Technique

The Case Against Sorting Your Bricks

After twenty years of organized bins, I finally embraced the pile — and every build since has surprised me.

Jamie Castillo · March 14, 2025 · 8 min read

For two decades, my workshop was a monument to order. Every brick sorted by type, every plate filed by color, every connector pin tucked into its labeled drawer. The system was flawless — and every build I produced looked exactly like the last one.

When Categories Become Cages

Last January, I sat down in the mess and started building from the pile. Without the tyranny of categories, odd combinations began to click: a green slope beside a red cylinder, a hinge plate where a flat tile belonged.