string and whack the others’! To me, that was the whole beauty of LEGOS from the start – creative design and imaginative play.

My oldest son is naturally very organized. He had a set of small drawers where he would organize the LEGO people and their accessories. And he could tell you which set every single other piece belonged to. So, for that reason, I feel like we’ve been able to keep track of most all our LEGOS. There have been just a couple Star Wars or other sets that have broken apart to the point of no return as all of their pieces have meshed with the other random LEGOS.

But otherwise, a while ago, I started putting the completed set in a big Ziplog bag, along with their instruction manuals. They just stayed in my son’s closet. I was waiting for the day when he’d be bored and say, “I wish I had a new LEGO set to build.” And then I would say, “Hey, check out your closet and rebuild an old set.” That never happened.

So, when we decided to go on this grand adventure and get rid of most of our things, I thought this was the perfect opportunity for the kids to realize they owned a HUGE box full of LEGOS that they could make money from or give away and put a big smile on a kids’ face.

No luck.

They were still too attached to these plastic blocks. Their “compromise” was to lend them to their 2 year old cousin! Deal.

So, that’s what we’ve been working on today. It was actually fun. (although most people might not say that.)

I finished putting all the rest of the complete sets of LEGOS and their instruction manuals in large individual Ziploc bags and filled up a huge box. Then, we put all their LEGO “guys” into a big Ziploc of their own and still had a big plastic bin full of the extra random pieces. All of that will go to Grandma’s or their cousin’s to enjoy to his heart’s content.

I couldn’t picture the kids going a year without LEGOS, so at the same time, I had them fill up this one box at the bottom of this photo with those pieces they’d like to take on the road, as well as a small tupperware of their guys that can also fit right inside this box. I can slide a few base platforms into another box or bag, and we’re good to go for the road!