M.E.
I am actually laughing as I read this! I am not laughing at you, but laughing that I am not the only Mom with Lego issues :-) While my house is tidy and clean, I am not a neat freak, but I have issues with Legos. Here is my latest solution, which seems to be working. At Walmart, they sell small clear storage boxes with attached lids ($1.80 each, I think, and would hold the old 3 x 5 cards). I cut a photo of the Lego box and tape it to the inside of the cover. All of the pieces go inside that box. I also have one box just for "guys" and their "accessories" b/c half the time, he likes playing with just the guys and their gear. My 5 year old son can recognize better than me, which pieces go with which set and he keeps them pretty darn straight. I then put all of the small boxes inside one larger flat container so you can see all of the lids and it holds some bigger ships,etc. that don't fit in small boxes. Now, mind you, I have a feeling that after a month or so, I am going to have to reorganize. But I have two thoughts. First, mixing the pieces a bit also helps him be creative and use ingenuity. Second, at least it doesn't look as crazy disorganized as it used to. Good luck fighting the Lego challenge!! You're definitely not alone. :-)