I have all my cables in (categorised) 5L Really Useful Boxes. It's probably too many anyway, but I reasoned if 5L isn't enough to contain them, then either the category is too broad or I don't need the cable I'm trying to fit in.

reconsiders the 7 21L Really useful Boxes of cables.

I find it helps to think of this scenario as paying Amazon/eBay $4 to store it for you for several years.

but then I would be giving Amazon money, when my drawer can do it for free.

It's not really free of you can't find shit anywhere because of the many cables in the drawer, you meet to move it around if wou redecorate or move and you need increased home space to store all the stuff.

I like having tools in my home, don't get me wrong, but storage being free is an illusion. I still think the cost to be worth it.

Ok I get it, but it's not a quantitative cost.

I'd say it's not unquantifiable. The higher rent (or mortgage) you need to pay, the time loss for organisation and retrieval. It's small for one item, but it adds up and it's a recurring not a one time cost.

I can’t throw away a cable and get a lower mortgage.

Its not free though, is it?

You're spending mental power indexing all the things you have. I assume you pay for your dwelling, dollars-per-sqft is a thing to consider.

Doing the Amazon route (which is exactly what I do) means I know I have every cables I could ever need within 24 hours. And I don't have to remember where I last put it, and I don't have to deal with knotted cables, and I don't have to wonder when a thing doesn't work, is it the cable?

> and I don't have to wonder when a thing doesn't work, is it the cable?

I'd say Amazon is not necessarily a guarantee of that.

Instant access to useful items is valuable. Think of it like... caching for tools. I like having items I need within reach. I'd love a bag like Hermione's in Harry Potter.

Waiting 24h is a lot if you're in flow and you want that thing _now_ dammit!

Your comment only ensures me I'm doing the right thing keeping them. I don't want to pay amazon, make their drivers pee in water bottles, and produce more plastic waste from packaging and transport for thing I already own.

Except it's 10$ and shipped in three days - unless you pay 16$ and get it tomorrow, which is unfortunately not when you need that monitor to work.

Even then, it's most likely even more expensive, because if it's just an off-the-shelf HDMI cable, you'd probably have one around. Look for the cheapest SCSI cable, if you don't think so.

I don't want to say 'store everything', but just backordering stuff is much more expensive in my experience.

That's fine for cables that never go out of style, like vga and rj45. Am I going to be able to find usb-A to mini-B in 5 minutes in 20 years? Probably. Am I going to be able to find a camera usb-ish to rca video cable in 20 years? Probably not or not cheap.

Video game output cables are already hard to find for cheap.

I'm also a cable hoarder - lots of electronic related hobbies and you never know what you might need. My solution was buying a big pack of velcro cable ties and clear storage bins. One evening I sat down and cable wrapped every single one, then sorted into bins by the type of cable - power, audio/video, USB, networking, etc. Slap a label onto the front of each bin.

The bins sit neatly on a shelf and I know exactly where to find any type of cable I need. The cable wraps prevent them from turning into giant tangled messes.

This is going to sound really dumb, but how exactly do you wrap your cables using zipties? I tried the intuitive "roll it in a 5-6in circle, then maybe fold, squish, and then secure by a ziptie in the middle", but i am not sure if there is a better way. That one feels somewhat messy.

>velcro cable ties

Not zip ties.

I'm not the person you're asking.

I like the velcro cables ties that stay attached to the cable, like [1]. Wrap the cable in a loop, then secure the loop with the velcro. Larger cables get two ties on opposing sides. Do not squish the cable because it will get all kinked; just keep it in a loop, and stack all your wrapped cables as a cylinder.

The diameter of the circle depends on the cable length and thickness. 2m USB cable should be 10cm, 3m power cord should be 20cm, and 10m Ethernet cable should be 30cm.

[1] https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/8-x-1-2-Black-and-Gray-Cable-Ti...

I used to hoard cables, but then I figured out 90% of them were really bad quality.

I actually tested all my microUSB cables and found out majority of them had trouble delivering over 1A of power through them -> bin.

For the rarer ones I kept one of each (usb-a->usb-b, mini-usb etc), the ones that were the best quality.

The number of times I've needed that one extremely specific cable and years later realize it has been "tidied up" (e.g. gotten rid of) is actually kind of bothersome to me. Like sure, it's just "junk" for years at a time, until it's not. And sometimes I really did wind up needing it (or wanting?) it again! Sigh...