T-shirts and tops
How many t-shirts should I own?
Count the days you dress casually between laundry loads, divide by how many times you wear a t-shirt before it goes in the wash, add a small buffer for drying. The 130-comment Reddit thread on this question boiled down to the same thing: “N plus three, where N is the days between washes.”
T-shirts and casual tops
4 casual days a week become 4 top-wearing days per 7 days cycle, worn once before washing, plus a small drying buffer.
Jeans, chinos and casual bottoms
Bottoms are worn about 4 times before a wash, so the same casual days need far fewer pairs. Two is the practical floor.
The maths, and why the answer is usually under fifteen
Four casual days a week on weekly laundry is four t-shirt days per cycle. Worn once each and air-dried, that is four plus a two-shirt buffer: six on Minimal, eight on Balanced, ten on Variety. Wear them twice and it drops to five. Only when laundry stretches to a fortnight, or you live in t-shirts seven days a week, does the honest number pass fifteen. Most drawers hold two to five times that, accumulated from events, gifts and sales.
Jeans and chinos are the opposite
Bottoms are worn three to seven times between washes, so the same casual days need only two to four pairs however often you wash. The calculator shows both rows together because people usually own far too many tops and about the right number of jeans.
What about work t-shirts and gym tops?
If your office is casual, the main calculator folds office days into your casual tops. Gym tops are counted separately as sets on the gym kit page because they are single-wear and sweaty; keeping them out of the everyday count is what stops the t-shirt drawer from ballooning.
Questions people ask
How many t-shirts should I own?
Count the days you dress casually between laundry loads, divide by how many times you wear a t-shirt before washing it, and add a small drying buffer. Four casual days a week on weekly laundry, worn once each, is 6 to 10 t-shirts. If you also wear t-shirts to work or the gym, add those days.
What is a reasonable amount of shirts to own?
Reasonable means enough to get to laundry day without repeating a dirty shirt, plus a couple of spares. For most people that is 6 to 12 casual tops and, if your job needs them, 4 to 8 work shirts. Beyond that you are buying variety, which is fine as long as you know that is what it is.
How many t-shirts does the average person own?
Far more than they wear. Forum threads regularly feature drawers of 30, 50 or 100-plus t-shirts, mostly accumulated from events and gifts. A practical rotation for most routines is under 15.