What to bin, store, sell and wear

As the new year starts, it is time to reassess your wardrobe and decide what to do with your clothes. While cheap fashion items can go, your children will never forgive you for getting rid of classics

Every new fashion season brings with it the joy of the new but, sadly, the sad passing of the trends with which we were in love a few short months ago.

While September 2012 told us that wedge trainers were still in, January 2013 – and the myriad high-street copies of Isabel Marant’s original Beckett – tells us that they are very much out. These are not times in which we should be throwing the Becketts out with the bathwater; au contraire, these are times to sell, consign or otherwise recycle, with the refuse pile being the ultimate last resort.

But how do you know which goes in which bracket? And how can you be truly ruthless when looking forward to your spring/summer wardrobe?

BIN IT: super-cheap, fast-fashion items that won’t last another season, anything beyond repair

Let’s be realistic. Spring cleaning is all well and good, but Trinny and Susannah are remnants of a Celtic Tiger whose miaow hasn’t been heard around these parts in a while, and throwing out clothes without holes in them is a folly we can no longer afford.

So your “refuse” pile will be small. In it we suggest throwing: anything that is irreparably torn or stained (cotton and silk can be used for polishing silverware and wooden furniture – just tear into strips); and cut-price items that won’t be welcome in charity shops and can’t be passed on to friends (super-trendy dresses that cost less than a tenner, maxi dresses that smell of holidays and are worn through from the wash and flat pumps that let in water can all go in the bin).

STORE IT: brocade trousers, embellished jackets, metallic knitwear, oversized statement neckpieces

There are certain items that will inevitably come back into fashion, even if they may have temporarily seen their day. Last season, we were inundated with luxe fabrics and gold accents in a trend that seemed to permeate every occasion and social class: baroque. The new season has pared itself back and cleaned itself up, and the OTT fabrics and embellishments of our Edwardian autumn are well and truly passé, but that’s not to say that they won’t return.

Vacuum bags are a great way of storing items you won’t be wearing for a while (although I tend to pack mine in suitcases on top of the wardrobe, which is hell when you realise, last-minute, that you need the suitcase). If your items are so on-trend that they won’t survive a year in a suitcase, drop them into your local charity shop, try your luck on eBay or consign them.