The storage question, answered properly

The rule that matters most

Shallow, open, and at floor level, in the room where the child actually plays. Every part of that sentence is doing work.

Shallow, because a deep bin means digging and digging means asking an adult. Open, because a lid is a decision. Floor level, because a shelf makes it an adult's toy. The right room, because a set stored where nobody sits is a set nobody uses.

Containers that work

• A shallow under-bed tray on castors. Slides out, holds a large set in one layer, goes away in a second.
• A low canvas basket. Soft, quiet and it does not hurt when knocked over.
• A tackle box or craft organiser with compartments, for households that want pieces sorted by shape.
• A steel baking tray as a portable base — the tiles hold to it, so a build can be moved rather than dismantled.

What does not work: deep plastic tubs, anything with a difficult clip, and anything the child cannot open alone.

Sorting: worth it or not

At home, mostly not. A single mixed tray is fine and the sorting time is better spent building. The exception is a child who finds a mixed pile hard to start from, in which case sorted compartments genuinely help.

In a classroom, sorting is worth it every time. Thirty children find pieces faster from labelled compartments, and tidy-up becomes a sorting activity with a learning outcome attached rather than a chore.

Tidy-up that actually happens

1. Two-minute warning. Sudden endings produce resistance and abandoned builds.
2. Sweep towards the tray with two hands rather than picking up pieces individually. Faster, and children will do it.
3. Give a role. "All the reds" is achievable; "tidy up" is not.
4. Leave one build standing. A designated shelf for the current structure removes most of the resistance to putting the rest away.
5. Count the specials. Wheel bases and doors are what go missing, and a quick count catches it the same day.

Where the pieces go

Under the sofa, under the rug edge, behind the radiator and inside other toy boxes, in roughly that order. A monthly sweep of those four places recovers most of what has vanished.

If a set is genuinely thinning out, count it against the original piece breakdown before buying a replacement — the missing squares are usually in the house rather than gone. More systems in the storage and organisation guide.