Unless you’re blessed with a photographic memory, it’s tough to remember exactly which clothes you have, and thus too easy to over-buy when you’re out shopping. If you maintain such a program, you can end up with a closet full of stuff you didn’t even know you had, riddled with duplicates.

Bridget of HiThatsMyBike has developed a concept to combat such a fate: A magic number of particular garments. She’s decided she needs no more than 40 shirts, so she won’t buy a new one until it’s time to get rid of an old one.

For men, particularly fashion-averse ones such as myself, the number of shirts I actually wear is probably 8 or 10. And yet I probably own more shirts than Bridget.

What’s your system for keeping your closet uncluttered and your clothing budget tame? And what do you think your magic shirt number should be?

Minimalist Closet: I Have Enough Shirts [HiThatsMyBike]

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