I agree with la-dulce_vida. If YOU paid for it and it was NOT a gift to him, it is rightfully yours to take.

if you consider it yours and it was a gift to you or bought by you .. it is yours

Take everything you paid for, unless you don't want it or it was given as a gift. Just be prepared that if it is something used in the household daily, he's probably going to argue that it should've been left behind. You'll have to decide on a case by case basis if a particular item is worth the irritation of listening to him whine.

This reminds me of an gossip article I once saw when the British press was first trying to vilify Megan Markle - one of her ex husband's biggest complaints about her was that she took the blender when they divorced. Goes to show that no matter what you do, someone will be of the opinion that you should've done something differently. 

Grannyd posted on one of your previous blogs:

Submitted by grannyd on Sun, 10/29/2023 - 11:28pm

'Under Wisconsin law, an engagement ring is a conditional gift, the condition being the marriage. If you do not consummate the engagement with actually getting married, under the law, the ring must be returned. The leading case in Wisconsin is Brown v. Thomas, 127 Wis. 2d 318, 379 N.W. 2d 868 (Ct. App. 1985).'

Leave the ring in a meaningful place: on top of the toilet. 

I would not want anything that was in that home before I started to live there .  Could be the ex's stuff.  And uyou know how I feel about ex's.  Anything I bought myself, or received as gifts, I definitely would take.  And jointly bought , I would think about it as do I really need this.   You are entitled to half that type of property. And prosistion I 99% Of the law.  As will he spend thousands of $ to get back $1000 worth of junk what's selling on eBay for pennies.  
'REMEMBER  you invested your time and energy, in this relationship, you were abused by your soon to be gone SO. Your, SO let his kids abused you.  Because your SO could not would not parent his kids. He the one who made it him and kids vs you. 
i can understand the ex wanting the kids father having them live with him part of the time.  This is the case in most SF.  No one wants there kids 24/7/365.  They want to do adult things, with other adults. i 

Take what you bought and brought. No guilt allowed!

Lilly, if you "bought it or bought it", you take it.

When BioHo and DH split, she took weird things like the kitchen faucet, cabinet pulls, and all of the light bulbs. She left every single picture of the skids, and her grandmother's antique vanity and kitchen mixer. When 'Ho found out I was baking every weekend, she demanded that DH return that mixer - the one she never used the entire time they were married and hadn't needed since they'd split. Guess she thought I wouldn't be able to bake and the skids would go back to being grateful for the store-bought, chemical-laden crap she would buy. I never used that mixer; always used a wooden spoon or hand mixer. But after 'Ho got her grandmother's mixer back, DH bought me a brand-spanking-new KitchenAid. *biggrin*

When I left my ex I took "my" furniture and left most of what we had purchsed together, but for a few things. Everything I brought in, stayed with me (family stuff mostly). The rest of it, if I didn't care, it stayed. I left almost all linens (yay I could get new ones!) and general bathroom things. The kitchen stuff I split as much as I could - but taking those things I used a lot since I cooked more. I took all the herb/spices which he was the most POd about hilariously because he didn't cook. I tried to be as equitable as possible since he kept the house, vehicles and all the appliances.

Praying it goes smooth & safe. Proud of you!