I’m fairly confident that normal people don’t fully understand what it means when someone says, “I’m really into LEGOs.”

So here are some things it means in my circles:

#1 – You Join LEGO VIP and Stalk the LEGO Store to Get New Builds (and Exclusive Gifts With Purchase) Immediately

Sometimes I buy it early just for to get the exclusive Gift With Purchase (GWP), or sometimes I do so because the fervor is too high within the LEGO community and I’m really excited. Sometimes I do so because I’m worried it’s going to sell out and go on backorder!

I might build it right away (like Rivendell) or it might sit in my backlog for months or years in its box. Either way, it’s fun to grab it on the first day!

#2 – You Have IKEA Shelves To Display Your LEGO Sets

I’ve taken over part of our family room with some shelving for LEGO—three Billy Bookcases in white! This is mostly temporary, though. I actually plan to start a LEGO city and will be incorporating a lot of my sets into a landscaped display using MILS (modular integrated landscaping system). My city is mostly going to be minidolls and their sets (rather than minifigs, which is the standard in the community), and I’ll also put together a Hogwarts display at some point.

When these city sections come out, I’ll be using square tables, so it’s actually quite involved! I would like to document some of that process here. That said, I am a mom to young children and I run several businesses, so I sometimes feel stretched thin to work on my hobbies. I have no timeline at the moment.

Still, you can see Rivendell in the center! And several of the other bigger modular sets on the shelves. They are surprisingly heavy, but several are already built on MILS plates.

#3 – You Have Sets That You Mean To Sell

I have an entire shelf of sets that need to go on the resell market! For some reason, as you collect LEGO, you start to collect sets that you don’t have a plan for. Maybe they just looked cool at the time? Maybe someone gave them to you. There are so many reasons, and I have 30-40 sets that I just…Need to move out of my house ASAP.

(The left shelf is the resell shelf. The right shelf in this picture has my Star Wars and Avatar backlog… Which are most likely to go on display on my bookshelves, when I get the rest of my space organized and start laying out my LEGO city!)

Here are the five reasons I get rid of a set:

  • It doesn’t fit into my long-term collection – The Friends and Office sets are amazing, but unless I can think of a way to use them in my city, I may pass them along! I originally bought them because I loved those shows and wanted to build them. However, I have a huge backlog and try not to build things until I’m ready to put them somewhere.
  • It’s an accidental duplicate – It’s embarrassing for me to say that I don’t always remember what I have in my collection. Sometimes I think I don’t have it, and then I find out I have two! It’s horrifying to me, but it’s happened sooooo many times at this point and I’ve learned to roll with those punches. I also get a lot of sets for birthdays and Christmases, so I get duplicates from that too.
  • I got it for free – When you order from LEGO’s store (online or in-store), you get a lot of GWPs. I don’t always want them though! Sometimes I get duplicates of them (I have 7 Blacktron Cruisers right now) and sometimes I time my orders because I know that the GWP is going to be harder to come by, and thus a good collector’s item for the resell marketplace.
  • I bought extras before it retired – I’m not a regular reseller, nor a LEGO investor, but as an MBA I will always find different market forces fascinating. The resell value on LEGO is very interesting to me, and I’ve dabbled in building a (very small) extra inventory.
  • I started collecting the LEGO theme and realized I can’t – I don’t care who you are or how much disposable income you have—you cannot collect everything, even as a LEGO die-hard fan and enthusiast. I’m a completionist collector and there are several lines (many of the Marvel and DC ones, Mario Brothers, Sonic the Hedgehog, Indiana Jones, Ninjago, many of the cars and technic lines) that I want to build but do not have the time and space (and money) to build. As time goes on, I’m sure there will be even more sets that I have to let go of. I also realize that at some point, I may want to sell all of my sets. Life is so complicated, right? Having a hobby can be complex.

If you are wondering what else is in my backlog besides that shelf…Well, maybe someday I’ll share a picture of it. It’s…A lot, though. I don’t think most people would even believe me without seeing it, but I’ll admit that I have several years of backlog to keep me busy. This might even be my retirement plan!

Given that it’s a part-time hobby and I have had to cut back on build time over nights and weekends this year, I probably have enough to keep me occupied for a while. That doesn’t necessarily mean I won’t grab more though, as LEGO is a very cyclical business that must be timed well! You can’t sleep on the sets you want.

That is my introduction to my LEGO collection. I will be posting more over time, because I haven’t really shared all that much here, but let me know what you want to hear about and I’m happy to share more!