Elmbridge Museum is reviewing 41,000 objects in its collection and sifting out useless artefacts.

The collections review is part of an ambitious 18-month project to make the museum’s services more cost effective.

Items with no relevance to Elmbridge will be sent to more suitable homes, while others currently hidden from public view will be unearthed.

So far the museum has rediscovered the diary of an unknown lady’s maid from 1925, detailing a tour of Europe to destinations such as Lake Como and Paris.

It has also found an archive from the Hadley Optical Company, Thames Ditton, dating from the 1920s to 1950s.

The archive includes a large number of spectacles, a visitor book, price list, a leaflet describing conditions of employment and photographs of staff at work and social events.

Councillor Jan Fuller said: “This is a long process in which every single item is measured against professional guidelines to assess its value and interest for the local community.

“Ultimately, this will lead to new and innovative ways to interpret and present the history of the borough to local residents.”

A £2,000 grant by the museums, libraries and archives council, Renaissance South East, will fund professional museum consultants to advise the Elmbridge team on a more detailed inspection of the collections.

The review is part of Elmbridge’s development plan, ahead of its move to a new resource centre in January 2013.