But is a safety feature really that critical for simple repairs? I've left them out of a few projects and never had a problem.

Wait, not always. Copying code when you're brand new can actually help you get your bearings. The real issue is if you never move past that stage.

Honestly, is the noise really that bad? Like, my neighbor's dog barks all evening and I just turn on a fan. Seems like a whole shower routine is a lot for some banging pipes.

Hand sanding for the win. Try hand sanding on a hood with tight curves sometime. You feel every dip and rise that a machine would miss. Like @dakota422 said, lighting matters, but your fingers tell the truth. I fixed a door last month where a machine sander left low spots. I used a block and 320 grit, followed the shape by feel, and it blended perfect. Machines are fast for flat spots, but on curves, hand sanding keeps you out of trouble.

Started with just some herbs in pots on my back steps. Then I added a few tomato plants in some old buckets. They don't need much space and the harvest was surprising. We got so many tomatoes we ended up making sauce to freeze. It definitely trimmed our produce spending for a couple months.