Cher's Oscar gown could be among the items on sale

The October sale of about 700 items, at Sotheby's and Julien's, is expected to fetch about $1m (�535,000).

Cher, 60, told the Associated Press that a "nice percentage" would go to charity. She said she was "only keeping about five items" from the home.

Items for sale are to be exhibited in the US and UK ahead of the auctions.

They also include furniture, artwork and jewellery.

Cher has said she decided to have the sale to allow her to redecorate her home.

"My house is so full that there's no way to do something different unless I totally change it," she said.

Cher's bed is among the lots being sold off

Among the items expected on sale are a Gothic revival brass bed, made in about 1865, outfits Cher wore on The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour in the 1970s, and a Bob Mackie gown that she wore to the Academy Awards.

"I'm truly excited about it, having had this stuff for so many years," she said.

"The amount of costumes I have is staggering, so this doesn't even make a dent."

Among 85 items of jewellery due on sale will be pieces Cher has herself made.

Some of the proceeds will go to the Cher Charitable Foundation, which supports numerous causes.