What will you do when you run out of space?

[MatthewH]

What will you do when you run out of space for new LEGO sets? Taking some apart is not an option for me. Luckily my mom said that when she gets her next paycheck she will buy me some bookshelves. 

[stephen_rockefeller]

Storage. unit.

[MatthewH]

Storage. unit.

 

I would never do a storage unit. I like displaying my collection.

[vincevaughn]

I can't imagine how much lego that would be o_O

[exciter1]

What will you do when you run out of space for new LEGO sets? Taking some apart is not an option for me. Luckily my mom said that when she gets her next paycheck she will buy me some bookshelves. 

 

We have a pretty large storage area in our basement.  If I ever filled it up, I would be in big trouble.  As for my son's LEGO tables, they are full and we need to put something away, soon.  I'm the father from "The LEGO Movie" and I won't let my son have his LEGO stuff in his room full-time.  We have a whole separate area, so the sets don't get mixed in with his other toys.

[mcortez]

What will you do when you run out of space for new LEGO sets? Taking some apart is not an option for me. Luckily my mom said that when she gets her next paycheck she will buy me some bookshelves. 

 

Shelves, hung on the wall 18" or so below the ceiling -- they don't block furniture from being placed under them, if you use the wire shelves that are often used for closet organizers or acrylic (both available from your local hardware store) you can look up at them from below -- the wire frame ones are great for hanging things from as well if you're into space ships  and air planes.  Works best for sets still in boxes or bigger builds that you can still appreciate from 7 or 8 feet away.  You can then have some display space down at eye level, like a regular bookcase or a table and rotate what's displayed with what's up on the high storage.  Just remember to dust regularly otherwise you'll regret finding out just how much dust collects on abs plastic over time.

[binici]

As a kid, my mom bought me bins, but I just tossed everything into it. It would be wise to put them in bags and label them and then dump them?

[exciter1]

Shelves, hung on the wall 18" or so below the ceiling -- they don't block furniture from being placed under them, if you use the wire shelves that are often used for closet organizers or acrylic (both available from your local hardware store) you can look up at them from below -- the wire frame ones are great for hanging things from as well if you're into space ships  and air planes.  Works best for sets still in boxes or bigger builds that you can still appreciate from 7 or 8 feet away.  You can then have some display space down at eye level, like a regular bookcase or a table and rotate what's displayed with what's up on the high storage.  Just remember to dust regularly otherwise you'll regret finding out just how much dust collects on abs plastic over time.

 

I've bought some pretty dusty used sets, but they are easy to clean up with some soap and water.

[seapotato]

I have flipped a few sets because I didn't have space. LOL. Terrible, I know. It also has forced me to clean up a bit and get rid of junk so that I would have more shelf space!

[redeemed763]

I have no idea how folks can afford to pay for some of the storage units I have seen on here, seems like they would dip big into profits, but hey if I was moving 20-30k per month, I wouldn't mind paying $125/mo for storage.

 

We have a 5 bedroom house with no kids and an empty basement, I will never run out of storage. I did an estimate the other day, if my new sets continue to take up as much room as my current ones, I will have room for $700,000 of msrp inventory, probably well over double that in sale value (~$1.5 million). Needless to say, my pile is looking pretty small down there and always will.

 

Personally, I don't think my situation is all that odd, I would have thought that many of the people on here with large disposable incomes would have extra room in the house to spare.

 

EDIT*** I realize the OP may be not be referring to storage for business inventory but rather displaying built sets.

 

My wife likes books, so we have a library, I keep the fronts of the shelves full of built lego sets, its a lot of fun to load up the fiction section with applicable lego. I have Haunted house by the dracula/poe section, pirates by the Treasure Island/Moby **** ect. and LOTR by well, LOTR. 

 

A lot of the other sets either go in the lego building area or get rotated around during the year. I have found that less is more in displaying my lego, I have a nice collection but don't like near all of them on display at once, even if I had the shelving space, I find it too distracting. 

[jaisonline]

I have flipped a few sets because I didn't have space. LOL. Terrible, I know. It also has forced me to clean up a bit and get rid of junk so that I would have more shelf space!

 

 

same issue here.  i still need to sell more.  at times, my house has more sets than most dept stores at any given time.   ...and i have freakin shelving units.

[justafrog]

I have no idea how folks can afford to pay for some of the storage units I have seen on here, seems like they would dip big into profits, but hey if I was moving 20-30k per month, I wouldn't mind paying $125/mo for storage.

 

We have a 5 bedroom house with no kids and an empty basement, I will never run out of storage. I did an estimate the other day, if my new sets continue to take up as much room as my current ones, I will have room for $700,000 of msrp inventory, probably well over double that in sale value (~$1.5 million). Needless to say, my pile is looking pretty small down there and always will.

 

Personally, I don't think my situation is all that odd, I would have thought that many of the people on here with large disposable incomes would have extra room in the house to spare.

 

What digs deeply into profits (or your personal financial situation) is having a 5 bedroom house with a basement when you don't need the space. You're paying for a "storage unit" with every extra bedroom, at a premium cost (or, if the house is paid off, you're losing out on investing elsewhere, at a higher rate of return, the money you spent on the too-big house). Move to a smaller place and you'll make up the difference for several storage units in property taxes, utilities, upkeep... 

 

Storage units are cheaper, and simply a cost of doing business, like bubblewrap and coffee filters.

 

I don't know if I'd classify our disposable income as "large" (to some it would be, to others not), but I tell every penny of it where to go and what to do when it gets there (yes, I'm just as bossy with my money as I am with everything else    ) and our storage unit is a pretty small blip on our business expense radar each month.

[stephen_rockefeller]

I have no idea how folks can afford to pay for some of the storage units I have seen on here, seems like they would dip big into profits, but hey if I was moving 20-30k per month, I wouldn't mind paying $125/mo for storage.

We have a 5 bedroom house with no kids and an empty basement, I will never run out of storage. I did an estimate the other day, if my new sets continue to take up as much room as my current ones, I will have room for $700,000 of msrp inventory, probably well over double that in sale value (~$1.5 million). Needless to say, my pile is looking pretty small down there and always will.

Personally, I don't think my situation is all that odd, I would have thought that many of the people on here with large disposable incomes would have extra room in the house to spare.

EDIT*** I realize the OP may be not be referring to storage for business inventory but rather displaying built sets.

My wife likes books, so we have a library, I keep the fronts of the shelves full of built lego sets, its a lot of fun to load up the fiction section with applicable lego. I have Haunted house by the dracula/poe section, pirates by the Treasure Island/Moby Dick ect. and LOTR by well, LOTR.

A lot of the other sets either go in the lego building area or get rotated around during the year. I have found that less is more in displaying my lego, I have a nice collection but don't like near all of them on display at once, even if I had the shelving space, I find it too distracting.

I have one because I have a life outside LEGO investing. It's not all consuming. I would rather not live in a sea of MISBs, cardboard boxes and other packing supplies. I find it quite odd that some people are ok with living like that.

[justafrog]

What will you do when you run out of space for new LEGO sets? Taking some apart is not an option for me. Luckily my mom said that when she gets her next paycheck she will buy me some bookshelves. 

 

If you won't take any apart and you truly run out of space, you'll have to stop acquiring new sets. There are only so many options. It's why I don't have a herd of mustangs living in my back yard (that, and the unreasonable objections of Mr. Frog).

[kangotti]

lol, Big City problems,

 

Out here in the country space ain't an issue.

If I fill up the house, well I have a small hundred plus year old barn  not 20 feet from the house that could be fixed up and get me another 400-600 square feet of space.

 

Sad note

rich people keep moving here making the real estate expensive and so I doubt my kids will be able to afford to live here. Not having my kids close when they have kids, kind of makes me a sad panda.

[kenchu2000]

What digs deeply into profits (or your personal financial situation) is having a 5 bedroom house with a basement when you don't need the space. You're paying for a "storage unit" with every extra bedroom, at a premium cost (or, if the house is paid off, you're losing out on investing elsewhere, at a higher rate of return, the money you spent on the too-big house). Move to a smaller place and you'll make up the difference for several storage units in property taxes, utilities, upkeep... 

 

Storage units are cheaper, and simply a cost of doing business, like bubblewrap and coffee filters.

 

I don't know if I'd classify our disposable income as "large" (to some it would be, to others not), but I tell every penny of it where to go and what to do when it gets there (yes, I'm just as bossy with my money as I am with everything else    ) and our storage unit is a pretty small blip on our business expense radar each month.

 

 

I don't think this perception is entirely true.  In some neighborhoods larger home tended to have better appreciation than smaller homes do, while storage units you never get any ROI.   If a couple plans to have kids in the future, it would be a lot easier to settle down first.  House hunting can be a very stressful process, especially when the housing market is hot.   I think most of us have life outside of Lego/investment, and able to spend the time with family in a nicer place is a kind of enjoyment I love to have everyday.

[redeemed763]

What digs deeply into profits (or your personal financial situation) is having a 5 bedroom house with a basement when you don't need the space. You're paying for a "storage unit" with every extra bedroom, at a premium cost (or, if the house is paid off, you're losing out on investing elsewhere, at a higher rate of return, the money you spent on the too-big house). Move to a smaller place and you'll make up the difference for several storage units in property taxes, utilities, upkeep... 

 

Storage units are cheaper, and simply a cost of doing business, like bubblewrap and coffee filters.

 

I don't know if I'd classify our disposable income as "large" (to some it would be, to others not), but I tell every penny of it where to go and what to do when it gets there (yes, I'm just as bossy with my money as I am with everything else    ) and our storage unit is a pretty small blip on our business expense radar each month.

Thanks for the critique of personal values, yeah, we are pretty stupid by finding a house that will accommodate our soon to be growing family, we never thought to look for a three bedroom house, we also never thought to find one without a basement but hey, it sounds like you have all the answers, so why should my wife and I spend a year intensively shopping for a home when you could have saved us a bundle. 

[hepcatpunk]

Basement as well in our house....1600 sq ft unfinished, so no worries about running out of space.

[justafrog]

I don't think this perception is entirely true.  In some neighborhoods larger home tended to have better appreciation than smaller homes do, while storage units you never get any ROI.   If a couple plans to have kids in the future, it would be a lot easier to settle down first.  House hunting can be a very stressful process, especially when the housing market is hot.   I think most of us have life outside of Lego/investment, and able to spend the time with family in a nicer place is a kind of enjoyment I love to have everyday.

 

The issue is looking at a storage unit as an investment. It's not, it's an expense against income.

 

If one buys and sells LEGO (or potatoes, or harnesses for pet donkeys...) one will have expenses related to that. Some of these expenses will make sense when looking at the bottom line, some will not. Expansion costs money in any business, whether you're expanding by having a larger house or an off-site storage unit.

 

Storage is one of the smallest expenses on my spreadsheet each month, and one of the biggest benefits.

[justafrog]

Thanks for the critique of personal values, yeah, we are pretty stupid by finding a house that will accommodate our soon to be growing family, we never thought to look for a three bedroom house, we also never thought to find one without a basement but hey, it sounds like you have all the answers, so why should my wife and I spend a year intensively shopping for a home when you could have saved us a bundle. 

 

No problem!    Seriously, though, what will you do once you have children and less space? If you actually make money investing in and selling LEGO, which I assume is the goal, you may find that off-site storage is a good deal for you down the road.

[sadowsk1]

Build an outbuilding or an unlivable trailer home that could be used as storage but not a residence.

[kangotti]

I just remembered, going from the house to the barn I have to deal with things like this

[jaisonline]

I just remembered, going from the house to the barn I have to deal with things like this

 

 

this is my favorite reading book for the 2 kids.  +1 like just this image.

[redeemed763]

I just remembered, going from the house to the barn I have to deal with things like this

Where do you live? I wish we had more wildlife where we are.

[jaisonline]

 I would rather not live in a sea of MISBs, cardboard boxes and other packing supplies. I find it quite odd that some people are ok with living like that.

 

ha. great post. 

 

seriously, i totally understand your post.  my wife has a freak attack each time she passes a shelving unit and i keep them hidden from the public areas.  this is why i pretty much stopped buying except for sets that my kids will build.