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Few things take longer than deep cleaning your home. Not only because cleaning is something that feels neverending, but also because you usually find all sorts of stuff along the way, which tugs on your heartstrings or calls for further inspection.
That’s how you end up spending hours playing with things you had forgotten about. But it gets even more interesting—and likely, even more time consuming—when you find things you didn’t even know existed.
After stumbling upon such unexpected finds, many people show them off online, and that’s what today’s list is all about. We have combed through the internet to bring you some of the most unexpected and interesting old house finds that people have showcased. So, if you’re curious about the kind of treasures they have found from way back when, wait not a second longer and scroll down to browse them below.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
I Found These In A Crawlspace In My Basement Mildly Curious
RELATED:
#2
My Septuagenarian Mom Still Has Her ‘97 Softsoap Container To Match Her ‘97 Fish Bathroom
Just keep refilling, just keep refilling, just keep refilling, refilling, refilling.
#3
How Funny! My House Was Built In 1925 And I Am Tearing The Fireplace Out. In The Walls I Found Something Wrapped In Newspaper
Its a sandwich wrapped in newspaper dated 1924.
It’s safe to assume that many of these finds were unearthed when cleaning. And while that might not be a fun activity in and of itself, it does get more exciting when you find something dating years, if not decades, back.
Be that as it may, finding something really old or exciting when cleaning is less likely than finding clutter. Few homes can remain clutter-free for a long time, and chances are, you, too, have at least that everything drawer, where small, unnecessary items go to end their days.
#4
First Prize String Beans From September 1945 Found In My 102 Year Old Patient's Basement
#5
We’re Having A Clear Out At My Nan’s House And We Just Found This Perfectly Preserved Early 1950s Bar Of Yardley’s Soap. Smells Great And It’s Not Cracked At All
Whether it’s one drawer or an entire room, the clutter in our homes isn’t doing us much good. In an episode of Speaking of Psychology, Deacon Joseph Ferrari, PhD, professor of psychology and Saint Vincent DePaul Distinguished Professor at DePaul University in Chicago, noted that there’s a negative correlation between life satisfaction and clutter. The more clutter people have, the lower they report life satisfaction and the greater the stress they experience.
#6
Mrs. Winslows Soothing Syrup. Friend Found It Under An Old House While Doing Pest Treatment
discontinued in the 1930s for becoming known as “Baby K**ler.” It was used for putting kids to sleep and teething infants, apparently contains 65 milligrams of morphine.
Huddo's sister 6 months ago
Reminds me of a book I read as a teen called 'Mama's babies' about a baby farmer ('adopted' babies for money) who used 'mother's little helper' to control the babies/stop them crying but also to k**l the children once they grew old enough to be a nuisance.
#7
I Will Never Throw These Away
We found these in my father’s house when he passed away. We found LOTS of items that fit in this sub, but these were my favorite!
#8
Helping Friend's Mum Clear Out Her House, Found Her Sexy Vatican Calendar (She's 94)
Talking about why it is quite difficult to declutter your home, Dn. Joseph Ferrari, PhD, noted that it can be emotionally stressful or triggering; though, not necessarily in a negative way.
“When I pick the item up, it might bring me joy or happiness,” the psychologist pointed out. “I may look at it, I say, ‘Oh, I remember that good time we had. I got to keep that.’ Or I pick it up and I say, ‘Oh, yes, that was a really tough time in my life. That was some relationship, and I want to avoid it.’ So it could be a trigger to something in the past. And that’s one of the reasons it’s harder to declutter because it brings back either positive or negative emotions.”
#9
Cleaning Out Mil Old House
Found this old bottle of booze. It’s remy cognac… looks old.
John morrison 6 months ago
If I’m not mistaken, Louis the 13th cognac is quite expensive/valuable… I don’t know whether being somewhat aged might make it even more valuable…?
#10
Found Cleaning Out My Grandparents House That They’ve Lived In Since 1965
#11
I Was At My Grandparents House And I Found This In Their Things. I Love It
It's a radio that looks like those old computers, I'm glad I got to take this with me my grandma had past away so we were looking through some stuff so we could clean some of it out.
Another reason why it’s so hard to declutter is people. Yes, people, especially those you share your space and belongings with.
“Most of the time, the decision to keep or get rid of something is not just my own,” Dn. Ferrari said. “Perhaps you have a partner. Perhaps you’re living with someone. Perhaps there’s someone else, others in your life. So you want to throw it away, but the other people say, ‘No, we need to keep it.’ So it may not be your own decision. And getting rid of it would cause a conflict.”
#12
For All Of Your Chocolate Covered Poison Needs
There are still some left in the bottle - they look just like brown M&M minis. Does anyone know why this existed?
OneBlueberry2480: During the turn of the century, small amounts were taken to encourage saliva production, and build a good appetite.
#13
1940’s Unused Roll Of Toilet Paper
#14
Nanny Kept Everything
While it might not be easy to convince yourself—or your partner, roommate, or family member—to declutter the home and maybe throw some things out, doing that has several benefits. Not only does decluttering minimize stress levels, it also reportedly eliminates as much as 40% of housework in an average home.
#15
This Old Seven-Up Bottlers Flavor I Found At Grandma's House
#16
The Original Key To My House Built In 1937. It Still Unlocks All Of The Doors In The House. The Creepy Thing Is, The Bedrooms Only Lock/Unlock From The Outside
#17
My Grandfather Worked In A Pringles Factory. Yes There Are Chips In There
If this list made you curious about what you can find in your own home, consider this a reminder that it’s time to declutter! Who knows, maybe you’ll find something interesting in that drawer of yours.
#18
Still Wrapped 50 Year Old Condoms From Around 1971
#19
Found At Nan’s House - Glass Vase With Metal Grill Inside
It's for arranging cut flowers (a rose bowl).
#20
Fixing Up An Old (100+ Years) House, Found This In The Back Room
#21
Found This Cleaning An Old Mans Basement
#22
Didn't Pick Up Almond Extract From The Grocery Store Because I Was Told We Already Had Some
#23
Unopened Welches Jelly Jar From 1994. Found This At An Estate Sale This Summer
#24
Cleaning Out My Grandma's Basement And I Found A Bottle Of Arsenic
On another note does anyone know how to safely dispose of arsenic? The bottle is really cool and I want to keep it. I have no use for the actual arsenic in it. I feel like it's not one of those things I can just pour out on the ground with it being poison and all.
David R. 6 months ago
It's labeled "Fowler's Solution" so it should consist of only 1% potassium arsenite, not pure arsenic, though still toxic in large amounts. You could pour it down the sink or toilet (for more dilution) out or sprinkle it (fling it around) so it's not concentrated in one spot outside. Or you could contact a local clinic or pharmacy and ask them about it. 👍
#25
Thirsty Anyone?
And no I will not drink it. I was um… A bit obsessed with BSB… I was determined to marry Kevin.
#26
Found Under The Floor Boards In A 1800's House
#27
Remodeling My 1918 Home And Found This Battery In The Wall
M O'Connell 6 months ago
Very cool! You can buy reproductions of these and put modern cells in them for all your vintage radio needs.
#28
Canned Peaches From The Carter Administration. Found In Mom's Cellar. Peaches Canned In 1976
#29
80's Gatorade
Helping someone clean out their house today and these were in the basement.
#30
My Grandma Still Has An Unopened New Coke Can In Her Fridge From 1985
Uncle Panda 6 months ago
My dad preserved a can of Billy Beer (made by Jimmy Carter's brother) because it's "going to be worth a fortune!" When we cleaned out his house after he died, we found he was right! 50 years later, it was worth about three bucks.
#31
Found When Cleaning Out My Mothers Closet
#32
Granny's Freezer Had An 84 Year Old Biscuit With A Note
#33
Found In My Boyfriend’s Pantry
#34
Poptarts 1991 With Free Vhs Rental
When I was in highschool in 2010-2014, I found this empty poptarts box behind the lockers. Still one of my favorite things.
PunnyPanda 6 months ago (edited)
I sent a few box tops from Poptarts in and got a 15 min tape of Paula Poundstone back in the mid 90s! Still have it at my mom's house!
#35
Found In The Back Of My Family’s Vacation Beach House… Any Guesses As To Production Date?
Found a few things online from the 70s-80s but can’t find the actual date on the box!
#36
Found This In My 80 Year Old Mother’s House
Blue Bunny of Happiness 6 months ago
They still sell password books. Helpful when someone passes away and you need to shut down their accounts. No prizes for guessing how I know that…
#37
Other People Inherit Money Or A House; I Inherit The Heinz Ketchup Limited Black Edition
#38
Found Two Bottles Buried In My Cellar
My new house is from 1703, so they can be 1 year old or 321 years old or anything in between. The cellar is directly soil, so I found it while cleaning it out. Contrarily to the bottles in the picture (from the 1990s I think), these two were buried in the soil.
#39
This Soap I Found At My Grandmas House
#40
Chips From '94. Cleaning Out A Hoard, And Found These
#41
Breakfast With Barbie Cereal Expired In 1990
Bidango Smith 6 months ago
With the success of the Barbie movie, you could probably make a killing on eBay with that!
#42
Forgotten Emergency Snacks Found In Our Earthquake Kit From The 90’s
The Chewy bars were absolute mush. Nature Valley bars were still dry (because of course they were). And I wish I could say those were breadsticks and peanut butter but… They were cheese.
Sara Frazer 6 months ago
Ommggg I remember when the chewy bars looked like that, we had them a lot as kids. Daaang this list is making me feel like a 🦕
#43
Cleaning Out My Grandma's Pantry And I Found These Jarred Preserves From 1964
#44
Bought These Off A Walgreens Shelf 3 Days Ago
It took all my strength to get it lodged into me. And now I can’t get it out. Might tie it to the door and slam it shut.
#45
Found Back In 2013
It’s not a recent find but I moved in with my grandfather when my grandmother passed back in 2013. Slowly started working on cleaning things out and found this gem at the back of the pantry.
#46
We Just Bought A House And The Owner Left Behind Some Ancient Feminine Products. I Haven't Thought Of New Freedom (Beltless!!!!) In Decades. They Are Like Twin Mattresses For Action Figures!
#48
Found These Year 2000 Twinkies In My Parents Closet Today
#49
Found This Unopened Bottle Of Orbitz While Helping Clean My Neighbors Garage
#50
I Was Given 6 Bags Of Food, And Nearly All Of It Expired More Than A Decade Ago
Context: I am poor, 'homeless' (in RV)
A family friend made a big deal all weekend about bringing me six bags of food for me and my wife to go through and dump the rest off at the "blessings pantry".... This is some of it!
The best part: The Ghirardellis mint chips and dumpling mix are so antique they don't even have an expiry date. Exciting, we love old food youtubes!
The sun-dried tomatoes (2009) are congealed into a whole new product, may patent it...
Thought about eating that 2008 dark chocolate because damn! The caviar has no date, not sure if it's even that old, but... no.
The rancid smell coming off that Crisco (2007) was intense. The cheese fantastico bottle was creating a vacuum, may implode one day, may keep for science. And wtf is Molly McButter!!
She even suggested I give all the pouch tunas (2011-2014) to my elderly dog, so basically I'm thinking she's trying to end us all off.
Littlemiss 6 months ago
I love people who give 'charity' that they wouldn't dare touch themselves. Please give stuff you would actually eat yourself, not just old junk from your cupboard
#51
38 Year Old Brownies
There’s a sad story to these nearly 4 decade old brownies. My great aunt, who lives with dementia, had a son who tragically died at 12 in 1986. Not long before, he baked these brownies for her, and ever since then they have sat in the back of her refrigerator. We found it while going through her fridge. I won’t take off the lid until we decide to throw it out (which surely will be soon) but it seems like they’ve aged without growing mold, which is mildly concerning, but pretty cool.
#52
Vaporub From The 70’s Found In My 97 & 95 Year Old Patients’ House
#53
Old School Travel Comb? Found Stuck Behind A Drawer In Our Bathroom
Found this stuck behind the drawer in our bathroom. Our house burned down and was rebuilt in the 1950’s. It’s probably 4”x3”ish. The teeth seem pretty wide to be a comb.
#54
How Old Is This?
#55
Any Guesses As To The Year?
From the father-in-law’s house. Made of tin. We’re keeping it, btw.
Oh, and try to say “wax wrapper stack packs” three times fast.
#56
McDonald's Jam From 1990
#57
Now That I'm Old Enough To Be A Grandma, My Sealed Pokemon Jelly Jars
#58
A Fork I Found In A House I Inherited... My Dad Was A Thieving Sod
Lousha 6 months ago
Not necessarily stolen. I grew up with tons of military cutlery and plates. Dad worked for the army, and they often changed these items and were throwing away the old, still perfectly good ones. Those who worked there could take what they wanted either for free or for nominal fees. My partner had similar stuff from school, beacuse his aunt worked for one, and they had similar arrangements. I'm sure hospitals do too.
#59
As We’re Finding Old Stuff, I’ll Add This. Just Found It At My Parents’ House, Probably From When Me And My Sister Were Younger As Neither Parent Drinks
(I’m guessing 80s or 90s by the label and sludge at the bottom)
#60
I’ve Found This Car Key At My Home, I Dont Own Such A Car
So I’ve found this key under our bathtub while cleaning after my dog urinated near it which leaked under the bathtub. I’ve never got any complaint about a missing keys at my house. The bathtub plastic under was never removed before and it was made somewhat 20 years ago.
#61
Jars Of Baby Food From 1994. Grandmother Said “It’s Ok. Don’t Throw It Away”. Do We Know Why Grandmothers Are This Way? Mental Illness?
#62
Just Keep Refilling, Just Keep Refilling, Just Keep Refilling, Refilling, Refilling
It turns out the only container of salt she has is dated from 1965!!! It worked, and salt doesn't really expire!
#63
My Dad Poured This In His Mouth Then Asked If I Could Read The Date On It
General Anaesthesia 6 months ago
As long as it was purchased before Valentine's Day 2007, no problem.
#64
These Pickles I Just Found Are In Their 30’s
Taking care of my grandma after a fall and was cleaning her fridge a bit (I don’t dare try to clean the back of the fridge and she wont let me either) these were in fact placed back in the fridge because “they are in vinegar its fine”. And I thought the strawberries from 2013 were bad.
Bi.Felicia 6 months ago
How could strawberries possibly last from 2013? They are already going bad and moldy, within a few days of bringing them home usually. Maybe they were strawberry preserves?
#65
Unopened Egg Nog From 1975? At My Grandma's House
#66
Cleaning Out My Parents House And Found A Jar Of 23 Year Old Mayonnaise
#67
Slim Fast
Tobias Reaper 6 months ago
you will definitely lose weight if you drink it now as you will poop out half your body weight
#68
Grandma’s Freezer
This is so niche. Photo was actually taken in 2022 but still. I had no idea I would ever get the opportunity to share it but by the grace of God I stumbled onto this.
#69
1997 Miracle Whip Found In My Great Uncles House
Cousins came out to make the outside group of family guess how old this mayo was and didn’t believe it until I went inside for myself. If it didn’t have the factory seal I’d think my great aunt had repurposed the jar for applesauce.
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What do you think ?
Breadcrumb. 6 months ago
I wish I die with 40 year old food in my panty. Never moving is a flex today.
ShortAttnSpanTheatre 6 months ago
Get out! Of my mother-in-law's house, I mean. This was reassuring, because she had a lot of same or similar items. I enjoyed this, thanks!
Breadcrumb. 6 months ago
I wish I die with 40 year old food in my panty. Never moving is a flex today.
ShortAttnSpanTheatre 6 months ago
Get out! Of my mother-in-law's house, I mean. This was reassuring, because she had a lot of same or similar items. I enjoyed this, thanks!
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