I had an lightning cable connected to a charger, turns out the connector was a bit broken and it started to spark, in the sofa where the end was.

Luckily our fire alarm on four legs quickly alerted us.

Don't keep busted cables. It's not worth it.

We have a local thrift store that sorts and stores the cables very nicely. 95% of the time I can find exactly what I need right away.

That doesn't mean I don't also have my big box of cables, but just offering an alternate strategy.

Somewhere, deep in a storage tote, a UW SCSI cable I paid 50 bucks for at Fry's shows a glimmer of hope.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICDRBVaH6Rc is an earworm of a song exactly about this.

Reminds me of this Onion classic: https://theonion.com/jumbled-nest-of-cords-makes-move-to-thi...

Literally today my friend asked me if I have a cable for an iPod :P

I purge my box every few years. Do you really need 20 usb cables. I do save the esoteric ones though.

Very funny comedy about this kind of stuff

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6wZUV1t1y0

Empty toilet rolls. That way I can see the connectors and quickly find what cable I need.

I always think the worst thing that can happen to a (mild) hoarder like myself is that one of the things I'm hoarding comes in handy. Using one hoarded thing justifies years' worth of more hoarding.