I have a lot of embroidery thread; the different sizes/brands either came in storage cases or I bought specific sized cases for them when I bought the thread. The biggest cones (5000m) I store in 2 large plastic boxes under my bed. If you buy Madeira thread already in storage units, such as the 3-drawer one that is advertised a lot, the thread is color sorted and that sort of gives me fits when I'm looking for a specific numbered thread; therefore, all the rest of my thread (which is most of it) I have sorted by number. I have typed sheets of the color numbers and where they are stored, so when I pull the colors for a design, I check the sheets to see if (a) I own that color and (b) where it is stored. I can't emphasize enough how much time that saves me.