I constantly use cables from my box of cables. But, not all of them. The trick is knowing which cables are safe to throw away.

I thought I had a trick. I thought I was clever. I decided I'd only keep one of each. One DVI. One VGA. One USB type B mini. A bunch of USB Micro B because those are not quite obsolete yet. But then one time I needed a bunch of USB type B minis. I think it was bike lights. For some reason they all used that obsolete type B mini connectors. So, it was either go out and buy a new bike light or buy a new but obsolete cable. Ugh.