Wrapping an Electrical Power Cable

This one is a little obscure - but a great place to start. Anyone working with electrical power should learn the best way to wrap a power cord or cable - called the Over / Under Wrapping Method. Whether you use your electrical cords for outdoor equipment, holiday lighting, or home improvement, wrapping a cable properly can save time when it comes to use the cable, and add years to the cable or cord life.

If you want to get away from the coiled cable look (even after you've unwrapped your cable!), and you want to be able to unwrap your cables fast, and want your cables to store without added tension (just say NO to the carpenter's elbow wrap!), then try the following method. It's a little difficult to explain, and may take some practice, but once you have it down you can wrap cables faster AND better than ever before - by the way, this is the method most professional roadies use. 

Proper Cable Wrapping /  Sweetwater.com

A few comments about this video:

First, "...they'll just wrap it up like it's an electrical cord...". In reality, electrical cords get just as tangled, twisted, and damaged as video and audio cables without proper wrapping and stowing.

Second, the demonstration here is fine for smaller cables (audio or video), and shorter lengths. But for longer and/or larger cables, you will probably need to make a larger diameter loop, and rather than pulling back an arm's length (as shown) take a full two wingspan across the body and two arms. The over / under technique still works.

I learned this skill working in the video production field. I always assumed it had naval origins (seems to be the best way to wrap a line for quick and twist-free deployment, and sure enough, it's known as faking a line in those circles) But you can learn it as well.