I don't save scraps, I give them to a friend who makes 'minitures', she calls them 'yardage'. :)

I place small scraps into zipper sandwich bags and store them by color. When I need a color the bags slide easily without fraying the fabric and it makes it much easier to find what I need. I just cut up lots for a log cabin. The bags get used over and over. That way I can cut the size I need when I want it. I have the plastic drawer/carts in my sewing closet.

I get alot of fabric from garage sales, which I only use for charity quilts. But I took Bonnie Hunter's suggestion (quiltville.com) to cut them into strips. So I cut 2", 2 1/2", 3", & 3 1/2" strips. When you want to do a scrappy they are all cut & ready to go. She has free patterns. My 2 1/2" drawer got so full I started sewing them & it's a "no brainer" for times when you want to sew, but not think!!

I sort entirely by color---color drives my planning for a quilt. Anything left from a project, or speculation fabrics I bought not knowing what I would use them for, all go into color piles---piles at the moment because I am moving in two months to a bigger space. I love the look of those colors on the shelf! They are my fabric rainbow of inspiration!

For me, cutting in advance is work I don't need to do. I cut when I am ready to make the fabrics into something. If I cut into squares, strips, or whatever, chances are those would not be what I need for what I plan to do. That works for me!

Once I am in a bigger space, I think I will still do color sorts, though I may put them into tubs as my new space will be flooded with light--can't wait!

its like learning to color outside the lines...

Yeah, whats that???

I don't cut them into squares, because I use them a lot to applique... a store them in plastic "zip lock" bas, shared by colors...

Like some others, I cut anything smaller than 1/4 yard or a FQ into 2.5" squares, 3.5" squares, 5" squares and rectangles 2.5 x 4.5, etc. I keep all my batiks together, and have a plastic box each for Christmas, Halloween and baby/kids (which I am rapidly outgrowing!). All the rest go in together sorted by the size of the cuts. I had been doing this for a while then discovered Scrap Therapy which is very similar. Scrap Therapy has patterns based on using up the precut scraps. The trick, for me at least, is to force myself to cut up the scraps immediately after I finish a quilt project because if I don't that pile just keeps growing bigger. IMHO, you can find a way that works for you as long as it's not giant black trash bags since it's pretty horrifying to sort through those!

I realized the other day that I really need to sort my scraps and I'm thinking that by color would be best.

I don't want to pre-cut because of also doing applique and you never know what's going to work until you start searching for that special something.

I started saving sm. scraps of all sizes when I came across pcs. I just could not toss into the wastebasket. Now I have a lg. wicker picnic basket stuffed full. No way to organize that mess.
One day I will offer it out to this grp. I made a great paperpieced quilt out of it that I called my "free quilt" since otherwise the pcs. would have been trash. That was a beaut. quilt. Even the backing was an old pc. I found in my stash.