How to Fold Towels (3 Easy Methods)

Lay a clean, dry bath towel on a flat surface with the long edge running left to right in front of you. A countertop, the foot of the bed, or a cleared dining table all work. Smooth out the wrinkles with the flat of your hand so the towel is laying truly flat - any bumps now show up later as lumps in the finished stack.

If your towels are still damp from the dryer, give them another 5 minutes on low. Folding damp towels traps moisture in the folds and that's how linen-closet smell gets started.

Fold the towel in half lengthwise so the long edges meet, then smooth the crease flat. Take the left short side and fold it to the middle. Bring the right short side in to meet it. You now have a tidy rectangle with two clean edges and a center seam down the middle.

This is the shape you want for closet and linen-shelf stacks. The flat top and bottom give you a stable base, the visible edge faces forward, and the same-size rectangles stack neatly without sliding off each other.

Fold the rectangle over once more, bottom edge up to meet the top edge. The towel's design side is now facing up, and you have one clean folded edge at the top with the loose ends tucked underneath.

If the underside has any overhang, tuck it cleanly inside so all you see is the smooth folded edge. This is the same fold high-end hotels use for spa-shelf towels because every visible side is clean.

Start the same way as the tri-fold: long edges together, then thirds from each short side into the middle. Now instead of folding the rectangle once in half, take the bottom edge and fold it up twice, like you're rolling a cuff. Each fold should be roughly equal so the finished stack is squared off.

The double fold makes a thicker, smaller, denser brick - perfect for vertical filing in a drawer or for fitting more towels into a basket without spillover.

Lay the towel flat again and fold it in half lengthwise. This time, grab the top-left corner and fold it down diagonally so the corner touches the bottom long edge. You now have a triangle along the left side with the rest of the towel still rectangular on the right.

This diagonal start is what makes the rolled towel look like a clean cone at the end. Skip the triangle and you'll get a flat-tube roll instead of the tapered spa shape.

Flip the towel over once so the triangle is on the underside. Fold the long sides in toward the middle in thirds. Flip the whole thing over again - now the triangle corner is on top and pointing toward you.

Starting from the far end (the rectangular short side), roll the towel toward you nice and tight. When you reach the triangle corner at the end, tuck it inside the roll itself. The tuck locks the roll closed and gives you that self-standing spa cylinder.

Now you have three finished folds and one decision to make: where does each towel go? Use the tri-fold for open linen-closet shelves and the front of any visible stack. Use the Rubin for drawers and tall baskets where you file towels vertically. Use the roll-up for guest baths and powder rooms where two or three rolled towels in a basket read as "spa."

In a real bathroom you'll likely use all three. The everyday family towels get the Rubin so they fit a deep drawer, the guest-set gets the tri-fold for the closet shelf, and a roll-up basket lives by the tub.