Hi Molly,
I'll bet you haven't read the manuals for all of your media devices, etc? I plan to do that during wait periods, but always forget, and bring something to read.
If I took all my manuals, I'd know how to use the things I was supposed to know how to use in the first place, and save headaches.
eg. For my new microwave, I know I can actually disable the alarm.
For my car, I can switch to a city driving mode, so I think the gas consumption would be better.
For my computer, I found out it has a webcam, which I went into accidently! It even has a face and sound recognition mode, which I've never explore.
My old cellphone, which I use as an alarm, has a sound recognition mode.
I think you could leave all your media devices at home, and take your manuals with you! Imagine how pumped up you'll be to get back home and use them?