What Not to Throw Away When Cleaning Out a House

When you are cleaning out a house, do not throw away paperwork, jewelry (even broken or costume pieces), anything marked sterling, old tools, vintage kitchenware, holiday decorations, records, cameras, toys, or clothing from before the 1990s until someone who knows resale has looked at it. These are the categories families toss most often and regret most. Here is what to set aside, what it typically sells for, and what really can go straight to the dumpster.

First Rule: Look Before You Toss

The most valuable things in a house are often the least impressive looking. A greasy box of hand planes in the garage can outsell the dining room. A shoebox of letters can outsell the china. Before any bag goes to the curb, open every drawer, box, and envelope. If you are hiring an estate sale company, let them see the house untouched.

Paperwork and Paper Items

Keep all financial and legal documents for the executor: wills, deeds, titles, insurance policies, bank and brokerage statements, recent tax returns, and anything mentioning savings bonds or safe deposit boxes. Then look again for paper that collectors buy.

• Old letters with stamps and postmarks: $5–$50 for a bundle, more for war-era or early 1900s correspondence
• Real photo postcards (early 1900s): $3–$25 each, more for small-town street scenes
• Vintage photographs of people at work, cars, storefronts: $2–$20 each
• Old stock certificates: decorative ones sell to collectors for $5–$50; some may still represent real shares, so check before selling
• Military papers, patches, and unit photos: $10–$100+
• Vintage magazines, maps, and advertising booklets: $3–$20 each

Jewelry, Including the Broken Stuff

Check every jewelry box, dresser tray, and bathroom drawer. Look for 10K, 14K, 18K, 585, 750, and 925 marks with a magnifier. Broken chains and single earrings in gold are worth their scrap value.

• Gold scrap: sold by weight at a percentage of spot; even a few broken pieces can be worth $100 or more
• Signed costume jewelry (Trifari, Monet, Coro, Napier, Weiss, Sarah Coventry): $5–$50 per piece, higher for rhinestone and figural pins
• Mixed costume jewelry box: $25–$150
• Old watches, even broken: mechanical watches from Hamilton, Bulova, Elgin, Seiko, and Omega are worth checking; gold cases add melt value

Silver and Metals

Anything marked “Sterling” or “925” is worth at least its weight in silver. Silver plate (marked EPNS, Quadruple Plate, or with a maker name like Rogers or Oneida) is worth much less but still sells. Brass and copper decor sells modestly. Do not throw out tarnished silver to save cleaning time.

Kitchen Items

• Vintage Pyrex mixing bowls and casseroles: $10–$60 each, more for scarce patterns
• Corningware (Blue Cornflower and others): $10–$40 per piece
• Cast iron skillets (Griswold, Wagner, unmarked older pans): $20–$150
• Old cookie cutters, canisters, and enamelware: $3–$30
• Mid-century barware, cocktail shakers, and glasses: $5–$50 per piece

Garage and Basement

• Hand planes (Stanley, Record), wrenches, and chisels: $10–$100+ each
• Craftsman, Snap-on, and Mac tools: steady sellers, $5–$50+ each
• Power tools in working order: $15–$150
• Fishing tackle and old lures: boxes of mixed lures $25–$200; individual early wooden lures can be much more
• Old advertising signs, oil cans, and thermometers: $25–$300+, with many reproductions on the market
• Sewing machines and notions: Singer Featherweight 221 $250–$600; most other machines $20–$80

Electronics, Media, and Toys

• Stereo receivers and speakers (Marantz, Pioneer, Sansui, McIntosh): $50–$600+ for working 1970s gear
• Film cameras and lenses: $20–$300, more for Leica and medium format
• Vinyl records: most $1–$5, but rock, jazz, and soul originals can be $10–$100+
• Vintage toys, video games, and board games: $10–$200+, especially with boxes
• Comic books and trading cards: sort and check before anything else

Holiday Decorations and Clothing

Vintage Christmas and Halloween decorations are among the most requested items at fall estate sales: glass ornaments, ceramic trees, blow molds, and paper Halloween decorations all sell. Clothing from before the 1990s, especially wool coats, leather jackets, band t-shirts, Western wear, and designer labels, can be worth $15–$150 per piece. Old purses, scarves, and hats sell too.

Books, Linens, and Sewing Rooms

Most used books sell for $1 or less, but a few kinds are worth setting aside: first editions with dust jackets, signed books, old cookbooks (especially local community and church cookbooks), vintage children's books with illustrations, and anything about local history. Quilts, embroidered linens, and handmade tablecloths can sell for $10–$150 depending on age and condition, with hand-stitched quilts often at the top. In the sewing room, vintage buttons by the jar, old patterns, and Pyrex or tin containers of notions all sell to crafters.

A Simple Sorting System

If the job feels overwhelming, use four labeled areas or boxes in each room:

• Keep: family keepsakes and anything needed for the estate.
• Check: anything you are unsure about. This box gets priced before anything leaves.
• Sell: items you know have value, for an estate sale, auction, or listing.
• Donate or discard: only after the Check box is empty.

The Check box is the most important one. Most regret comes from items that went straight from a drawer to a trash bag without anyone looking.

What You Really Can Toss or Donate

• Particleboard furniture in poor condition
• Upholstered furniture with stains, odors, or pet damage
• Mattresses (check local disposal rules)
• Opened food, cleaning supplies, and expired medications (dispose properly)
• Torn or stained everyday clothing from the last 20 years
• VHS tapes of recorded TV, most CRT televisions, and older printers
• Most magazine stacks from the 1980s onward (with a quick check for vintage titles)
• Common mass-market paperbacks

Timing Matters in the Fall

If you are clearing a house in October or November, holiday decorations, wool coats, blankets, barware, and serving pieces are at their peak demand. Selling them now rather than after New Year's can make a real difference. Garden items and patio furniture are the opposite; if the house does not need to be empty quickly, those can wait for spring.

Mistakes Families Regret

• Renting the dumpster first. Once it is in the driveway, everything starts to look like trash.
• Donating in bulk before a professional looks. Thrift stores do sell good items, but they cannot give you the value back.
• Shredding unopened mail and old papers. Some may be needed for the estate, and some may be collectible.
• Assuming broken means worthless. Broken gold, broken watches, and parts cameras all sell.

When something gives you pause, snap a photo with PocketPrice before it goes in a bag. You will get a price calibrated to your area in a few seconds. Our guides to household items worth more than you think and sterling silver vs. silver plate cover two of the costliest mistakes in more detail.