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Can every item in Skyrim be used for something? I find a lot of objects like ruined books, embalming tools, etc. that I haven't found a use for yet.

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  • 13
    Buckets, although seemingly useless, can be used to humanely blind people.
    – fredley
    Commented Nov 25, 2011 at 9:45
  • In the next update Bethesda will remove that "feature".
    – Xenox
    Commented Nov 25, 2011 at 12:03
  • 13
    @Xenox: can you quote a source for that?
    – Joachim Sauer
    Commented Nov 25, 2011 at 13:24

6 Answers 6

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Some items that seem useless at first do have a hidden use.

For example, ruined books can be used to create summon Atronach spell tomes

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  • 2
    Darn I wish I hadn't dumped those then...
    – Ivo Flipse
    Commented Nov 26, 2011 at 0:24
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If you can pick it up, you probably need it.

Thulsa Broom — Holkins, Jerry; Krahulik, Mike (November 14, 2011). "Thulsa Broom". Penny Arcade.

But seriously? Unless it has no interesting value, leave them be. You'll get one when you need one.

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6
  • Ahahah, I immediately thought of this comic as well when I saw the question.
    – Josh1billion
    Commented Nov 25, 2011 at 14:19
  • 9
    The worst thing is that you have to check every chest, urn and body to see if there's anything worth taking...
    – Ivo Flipse
    Commented Nov 26, 2011 at 0:25
  • 1
    At least you can now see whether a container is empty or not before opening - a bit unrealistic, but it helps. Maybe the next game shows total container contents value? :)
    – Konerak
    Commented Nov 27, 2011 at 0:06
  • 2
    Maybe someone will mod in a broom dungeon?
    – AnnanFay
    Commented Jan 5, 2012 at 14:47
  • 4
    This comic was lifted from Penny Arcade without any attribution, and the answer appears to completely miss the point of the question. I created a meta-discussion question to understand why this keeps getting up-voted and isn't just deleted.
    – user3389
    Commented Jan 5, 2012 at 22:05
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Once you learn Telekenesis you can 'use' all objects as projectiles.

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  • does that actually damage mobs?
    – Morgan T.
    Commented Nov 25, 2011 at 17:54
  • Lol, mobs. I'm not sure I haven't learned it yet.
    – fredley
    Commented Nov 25, 2011 at 19:52
  • 1
    It does damage monsters as well. But don't expect too much.
    – user4551
    Commented Jan 5, 2012 at 7:51
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Ruined books are used in atronach forge under the winterhold college.

The atronach forge provides a use for that "stupid" broom as well, actually!

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6

To be quite honest, all items have a use... depending on your taste of Medieval living, you can decorate your house with whatever you deem worthy!

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1
  • Burned books.. yay
    – user4551
    Commented Jan 5, 2012 at 7:52
2

Many of the items are useless or have very limited uses. Everything could certainly be sold to merchants or used to decorate homes. However, beyond that, the following list of things have no use

  • Basket
  • Bellows
  • Bloody Rags
  • Bowl
  • Bucket
  • Burned Book
  • Candlestick
  • Cast Iron Pot
  • Clothes Iron
  • Cup
  • Drum
  • Embalming Tool
  • Empty Skooma Bottle
  • Flagon
  • Flower Basket
  • Flute
  • Fork (non-weapon)
  • Goblet
  • Hammer
  • Inkwell
  • Jug
  • Kettle
  • Key to Wintersand Manor
  • Knife (non-weapon)
  • Lantern
  • Linen Wrap
  • Lute
  • Pitchfork
  • Plate
  • Platter
  • Pot
  • Quill
  • Saw
  • Shovel
  • Silver Candlestick
  • Soul Gem Fragment
  • Spigot
  • Spoon
  • Tankard
  • Tongs
  • Torture Tools
  • Troll Skull (Now actually can be used to build a trophy in your homestead)
  • Wooden Bowl
  • Wooden Ladle
  • Wooden Plates

http://skyrim.gamepedia.com/Useless_Items

As have been noted by the other answers/comments, all of these items could be used with telekinesis to create a projectile. Furthermore, buckets could be used to cover shopkeeper's heads, allowing you to steal with impunity.

Beyond these items, many other items have very limited uses and are in general not worth picking up. These include ruined books and brooms.

Most things labeled "clutter" would fall under the above two categories. These items are in general not worth picking up. If you ever find that you have a need for them, they are also easy to find.

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3
  • +1, would be better to copy over the list and cite where it came from
    – DCShannon
    Commented Jan 31, 2017 at 20:24
  • Hmm, let me try that.
    – Fluidized Pigeon Reactor
    Commented Jan 31, 2017 at 20:28
  • There we go. That's to get around being accused of a "link-only" answer.
    – DCShannon
    Commented Jan 31, 2017 at 23:09

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