Not all layer cakes are 24 pieces. The ones I have contain 42 pieces of fabric and they are often duplicates or even triples of the fabric. So that might help your problem of wanting more matching going on in your quilt. Buy the layer cakes with 42 pieces!

What if you bought two packs of your 24-piece layer cake? That would give you duplicates and it would make a larger quilt too. You could buy 2 layer cakes and split the fabrics in two, thus giving you duplicates AND another layer cake pack to make another quilt.

For storage, I simply stack my layer cakes and charm packs and mini charms (candies?) one on top of the other. I leave them nice and tidy in their little paper wrap. They look happy and I'm happy with them like that.

Don't wash precuts! I don't wash any of my fabrics until after they've been put together, sandwiched, quilted and bound. The quilts allo look wonderful, not any shrinkage to notice.

There are tons of patterns for layer cakes. You could cut them into charm squares, and that would give you multiples of the fabrics, but I would rather buy charm packs than cut up a layer cake. It's just easier to me