I'm a bit of a magpie in Elder Scrolls games and have a habit of wandering off with almost everything which isn't nailed down. Partly, this is to generate income, but I'm also filling out my extensive collections of books, alchemy ingredients, and… well, shiny things.
There are two problems with this habit, however, and both of them relate to that nasty "Stolen" tag:
Your average merchant won't buy stolen goods. Yes, that can be remedied, but I thus far haven't unlocked many fences and my Speechcraft has a long way to go before I can start investing in anyone. As a result, I have a cupboard in Whiterun filled with many thousands of gold worth of items acquired via the "bucket discount".
Even when stored in containers you own, stolen goods are listed in red. In a large collection, the item list ends up looking like either a zebra crossing or a murder scene. Not exactly a game-ending problem, but it's still aesthetically displeasing.
Is there anyway to cleanse an item of its "Stolen" status?