How can I keep LEGO winches from becoming tangled?

Question

I have some LEGO winches/strings with hooks.

Putting these away inevitably results in tangled strings (the next time I take them out). Even winding them up doesn't help.

Storing these in drawers and/or shelves is not an option for me. I keep most of my LEGO collection in a LEGO Star Wars box.

Is there some way I could build other bricks onto these so they won't unwind?

Answer 1

I take 2 of these:

Place 2 pins in the holes

And then sandwich the loop of string between.

It works well and you likely have the pieces lying nearby.

Answer 2

i've put mine into one of these little film-cans:

very simple, but effective: that way they're easy to find and can fly around in a big LEGO-box with all the other bricks without getting tangled.

Answer 3

You could try wrapping the winch in a rubber band to prevent it from becoming unravelled.