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An Apartment Therapy report lists seven kinds of home decor and keepsakes that design and organizing experts say people may want to reconsider donating. Their advice is to keep selectively, weighing family meaning, possible reuse and uncertain resale value rather than assuming every old item is clutter.
Apartment Therapy has published advice from design and organizing experts on seven kinds of home items people may want to think twice about donating, including vintage books, family collectibles, handmade quilts and old dishes. The report argues that some objects people see as clutter can carry sentimental value, decorating potential or possible monetary value, though it does not establish that any item will appreciate or sell for a particular price.
The list, reported by Heather Bien, focuses on what can be lost in a rushed decluttering effort: objects that are difficult or impossible to replace, or that may later find a use in a home. Sara McDaniel, a designer and vintage seller at Simply Southern Cottage, says older books can work as display pieces and that a book a family considers ordinary might, in some cases, be a rare first edition. That possibility is not a claim that old books generally have significant resale value.
Other recommendations center on keeping a small, meaningful selection rather than retaining everything. Kylie Bass, founder and principal of KBB Interiors, advises holding on to collectibles with personal significance, such as a few figurines inherited from a relative. Ann Couser Kittredge, a vintage home decor blogger, describes handmade quilts as difficult to replace and suggests using them as throws, bed coverings or tablecloths.
Kittredge also points to old dishes as potential decor or practical items, from wall displays to small trays. Designer Laura Medicus recommends treating selected family knickknacks and travel souvenirs as personal display objects. The article’s central message is not to keep every possession: it is to pause before donating items with a story, a possible use or a connection that matters to the owner.
A Pause Before the Donation Box
The advice is relevant to people clearing a home, preparing for a move or sorting inherited belongings because donations are often difficult to reverse. An item that seems outdated or out of place now may later be useful, meaningful or suitable for another room. Replacing it could also take time and money, particularly if it is handmade or part of a family history.
At the same time, the suggestions are subjective design guidance, not a rule that households should preserve every old object. The article offers no inventory method or evidence that keeping these items leads to financial gain. A practical takeaway is to distinguish between personal meaning, realistic use and market value: those are different reasons to keep something, and the report does not treat them as interchangeable.
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How the Seven Categories Were Chosen
Apartment Therapy’s report is framed around a common tension in decluttering: reducing possessions can make a home feel less crowded, but a broad purge may also remove items a person later misses. The reporter says she asked home professionals for guidance on belongings worth holding onto for sentimental or potentially monetary reasons.
The supplied material includes detailed discussion of five categories: vintage books, sentimental collectibles, antique quilts, old dishes, and hand-me-down knickknacks or travel souvenirs. The article headline refers to seven, but the source text provided here ends during the discussion of the fifth category. The remaining two categories and their supporting expert comments are not available in the material supplied for this report, so they are not identified here.
“These books often make for fabulous styling pieces either as a coffee table accent, a book wall, or even on your dining room table.”
— Sara McDaniel, designer and vintage seller at Simply Southern Cottage
Resale Value and Missing Categories
The source does not provide appraisals, sales records or market data showing that the listed objects are valuable. McDaniel says a book may be a rare first edition, but whether a specific copy is rare or worth money would depend on its edition, condition and other details not given in the report. The designers’ advice about sentimental and decorative value is personal guidance, not a guarantee of future use or financial return.
The supplied article text is incomplete: it stops partway through the discussion of souvenirs and mentions a total of seven categories, but does not include the final two. It is also unclear whether the report’s experts recommend any particular way to assess an item before donating it, or how readers should balance limited storage space against the possibility of future regret.
What to Check Before Donating
The immediate next step for readers considering a purge is to review items individually rather than treating an entire category as disposable. For pieces with family history, a specific memory or a plausible use, the experts’ advice is to consider keeping a small selection. Anyone interested in a potential resale price would need information about the particular object rather than relying on its age or appearance alone.
No follow-up announcement or further reporting is specified in the source material. The full Apartment Therapy article may provide the two categories absent from the supplied excerpt; until those details are available, this account is limited to the five categories and expert comments included in the source text.
Key Questions
Which items does the supplied report discuss?
It discusses vintage books, sentimental collectibles, antique quilts, old dishes, and family knickknacks or travel souvenirs. Although the headline says seven, the provided article excerpt does not include the other two categories.
Does the advice mean people should keep every old item?
No. The experts describe selective keeping, especially for items with personal meaning or a possible practical or decorative use. Bass specifically says someone with a large collection need not keep every piece.
Are old books or dishes guaranteed to be valuable?
No. The report offers no appraisals or market data. It says some books may be rare and that old dishes can be reused or displayed, but it does not establish a resale value for any individual item.
What should someone do before donating an inherited quilt or keepsake?
Consider whether it has a personal connection, whether it can be used or displayed, and whether other family members may want it. The article’s experts recommend pausing before donating items that may be difficult to replace.
Source: apartmenttherapy.com
