For me it would depend on the circumstances.
I would need to first satisfy the following:
1. There is almost no chance the owners are coming back.
2. There is a good chance someone else will find it and steal it.
3. There is almost no chance of legal consequence and they are not catastrophic.
4. I actually need the stuff because I’m homeless or very poor.
5. Its stuff of actual use, or which I can sell.
6. They have no neigh boughs that I can question about the house and the possessions. Meaning the house is in the middle of nowhere.
Now when all of those criteria are met, I might, just maybe resort to stealing some stuff but I probably wouldn’t clean the place out. And then I’d deal with the trepidation that comes with doing something you know and feel is wrong even if you’re not sure exactly why.
I did this recently. I was living in an abandoned building and there was a spot where people regularly visit and make fire and such. They left in a hurry I presume because of the whether and left a barbeque lighter. I could tell by the fact that it was on the floor and not the brick table that was built, that they had forgotten it. And its kind of out of the way for them to come back for it. And I knew that several other people frequent the area who are actual thieves. There was a very slight, next to nothing chance I could get caught out and if I did the worst I’d face is theft of a lighter from an area that actually was off limits (private property) but not fenced off or belonging to anybody. A kind of recreational facility for members lets say. So I picked it up and used took it. It was actually quite needed as my other lighter was running out and fire was very necessary on a daily basis. Same thing happened some months prior with a pair of sandles which came in quite handy. I thought about leaving it somewhere safe with a note but knew it would end up in the hands of someone other than the owners and it wasn’t a very valuable item.
But I don’t want to seem like I’m virtue signaling. As a matter of fact, I have an actual conviction for theft. No prison time. So… ahem… yep. Not shaming anybody. But I really don’t like when people say things like yes ofcourse why not lets go for it woohoo! It seems peculiar, like they are trying to sell the idea that there’s absolutely nothing wrong going on and you shouldn’t think about it. Not shaming them either. I’ve also done that too.