What do you use to connect small cables reliably?

I was doing a bit of led project with a little esp32c3 supermini and some led strips. This required me to power the leds via a external power supply, which is okay but I had to connect a bunch of cables together…into a mess.

Though I used a JST connector to connect the led strip, so that I can take away the controller when I need to, what can I use for reliable connections between the other cable joints?

My soldering game is weak…and also don’t think soldering is the best way for this? or is it?

Looking for suggestions.

post pictures of what you want to connect with what.