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Start With a Torch and a Clear Head

Before you start hauling dusty boxes down the ladder, spend ten minutes setting up properly. Good light is everything — a bright LED torch or a lead lamp will show up hairline cracks, faded signatures and the sheen of old varnish in a way that daylight through a grimy skylight never will. Lay an old sheet or blanket on the floor so you have somewhere soft to rest anything you pull out. Keep a notepad and pencil nearby rather than a pen, and photograph each item where it sits before you move it. That last point matters more than most people realise: if you later need a valuation for insurance or probate, a record of how and where something was stored can help confirm it has been in the family for decades.

Work in sections rather than emptying the whole loft at once. It is far easier to judge a piece when it is not surrounded by chaos, and you are less likely to tread on something fragile on the way to the ladder.

Look for Maker Marks and Signatures

The single most useful habit is to turn things upside down. The underside, the back edge and the inside of a drawer are where makers leave their calling cards.

• Furniture: Check drawer bottoms, the back of a chest, and the underside of chairs and tables. Look for stamped names, paper labels, handwritten dates or cabinetmaker's marks. A stamp reading a town and a date is often more informative than a fancy brand name.
• Ceramics: The base is everything. Look for an impressed mark, a painted backstamp or a printed factory name, plus any pattern number. A pattern number is a genuinely useful clue, because collectors and dealers can identify a piece from it even when the brand is worn away.
• Metalware: Silver and silver plate usually carry hallmarks — small punched symbols showing a maker, a town and a year. Hallmarks on British silver have been used for centuries and a loupe or a phone camera zoom will help you read them.
• Toys: Look on the bottom or back of die-cast vehicles, on the underside of tinplate toys, and on the foot of dolls. A name, a country of origin or a model number can transform a battered toy into a collectable.

If a mark is faint, try raking light from the side — a torch held almost flat to the surface will make an embossed name pop out where direct light would hide it.

Judge the Material, Not Just the Label

Materials tell you a great deal about age and value, and they are often easier to assess than a worn mark. Solid wood furniture with hand-cut dovetail joints, slightly irregular saw marks and no visible screws tends to be older and more desirable than machine-made pieces with uniform joints and plywood backs. Glass that rings faintly when tapped and shows a slight waviness is likely hand-blown rather than pressed. Ceramics with a soft, slightly uneven glaze and a faint crazing across the surface are usually earlier than the uniform, glossy finishes of mass production.

Condition is the next gate. A rare piece in poor condition can be worth less than a common piece in excellent order. Look for:

• Restoration: Repainted areas, replaced handles, regilded frames or new screws in old wood. Honest wear is fine; clumsy repair is not.
• Damage: Cracks, chips, missing veneer, woodworm flight holes, and water staining from a leaky roof. Woodworm matters especially in lofts, where damp and still air encourage it.
• Completeness: Original boxes, spare parts, instruction leaflets and matching sets. A toy with its box can be worth several times one without.

The Loft Itself Can Damage Value

You may also find that storage conditions have quietly harmed things before you ever got to them. Lofts swing between freezing and baking, and the humidity changes with the weather. That cycle warps wooden furniture, lifts veneer, cracks ivory and splits book spines. Furs, textiles and paper are especially vulnerable to damp and to insects. If you find something damp or mouldy, do not scrub it — stabilise it by moving it somewhere with steady, moderate conditions and let it dry slowly, away from direct heat.

When you carry a piece downstairs, support it from the base, never by a handle, a finial or a single leg. Old glue and old wood are far weaker than they look.

When to Call in a Professional

Most lofts hold a mix of genuine finds and ordinary household clutter, and that is perfectly normal. The trick is knowing which is which before you spend money on a valuation. Get a professional opinion if an item carries a clear maker's mark you cannot identify, appears to be solid silver or gold, is a piece of furniture that seems unusually well made, or is a toy you suspect might be from a recognised early series.

Specialists differ: a furniture auctioneer, a ceramics valuer and a toy specialist are not interchangeable. For anything you think may be significant, take clear photographs of the whole item, the mark, and any damage, and email them to two or three specialists before committing to anything. Be cautious about unsolicited offers to buy on the spot, and never let anyone take an item away "to assess" without a written receipt describing it.

A Sensible Order of Work

Decluttering and discovery can happen together if you follow a simple sequence. Sort first into three piles: keep, uncertain, and dispose. Photograph and note the uncertain pieces, then research them at your own pace. Clean only what you understand — a damp cloth is safe on most glazed ceramics and metal, but never on unsealed wood, gilt frames or textiles. Store what you keep off the floor, in breathable cotton or acid-free tissue rather than sealed plastic, and keep a written inventory with your photographs.

Finally, remember that value is not only financial. A humble piece with a family story attached can be worth keeping even when a dealer shrugs. The point of the exercise is to know what you have, look after it properly, and make a calm decision rather than an accidental one.