Efficient cutting and preparation of fabric for sewing clothing My questions:

Is there an 'ideal' size to cut / store fabric for making clothes?
Do other sewers have an efficient system in place for cutting / preparing their fabric for future sewing projects?

There are many resources online providing methods of storing fabric stashes in a small living space. The focus of my question is on cutting, preparation, and planning, rather than just storage.
Background:
I am starting to build up a large fabric collection, which is a mix of different sizes/areas of material. I have large bolts of fabric (up to 4 metres long), smaller pieces like fat quarters, and also small off-cut scraps.
I started buying longer bolts of fabric when I realised that it can be tricky to follow patterns for clothing when you only have small scraps of fabric available. For example, when I want to follow a pattern for leggings, I need a length of fabric which is at least as long as the leg shape, plus extra length for hems etc. I purchased a few metres of fabric at a time in one continuous bolt for this reason, but have now realised that I am finding it difficult to store, wash, and cut. (One of the reasons I find the cutting difficult is because I have a small work space and the largest flat surface I have is just under 1m square. I have read about other sewers cutting out fabric on the floor, but the floor of my space is not suitable.)
I have considered cutting my large bolts of fabric into smaller pieces to help with storage, and this should also help me with cutting out, because I won't have long pieces of material drooping over the edge of my work space. However, I'm not sure if this is the correct solution, or if this will cause problems later on when I try to sew garments like leggings or trousers.
I would hesitate to cut my fabric into smaller pieces for storage, just because I can pretty much guarantee that as soon as you cut your fabric, the universe will send you the perfect pattern for that particular piece of fabric--but the pattern will require about 1/2 yard longer than your chosen cutting length. 

But the reason I wanted to post an answer is because I just took a sewing class where my instructor insisted on teaching us how to cut fabric when you only have a small cutting surface.  The basic tenets were that you should NEVER let fabric hang over the edge of the table, as this can pull parts of your fabric off grain.  Instead we spent a lot of time folding and refolding unused and/or already pinned sections of fabric as we laid out our patterns in preparation for cutting.