I've tried various methods. I (still) have a large stash and I keep fabric for years so I prefer to keep mine covered and out of sight. I can understand and appreciate those that like the visual cues provided by actually being able to see the fabric. In the boxes my fabrics are sorted by color and theme and anything fat quarter and larger goes into the appropriate box after it has been prewashed, pressed, folded in quarters and ready for cutting. They fit very nicely in the boxes.
I started purging my huge stash about 10 years ago when my vision issues were diagnosed and when they became an issue in my life. I've cleared out about 3/4ths of what I used to have -- and I still have a lot! It was easy in some ways at first, keep what you love want and get rid of the rest. I ask myself "can you really see yourself using that in 5 years" and I'm often surprised when the answer from within me says "nope, can't think of any way I would actually use that fabric" so away it goes to someone who can use it.
Over the last couple of years I have decided that I simply do not want to save anything smaller than 6.5 x larger than a square. I tried having designated strip sizes and would cut down to the largest piece I could cut but I found that while I can cut smaller, I can't cut larger and whatever it was I had was never the size I wanted. I put up a couple offers here and watched for others and have now sent out all my little strips, squares, etc.
Instead of saving my small scraps I found a crumb quilter here on the board who takes my trimmings. I keep a flat rate postal box by my cutting area and all the little off cuts, ragged ends (when they go in the box, I do like them straight...), and all the pieces smaller than 6.5" strip of some length. A lot of things I send her are "bigger than a crumb" and some pretty useful bits of fabrics. I try to keep them roughly color sorted but I never know what theme I'll be going for, so color works better sometimes than when I'm specifically local for florals or civil war or whatever. At any rate, I pull out my one big box of 6.5 strips and go through that first when pulling fabrics for a new project.
I'm trying to use my stash, and if I can use it/send it it's all good. I had to switch my mind away from thinking I had to save/use all these bits and not only that but had to find the perfect use! Now, if it can be used, the perfect use is for whatever it can be used and the rest all go to someone.