Everyone should work in retail or in a restaurant at some point in life. Not only will you think twice about the tips you leave your servers or how you respond when a sales associate tries to tell you about their in-store promotions, you’ll also gain hands-on skills you can use long after you’ve turned in your uniform. My time working in a women’s clothing store taught me one essential skill that helped take my laundry game to the next level - how to fold a shirt.

Folding a t-shirt may seem like a piece of cake. You probably simply air-fold t-shirts, shove them in a drawer and call it a day. But there’s nothing quite like properly folded shirts. They make for easier stacking and storing, they’re less likely to wind up wrinkled from getting shoved in the back of a drawer and they simply look nicer. I promise the extra five seconds will be worth it.

Follow these easy steps to see how to fold a shirt into a crisp, clean rectangle.

1. Lay the shirt on a flat surface with the front of the shirt facing down. Place a folding board at the neck on the shirt. If you don’t have a folding board, simply cut out a cardboard rectangle measuring 12 inches by 10 inches.

2. Fold the left sleeve in toward the center of the board, making sure the fold makes a straight edge down the side of the board.

3. Repeat the same fold on the right side.

4. Fold the bottom tail of the shirt up so that the edge touches just below the board.

5. Then fold the bottom portion of the shirt upward onto the board.

6. Simply slide the board out of the shirt.

7. Flip over the shirt and admire your retail-ready folded top.