30+ Things in Your Basement You Should Never Throw Away

For most of us, our basement is a repository of junk, filled with dried-up old paint cans, mildewed cardboard boxes, and ancient chargers belonging to electronics long since gone. There's no denying it feels mighty good to dump all that debris and give your cellar a clean—or at least less cluttered—slate. But before you go all Marie Kondo on that mess, you might want to think about what you don't want to toss. Whether it's because your old stuff might net you cash or because it has sentimental value, here are 39 things in your basement you definitely shouldn't ditch.

If you happen to have a couple 1972 Nike Waffle Racing Flat “Moon Shoes” stashed away in your basement you're in serious luck. In July a pair was sold for a hefty $475,500, becoming the most expensive sneakers ever auctioned. But even if your kicks aren't worth money, they still have value—think about donating them to an organization like Give Your Sole, which will get them to someone in need.

Speaking of childhood, vintage board games and and handheld video games are a hot market. An original copy of the beloved Super Mario Bros recently sold at auction for $100,150, while one of 5,000 copies of a 1933 edition of Monopoly Atlantic City, went for a whopping $146,500. If you happen upon the Atlantic City game, you'll recognize the version by its round shape.

Who would have thought that old sweeper sitting forgotten in the corner of your basement could be worth something? Depending on the make and model, it could bring in the money. The proudly pink Hoover 738 from the 60s, for example, is selling for $499 on eBay.

For many of us, Pyrex patterned glassware brings back memories of our moms and grandmothers cooking in their kitchens. If you can bear to part with yours, you could get a few thousand dollars for the most valuable pieces.

There is a whole wide world of collectors who go mad for pre-digital clocks with numbers that flip. Check your basement for a French Bodet flip clock—there's one selling on Etsy for a cool $544.

No matter what a tangled mess that old jewelry in your basement is in, take the time to see if any gold pieces are mixed up in it. Even if you don't want to wear it, you can always sell gold at a pawn shop.

This is about pure sentimentality. If you find a treasure trove of old childhood mementos don't toss them all, no matter how serious you are about cutting a swathe through your basement bits and bobs. Keep the toy that means the most and keep your childhood close.

Despite the rise of e-readers, some printed books can fetch anywhere from a few hundred to a few million dollars. In general, a first edition of a popular book in good condition with a dust jacket (20th century or later) will bring in the most money. A signed copy is worth even more. Use a rare book search engine to learn if you've unearthed a valuable tome.

There's money to be made from those vintage dresses boxed away in your basement, especially going back to the 80s and earlier. Designer duds are more valuable and everything should be in good condition, but groovy gowns from the 60s, for example, can net more than $100 on Etsy.

It may look ridiculous now, but that ancient behemoth squatting in your basement could bring in the Benjamins, especially if it's an Apple 1 or Apple II, which are worth thousands of dollars. Apple 1s are especially prized—one sold in 2019 for more than $470,000.

If your basement clutter includes cereal boxes, take a closer look before throwing them in the recycling bin. People don't just go cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs, they're paying upwards of $1,500 on eBay for a variety of brands' vintage boxes.

No matter the brand name, the style or when it was made, denim clothing will probably fetch some coin. Dig out your vintage blue jeans and other denim apparel—mid-century Levi's jackets are especially in demand right now, with some selling for thousands—and start counting the cash.

If you've got your great-grandmother's quilt in your basement shame on you! Bring it upstairs and air it out pronto, because you can sell this piece of your family's history if you don't want to use it. Antique quilts in great condition with a verified history can be worth big bucks. You can find an appraiser through the American Quilter's Society.

If you've got an old cowboy hat laying around from the "Urban Cowboy" era or earlier, it could fetch as much as $150 on eBay if it's in good condition, with its original band.

Clothes in good shape that can't be sold can always be donated to non-profits like Goodwill—and you can usually deduct the contribution from your taxes. But even the most worn out soft goods like t-shirts, towels, tablecloths, and more can be repurposed and used for cleaning and DIY home renovation projects.

Unless you're Beyoncé chances are no one is going to pay for old pictures of you, but that doesn't mean they're worthless. Toss poor-quality or damaged images but hold on to the rest. They're irreplaceable.

As long as it's in working order, selling that earlier-generation cellphone you came across in your basement as used can help recoup some of its cost. But much older phones, including those Stone Age-looking "brick" phones and the first iPhone, now called the 2G, can command up to thousands in the collectable market.

We're talking more apothecary and perfume bottles than wine bottles here, though those might be a more common basement find. Antique bottles, especially if they're in rarer colors like purple and gold, can go for hundreds of dollars, so check them before you chuck them.

If you find a dusty piggy bank full of old coins stuck in your basement, look them over carefully. Rare coins can be worth major money, like the Flowing Hair Silver/Copper Dollar 1794/95, which was auctioned for a cool $10 million. But sometimes circulated coins are worth way more than face value—a 1995 U.S. penny with a doubling of the words "LIBERTY" and "IN GOD WE" was sold at auction for more than $5,000.

According to experts, playing dress up encourages creativity and confidence in children. So don't toss those wrinkled store-bought costumes lurking in your basement. Give 'em to your kids and set free their imaginations.

While no one will probably buy your letters, they might purchase your postcards, especially if they're old, rare, and in good condition. The world's most expensive postcard, according to Guinness World Records, dates back to 1840 and was sold in London in 2002 for more than $45,000.

Unfortunately, your basement clean-up probably won't yield a $171 million painting by Caravaggio, like the one that was recently found in an attic. But as anyone who watches Antiques Roadshow can tell you, sometimes those grimy old canvases are worth a lot more than you imagined.

You probably wouldn't throw away a beautifully made musical instrument, but if you don't want it sitting in your basement—and the damp hasn't gotten to it—you might be able to sell it. If it's a Stradivari violin or a Fender Stratocaster guitar, it could be worth hundreds of thousands or even millions.

Everyone from casual cooks to professional chefs knows the value of a good kitchen knife. Vintage knives are selling for upwards of $2,000 on eBay, with handmade cutting tools and those with carbon blades highly prized. But even if your old kitchen knife isn't worth anything, you can give it new life by visiting a knife sharpener in your city.

Don't throw away those old newspapers sitting in stacks in your basement. They make far better cleaning cloths for mirrors and windows than paper towels, because they don't leave any residue. And if you happen upon one printed after a day that changed history—like the New York Times edition covering the 1929 stock market crash—they could be worth thousands.

Of course there's a big caveat—they need to be signed by a celebrity or historical figure. If you've got a land deed signed by Benjamin Franklin, or a yearbook with James Dean's John Hancock, you've stuck gold. But even autographs from 20th-century minor celebrities can be worth something, so be sure to go over those papers boxed up in your basement carefully.

A lamp doesn't even need to have its original shade to be valuable, though that can increase its worth. Keep an eye out for manufacturing labels from names like Tiffany, Steuben, Stickley, Louis Poulsen, and Stiffel.

All that glitters doesn't have to be gold. According to experts, depending on how it was made, who made it, and what it was made with, costume jewelry can easily be worth hundreds of dollars. Baubles from designers like Coco Chanel and Trifari offer the highest quality— and resale value.

Like retro tech goods, vintage kitchen paraphernalia is a hot commodity on the collectibles market. Cast iron skillets are a particularly beloved product. If you find one in your basement and you don't fancy lighting a fire under it, you can sell pans from Griswold and other makers for hundreds of dollars.

Fine art prints aren't just mass-produced copies of paintings and the like—they often can have their own value. Prints signed by the artist, came from limited editions of less than 200, or that were more difficult to produce are typically are worth more.

Vinyl is said to be staging a comeback, thanks to its warm, rich sound, which music lovers swear is more appealing than CDs or MP3s. People are clamoring to get their hands on good condition copies of classics like U2's "The Joshua Tree Collection" (boxed set, released in 1987); The Beatles' "The Collection" (boxed set, out in 1982); and the 1973, 7-inch release of Bruce Springsteen's "Spirit in the Night." All could bring in hundreds, if not thousands of dollars.

From Chipppendale chairs, which can sell for thousands a set, to a retro IKEA Bergslagen side table that goes for nearly $3,000, quality antique and vintage furniture can be worth a lot. It's not a bad idea to get older pieces appraised before they go on the junk pile.

Even if you'd no sooner shoot a duck than give one a kiss, it's easy to see the beauty in a hand-carved duck decoy. Collectible since the 1950s, vintage duck decoys in pristine condition today can be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Popularized in the 1970s, these often massive portable stereo systems are still around today, though the new ones can't hold a candle to vintage models in terms of coolness or monetary value. The classics usually go for a couple hundred dollars on eBay but if that old boombox in your basement is a Sanyo M-X920K, you might be able to score a couple thousand for it.

Founded in the United States in 1910, the Boy Scouts are still going strong, and so is their highly sought-after memorabilia. If you run across patches from the early years in pristine condition, complete uniforms, or pocket knives, backpacks, and other gear, you might have hit the jackpot. Some items could sell for hundreds, or even as much as $5,000.

Unless the note or letter you discover in your basement was written by a celebrity, it's not going to be worth anything—except to you and your family. The handwriting of someone we've lost can bring their memory back in a way nothing else can.

Collecting vintage fireworks and firecrackers isn't perhaps the safest hobby—they can be a tad volatile unless they're kept in a cool, dry place. But Americans have been importing fireworks from China since the 19th century, and the old labels and packaging are beautiful. If you have a decent collection, you might be able to sell if for a few hundred dollars.

Nowadays most cameras but the simplest point and shoot are pretty pricey, and likewise older cameras can be valuable, as long as they're in good working order. If you've come across a Rolleiflex or Leica during your basement foraging, you're in luck—they can resell for upwards of $1,000. If you've found a mid-century Polaroid, you might net $100.

That cool old trunk you've dug out of your basement doesn't have to a be a vintage Louis Vuitton to put money in your hands (but if it is it could be worth as much as $20,000). In general, French-made trunks might sell for $2,000, while an average one produced in America might go for a couple hundred.