My preferred storage solution for such things - which includes all kinds of cables and plug-packs - is to put each set into a zip-lock bag. You can then dump all these into any storage container you like and they will never get tangled. Also far easier and quicker to sort through them - and FAR less likely to get damaged.
Here's a random sample from my unsorted container.
I used to do this as well... until my collections reached
"fills a storage tote" size. When the pile is that dense, you
can't see the trees for the forest and all definition of what the cables
are gets lost in the silvery fog of the ziplock bags.
My solution is gardening ties. These come in a bulk container with a cutter as seen above. This means you get exactly the length you want, and if you need to tie a cable to a thing it belongs to, you're covered there too. They're usually available in a package of 100m of tie for $4-8, but I've even bought them from the Dollar Store.
It's overall much cheaper than Ziplok baggies, and it is much more efficient use of your storage space; baggies waste a lot of volume. I typically keep a cheap plastic drawer unit (okay, 2 or 3... I have a cable fetish
) with them separated into drawers for LV digital, LV Analog, DC power, AC power, and a bin or two for 2 and 3-conductor EIC power cables. Test leads, scope probes, patch cables and 4mm power patches I separate out into plastic shoe boxes on a shelf under the bench for easy access.
Now Muttley-ply all that approx 20fold, and now you know how the
ToD came to be...
mnem