Over time, the instruction booklets that come with LEGO® sets go through a lot. I mean, we’re putting them in the hands of kids, right? Torn, lost, covered with spaghetti—you name it.

Will the model ever be built a second time? Did it even get fully built the first time? Sometimes the instructions are completely ignored by kids who just want the parts for their own creative ideas, or who only wanted the minifigures from their favorite theme.

In my own childhood, I remember the instruction booklets slowly disintegrating over time. I tried to keep them with my LEGO collection, but every time I dumped that giant bin onto the floor (yikes… one more reason I now teach the “Surfboard Method!”), another booklet seemed to get bent, torn, or lose a page. I still have a few of those well-loved, well-tattered instruction booklets today, and they bring back a lot of great memories.

These days, we’ve taught our kids to keep all of the instruction booklets together in their own container. They’re easy to find when someone wants to rebuild a set, and they stay in much better shape. Of course, digital instructions are also much easier to find now than they were when I was a kid.

But I’m curious…

When do instruction booklets leave your house?

Do you keep every one forever, or is there a point where you’re comfortable recycling them?

And if you do keep them, where do you store them?

For more conversations like this one, check out our Brick Surfers community on Skool.