Everyone has a storage method that works for them (either in their minds or in actual fact).
My sister buys fabric for A project and puts the fabric away and forgets she has bought it (sorry Marnie!) and the rest of her fabrics I think she sorts by colour.
I have a bins of novelty, Christmas, white and off white tone on tones, baby quilt fabric (mostly pastels), panels, and then I sort by colour. Fat quarters of all descriptions are kept separate and if I am collecting fabrics for a project I store them in zippered fabric magazine holders that have a clear plastic front ( kinda like the plastic zippered bags linens come in but these are mostly fabric so the materials inside can breathe).
Something I started doing that is a useful tip I believe is when I fold up a piece of left over batting I measure it and pin a tag to it with a safety pin (20X100, 36X60, etc) Saves a lot of anguish when I am looking for batting for table runners and wall hangings, baby quilts, etc.