Embodiments of the present invention provide automated systems and methods for selectively finding and deleting dormant data (out of data, inactive data) in a configuration management database (CMDB), or in a database which has similar characteristics. The method includes using a directed graph where each node of the directed graph represents a configuration item, and traversing the directed graph in order to determine inactive or dormant data, and all of the objects which depend on that data. Configuration items are deleted only when all of the other configuration items from which it depends contain dormant data.