Advice on basic and practical steeping

[Train2]

Just starting to acquire a bit of a collection, and I'm running out of room to let things steep...
Here are a few questions I have for those who've been down this road:

First: I know shaking's recommended - that sort of implies that some interaction with air may be involved - do I have to remove the drip tips? I KNOW I'm going to knock 5 of them over trying to pick up the one I want to vape - thus I'd prefer if I could steep with the tip on (top-off/tip-on would be OK for a LITTLE air but no spill, even if it took a little longer)...

Second: Have you got a nifty storage solution for dozens of little wobbly bottles? I don't think I'll end up with hundreds, but dozens seems inevitable, and I'm getting varied sizes here from what looks like a 2 ml sample up to 60 ml of what's so far my ADV.

Third: I've seen suggestions of substantial flavor change from steeping - but REALLY? I just want to know if I should really keep my hopes up. I mean if something tastes like I'm licking perfume, and a week later it still makes me mildly nauseous, is it hopeless or should I actually check it again in a month?

Thanks for help on any or all points!

 

[mommyofdoom]

I just leave the caps on and leave the bottles in my old cigar box. Once or twice a day, whenever I go into my supplies for a refill or anything, I'll shake the bottles.

I've never really done the open-top method. I think that's usually done to let some alcohol evaporate, maybe someone else here who knows more about that can elaborate.