If you also enjoy 3D printing, there’s a fun project to make an NFC tag reader with ESPHome. I use it for a jukebox where my playlists are NFC chips with the corresponding Spotify URLs. It lets anyone in the house tap a playlist to play. Much easier than having to get your phone out, and it’s reminiscent of flipping through CDs back in the day.
PiHole, Plex and the related “*arr” apps. I also self-host my home automation platform (Home Assistant).