Not waste! I recently started to use the thin pieces of fabric and selvages to tie my fabric up after it is washed, dried,measured and folded as flat as I can get it. (I have allergies and must wash my fabric or suffer the consequences!) I iron the washed fabric when I'm ready to use it.
I attach two address labels midway on the thin strips, one on each side of the strip, glue side to glue side, then write the yardage on one side of the label. When I'm auditioning a fabric for a quilt, I can just take it out, see if I like it and, by looking at the label, immediately know if I have enough for the quilt.
If I use part of the fabric, it's easy to record how much is left. I just cross out the old yardage length on the label and write the new yardage length on it, then tie up the remaining yardage and return it to stash.
I also use the thin strips to 'tie up' several fabrics for a kit. The label notes that it is a kit and the length of each piece of yardage. You can put multiple labels on the thin strips if you need to.
Secretly, I'm hoping this organization thing will help cure my habit of 'forgetting' to put away fabric that was rejected during the audition phase!