Another idea that works for me is I thread a needle right onto the spool. I drop the spool into a ziploc bag and poke the needle through the side/end of the bag, pulling the thread out through the hole. Zip the bag closed. I then pull out as much thread as I need, leaving a "tail" of thread protruding out of the bag a few inches. Next time, I just thread the needle onto the tail and pull again.
Neat, cheap, tidy, keeps the thread from getting dusty/fluffy/dirty/whatever. The bag stops the thread from rolling away and folds up nice and tight so it doesn't take up much extra space when storing. And who doesn't have a ziploc type baggie of any sort in their home?
Tara