These 3 Raspberry Pi projects solve real problems—and one brings back cassette nostalgia (July 31 - August 2)

Published Jul 30, 2026, 12:31 PM EDT Patrick Campanale has been in the tech space for well over a decade, specializing in PC/gaming news and reviews, as well as maker-focused products to build small businesses. With a start in technology back in 2010 surrounding the Palm/webOS ecosystem, Patrick spent his formative years developing mobile applications as well as blogging for various publications, eventually leading to starting his own website in 2014. After running a technology blog for a few years, he stepped out of that role and into the world of high-end custom PC manufacturing and building, with a focus on YouTube video production and overclocking. Then, six years ago, Patrick joined the 9to5Toys team as an editor/writer/reviewer with over 14,000 articles being published there there, ranging from deals and roundups to in-depth reviews on the latest technology, video games, 3D printers, and more. In his free time, Patrick loves to create projects from wood using various robots and methods, including leveraging the technologies of CNCs and lasers. If Patrick isn't working on a computer or playing video games, he's likely in his 2-car garage workshop creating something unique. In addition to all this, Patrick is also a youth pastor at his local church where he feels God has called him to serve, and he loves every minute of it. Are you ready for some more fun projects to tackle with your Raspberry Pi this weekend? Well, you're in luck, and I actually have one project that's sure to bring you down the path of nostalgia before it's all over. Raspberry Pi 4 Model B Brand Raspberry Pi CPU Cortex-A72 (ARM v8) Memory 2 GB With the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B, you can create all kinds of fun projects, and upgrade gadgets around your home. Alternatively, install a full desktop OS and use it like a regular computer. Make your closet light only turn on when the door is open LEDs might be low-power, but they're not no-power Are you tired of opening the closet door only to realize the light has been on for who knows how long? Well, your Raspberry Pi is actually the perfect solution for this. There are two different ways you could go about this project. The first way would be to utilize smart light bulbs or a smart switch, Home Assistant, and a smart door sensor. You'd simply run Home Assistant on the Raspberry Pi and have it turn the closet light on or off based on the door sensor's position. However, that's not very fun or tinkery—though it is simple. If you want something that takes a bit more time and is way more DIY, I have another solution for you which builds the entire system from the ground up. You won't be using a pre-existing platform or app here. Instead, it'll all be done manually with coding and soldering. Start with something like a Raspberry Pi Zero, or Zero 2 W. You'll also want to get an LED strip that the Raspberry Pi is capable of powering or controlling. The last thing you'll need is a Reed switch—a magnetic switch that mounts to the door. Once you have everything ready to go, the fun begins. You'll need to figure out what GPIO pins you want to use for everything. Depending on the LED strip you get, you can likely just use standard 3.3V GPIO pins for this project connected to the controller. You'll want to configure it to turn on when the Reed switch is open, and turn off when the Reed switch is closed. Then, wire in the Reed switch itself. The Pi and LED strip will need to be plugged into some sort of power, so you'll need either an adapter to convert a light bulb to a power outlet or an actual outlet in the wall to power this project. But, once that's all set up and you have everything wired up, it's time to dive into the code. This is a fairly simple project for code, all things considered, and there are many tutorials out there to cover how to turn on an LED strip with a Raspberry Pi. You just need to make the Reed switch the trigger. I'd recommend putting maybe a 60-second delay on shutting the light off, but making it turn on instantly when the door opens. Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W Brand Raspberry Pi CPU Quad-core 64-bit ARM Cortex-A53 Memory 512MB of SDRAM The Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W is super tiny and super affordable, but it packs enough computing power for a variety of DIY projects. You can use it to create a handheld retro gaming console, for Klipper/Mainsail, a super compact home or media server, and more. Build a fun audiobook kiosk for the kids to use It might not be inserting a cassette into a tape player, but it's close Do you miss the days of rummaging through the closet to find that perfect audiobook on cassette to insert into the tape player to listen to while falling asleep? Just me? That's fine, but you can still relive that iconic experience even in 2026—no cassette required. Phoniebox is a fantastic platform that was ready-made for this very concept. It's based around RFID tags and runs on a Raspberry Pi straight out of the box. All you need is the RFID reader, RFID tags, and a way to know what each item is. You could 3D print the housings for the RFID tags, laser-cut them, or just have RFID cards with the names of each audiobook written on them. Phoniebox supports playing back basically any audio file, but audiobooks would be the most nostalgic. If you wanted to go all-out, you could 3D print a cassette RFID holder and then UV print on it like it was a real cassette, then 3D print a receiver for that cassette and put the RFID reader inside of that. It would definitely take some time to get everything designed and printed, but it would be a super fun project to bring nostalgia back for the whole family. So, whether you want to walk down memory lane with your kids or you just want a simple way to listen to audiobooks without having to use a touch interface, why not give Phoniebox a try this weekend? Never forget to take the trash out again with a reminder light It's a simple project that will change your life Credit: Nick Lewis/How-To Geek Are you tired of forgetting that it's trash day tomorrow until it's too late? Instead of trying to use a recurring task or calendar event, use Home Assistant with your Raspberry Pi to light up a reminder light to let you know when it's time to take the trash to the curb. Like the closet light project, this can be done in two different ways. The first way would simply be to run Home Assistant on your Raspberry Pi and then program it with a calendar automation to flash a light in your office until you click a button or toggle something to tell it you took the trash out. There's also a community-maintained waste collection schedule integration that can retrieve dates from supported service providers, if you happen to live somewhere on the list. On the more fun side of things, you'll still use Home Assistant, but also the GPIO pins of your Raspberry Pi. This will take a bit more work, but it's also way more fun. Instead of having Home Assistant flash a random light in your office, have a little dedicated area where Home Assistant will tell your Raspberry Pi to illuminate a specific LED when it's time to take the trash out. Then, have a button to clear the status next to the LED. This is another project that's perfect for a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W, as it's low-power, small, and definitely can get the job done here. Your Raspberry Pi projects can be either simple or complex—the choice is yours I wanted to show something a little different in this weekend's project post. Normally, I only show one way to accomplish a project. Here, I showed two different ways to accomplish two of the projects. A simple way that takes five minutes to set up and is easy to do. Or, a more complex way that requires multiple tools, hand coding, and more time. That was on purpose. You don't always have to do projects on hard mode. Sometimes a project can be done easily, like pairing a smart bulb with a smart door contact sensor and Home Assistant. That's a five-minute setup with a big payoff at the end. So, don't let complex Raspberry Pi projects get you down. Sometimes the simple way is best.