I like mundane items for immersion and messing around with them, but I think some measures should be taken to clearly communicate "this is trash, you can leave it if you don't want to play the 'construct a spoon shrine' minigame".
I've suggested it before, but I think containers should be tagged appropriately to contents, for example: "Barrel" - contains something of use; "Barrel (mundane)" - contains junk; "Barrel (empty)" - contains nothing.
In addition, items that have no apparent use but aren't trash (obscure quest items, maybe future crafting items) should have a description that hints at their potential usefulness. "This broken pot appears completely uninteresting, though there is some odd scratching on the bottom."
