After a recent return of some hardware I lent out, I found myself with an extra PC that wasn’t doing much. Rather than letting it sit idle, I turned it into something much more valuable: a full-fledged homelab, powered by Proxmox VE.
This machine now runs essential self-hosted tools that handle everything from ad-blocking to smart home automation. If you’ve got spare hardware and a bit of curiosity, building your own homelab is one of the most rewarding ways to take control of your digital life.
I do have an older server blade but it has a larger power draw compared to this simple PC.
Why Proxmox Was the Right Choice
Proxmox VE is a free and powerful virtualization platform. I chose it because:
- It provides an intuitive web UI for managing VMs and containers
- It supports LXC and full KVM virtualization
- It runs reliably on consumer-grade hardware
- It’s perfect for layering services and isolating workloads
I considered Docker-only and bare-metal installs, but Proxmox gave me more flexibility and backup/snapshot options out of the box.
What I’m Hosting on Proxmox
1. Pi-hole
My first container was Pi-hole, which now acts as a network-wide ad blocker. It filters DNS requests to eliminate ads, trackers, and malicious domains.
- Why I use it: It cleans up browsing across all devices and gives me full visibility into what’s talking to the internet.
2. Home Assistant
Home Assistant is the brain of my smart home. It automates everything from lights to temperature to security alerts.
- Why I use it: Total control of smart devices, privacy-first automation, and better reliability than any cloud service.
- Because the system is local most controls will still work even if my internet goes down.
- Eventually I’m looking at replacing my Google Assistants with Home Assistant Voice for voice controls
3. Mealie.io
Mealie is a meal planning and recipe manager that looks and works great.
- Why I use it: Organizing recipes and planning meals used to be chaotic—now it’s centralized and simple.
- I was going to make a puppeteer application for scraping recipes but this already does that
4. Firefly III
Firefly III handles all my personal finance tracking.
- Why I use it: It replaces third-party budgeting tools while keeping all financial data local.
Bonus Setup Details
- Backups: Proxmox handles weekly snapshots.
- DNS Management: Pi-hole doubles as my internal DNS, resolving custom hostnames for all services.
Lessons Learned
- Old hardware still has value: Don’t toss that old PC—it’s a homelab waiting to happen.
- Self-hosting is empowering: From blocking ads to budgeting and home automation, these tools make my digital life smoother and more private.
- Proxmox keeps it clean: Isolated containers and VMs make experimentation low-risk and organized.
Next on the Roadmap
- Add Vaultwarden for password management (currently using 1Password to manage)
- Set up Uptime Kuma for service monitoring
- Build a custom dashboard with Grafana for home metrics
Conclusion: From Dust Collector to Digital Core
That spare PC I nearly gave away is now the backbone of a secure, private, and highly functional digital home. With Proxmox and a handful of open-source tools, I’ve reclaimed my data, enhanced my network, and made life at home just a little bit smarter.
If you’ve got unused hardware sitting around, give it a new purpose. A homelab doesn’t just teach you—it serves you every single day.