Dear Lee,

It’s June. By now your spring cleaning should be finished. But sometimes collectors and savers find it hard to discard things. So here are some rules to help you discard or donate the too-small clothing, chipped dishes and dozens of lady head vases you no longer love. The guidelines are very different than the discard rules of just 15 years ago. Laws have changed, new types of auctions and services are available, second-hand clothing is sometimes saleable. Collecting has changed and the “best” of the past may now be of little value now, while items almost no one collected – such as furniture of the 1980s – is getting high prices. Some of the suggestions may even make money. And some will warn you to expect less than you paid for many things. Some things have sentimental value, which is more important than money or cleaning, so ask before chucking a family member’s collections.

Gather big boxes or trashbags and label them “throw away,” “sell,” “give away.” “Throw away” is trash, broken useless things, as well as packing material, newspapers and more. “Sell” is anything that may be popular at a garage sale or perfect for a small resale or consignment shop. “Give away” is stuff others might want, but you have grown tired of. That category includes contributions to charitable auctions and sales, or organizations like the Salvation Army. Donations to charities, museums, and other historic places may be tax deductible. Often, contributions of clothing or items with a local history will be displayed with your name as a contributor.

While cleaning, save and mark pieces that are part of the family’s legacy. Pieces you don’t want should be offered to a relative or family friend. Record the story of each piece and date it. When it is eventually sold or donated, the history adds to the value.

Prune your collections. Get rid of the “mistakes,” or the poor examples, to make room for more.

Check your jewelry to be sure new valuables are insured, old pieces with family history are recorded and broken pieces are either repaired or sold for meltdown value.

Get rid of gifts you hated and planned to “regift,” decorations or toys you outgrew, and useless kitchen stuff. Save collectible packaging like figural bottles or decorated tins. Save what you still use and love – at least till next year.

Don’t forget the junk drawer, the little drawer that has all the small odds and ends like keys, postcards, exercise squeeze balls and other new, health-helping toys, Kindertoys, greeting cards, political anything, ticket stubs from sports events or rock concerts, Christmas seals, theater programs, pencils, pens and souvenir spoons decorated with company logos or events names, bottle caps, beer labels and coasters, advertising keychains, and other small oddities. Give all of it to a child who likes to collect or invent things. It might be saved for another 25 years and eventually be valuable. Some “junk” from the 2000s including comic books, lunch boxes, costume jewelry and original comics are pricey today.