Can we talk about how I hit 1,000 unplugged hours and finally got it?

Six months ago I rolled my eyes at the whole phantom load thing. I thought it was just a way to sell smart power strips. Then I started tracking my own numbers with a $22 watt meter I got on sale in Reno. In my first full month, my always-on stuff, the TV, the cable box, two chargers, and a printer, was pulling 214 kWh. That is about $29 a month in my area, just for things sitting there doing nothing. When I hit 1,000 hours of unplugging the big ones at night, my bill dropped $31 for that month, and I sat there staring at the page like a dope. I was wrong because the number was real and it was mine, not some chart on a website. What is the dumbest small thing you ignored for years before the math finally made you change your mind?