I've tried a few ways, and currently use small ziplock bags - one cable per bag - categorised into boxes (video, audio, computer, power,…) but it takes too long to either write on the bag or to identify the connectors when looking for a cable. Bags becomes cloudy with friction against other bags too making it even harder to see.
Ideally something that lets you see all connectors of a cable at a glance yet neatly hides away the cable?
That's actually a pretty good idea! Wow, never thought of that! But you would then need cables long/thick enough to so that they fit in them nice tight or else you'll have to find another way to hold them like taping the ends or squeezing more cables in so they expand and have a nice tight snug fit(And there's a problem with this unless you don't mind mixing different cables together).
My method of storing cables is to either tape them up with clear tape and then sticking one of those coloured tabs(sticky notes/tabs that's what they're called) onto it and write down what they are, with cable ties, and those metal ties thingy(I don't actually know what they're called) where you tie them by hand.
Then I put all my cables neatly into a box(or in their separate respective boxes/storage space (like have USB cables in this one box, RCA cables in another and say power cords in this one) as to organize them and to have quicker and easier access) and shove them under my table or somewhere.
The metal ties are called twist ties, I think.
I tend to avoid tape - it leaves an annoying sticky residue. A lot of the cheapo cables off eBay come with a plastic band that only sticks to itself - I'm just reusing those at this point. Wish I could buy them separately.
That's if you leave them alone for too long. If you come back in say a couple to a few months, it should be fine; any longer and you get the adhesive residue from the tape. :)
Will give it a go.
But damn, I should have started collecting the the rolls when I lived with a woman.
What, now you just use your hand??
For the moment - waiting for my Staples gloves to arrive.
This is what I do. In fact I just put my box back in the cupboard after adding a few spare usb cables to the collection! Had to dig out some old cardboard rolls from the recycle bin… Really useful little system.
How about using something that involves colour coding and patterns using permanent markers. (they should still be reasonably visible even if the bag clouds; particularly if the colour is done on the inside. (Might want to test the theory first to avoid transference). If they were my cables I would bag the ends of them with bubble wrap and tape to avoid damage and then use colour coded cable tags with additional info written on them and/or patterning. I would then use cable ties to hold them in a loop for storage and forget the bags.
It could take too long I think - I have hundreds of cables.
Cable ties and duct tape.
OMG, make it stop !
Must admit it repeated about 5 times before I realized.
I separate them in plastic bags, eg all ethernet/phone in one, all hdmi in one, all coax in one, all USB in one, all VGA/DVI in one.. and then all of that is inside a storage crate. It never takes me very long to find the cable I need. Every cable has a rubber band around it.
Sounds like you've got too many cables. Time to cull?
I just coil mine up and loop the ends around the cable to hold it together. Then store cables in a box or plastic tub according to usage, ie computer, AV, power etc, doesn't take too long (usually).
Have been getting rid of about 20%, but don't tend to keep duplicate cables. I've just been organising audio cables for instance - 6.5mm, 3.5mm, banana plugs, RCA, XLR, Midi, TOSLink, coax, male/female variations, conversions from one to another, channel variations and sometimes multiple length variations…
Try using toilet paper cardboard rolls when they are finished and sticking cables in them. You can put them in a shoe box and then you can see what cords they are with the hole pointing up. It is great for smaller cables like lightning cables and micro usb cables.