I'm in a similar situation - DH has been retired for 9 years tho, and I retire in November. We've been transitioning to a house 500 miles away for years, but we do spend our vacation time there. I can't wait for the final move to my new quilt/sewing rooms. I keep a good sewing machine there for whatever my current project is, and have been moving things like future projects I plan to do in retirement (fabric for charity quilts, quilt tops that need finished, hand sewing, etc).
Anyway, my fabric is on shelves that are 20" deep. I used cardboard from fabric bolts (like from Joann's) to wrap yardage on, and less than two yards of fabric are wrapped on smaller boards. So the taller bolts stand in back, shorter bolts stand in front, and there is still room to put fat quarters or other items in front of that. It's all sorted either by theme or color, and I think it looks somewhat organized. Hope that makes sense.
Lyn