Online services have become a big part of daily life, but you don't always need to sell your soul to google to take advantage.

Really all you need to get started is a device you can use as a server. The only requirement is that you can leave it on all the time. An old laptop is often a good idea, or inexpensive all-in-one devices like a raspberry pi.

Most people probably get started with something like a personal wiki to manage notes and information. I use bookstack but there's a plethora to choose from. You could say that self hosting personal notes is a gate way drug to self hosting all the things. It's quite liberating to have complete control over this small part of your online self.

My current stack includes:

• bookstack - personal wiki
• syncthing - syncs files between devices, like dropbox
• borgmatic - manages backups
• pihole - a DNS server & filter
• media - a bunch of apps to store and serve video & audio
• frigate - a network video manager for our security cameras