River crossing puzzle: you're doing it wrong

Are you familiar with the river crossing puzzles? Some variation of 3 things that can't all fit on a boat but also can't be left together on the shore. Well, I just was faced with a real world parallel. After work today I rode to the pet store to get litter, and of course I didn't have my backpack. Then I decided to get cat food as long as I was there. I already had a bag of bread and sandwich in hand, so I walked out of the store wondering how this would all work. Bike/litter/cat food/bread. Well, like a stubborn fool, I tried to ride with it all... litter pulling my arm off, cat food slipping from my grip, bread getting squashed. This is the equivalent of solving the puzzle by suggesting taking everything at once, and then sinking mid-river. When riding didn't work, I walked it, which also didn't work. I dropped everything repeatedly and then the paper bag holding my food ripped just when I was close enough to think my struggles were over. Well, they're not, because I'm typing this now from my hallway as I wait for a locksmith.  See, in that puzzle they never said anything about making sure you don't lose your keys as you overload your boat with various incompatible creatures.  Somewhere in all my foolishness I dropped my keys, and even though I retraced my meandering path just minutes later it was a lost cause.  Any of a billion people could have picked them up and thrown them away (including the people who sweep the streets by hand).  Sierra's out of town on business and nobody else has a key so now I wait for the locksmith as I hear the cats pathetically meowing to be fed inside the door.  This is not my proudest moment.