A note from our founder

Why we're clearing out Christchurch this spring.

Spring Clean Ōtautahi started as a fairly ridiculous number written down at my desk: $500,000 of unused stuff, cleared out of Christchurch in three months.

Before I get to why, it probably helps to explain what Cluttr is.

I have spent the last year building it. The idea is simple enough. You photograph the good stuff you no longer use, we work out what it is worth, and a vetted local reseller collects it, lists it, handles the messages and does the handover. When it sells, you get 60% of what it sells for. You never have to meet a stranger in a car park at nine at night.

The thing I kept noticing while building it is that the biggest competitor to selling something is not Trade Me, and it is not Marketplace. It is doing nothing.

Almost everyone has good stuff sitting around. Not rubbish, and not things nobody wants. Bikes, tools, appliances, tech, sporting gear, furniture, entire old hobbies that have quietly taken up permanent residence in a garage. The hard part has never been owning something worth selling. The hard part is being bothered to sell it. That is the part we wanted to take care of.

So why do the whole city at once?

Because one garage at a time is slow, and because this works better when everyone is doing it. If Christchurch properly gets behind this over three months, there is a real opportunity here: clear out a lot of unused stuff, put money back into people's pockets, create some genuine earning opportunities, and do some good for the city while we are at it.

There are a few parts of it I am particularly looking forward to.

People using Cluttr can choose, at payout, to send their share to a participating local cause instead of taking the cash. Something that has sat untouched in a garage for three years can create space, get used again, and put real money somewhere useful.

We are also bringing on our first proper cohort of resellers. Students, graduates, and anyone after flexible income and some hands-on business experience. They will learn how to price things, take decent photos, write listings, negotiate, deal with customers and organise their own time, with our support behind them. Honestly, I think the experience is the most valuable part of it.

And there is the workplace challenge, where workplaces across Christchurch compete to clear the most from both the office and their own homes. I want this one to get slightly ridiculous, in the best possible way. Offices calling each other out. Leaderboards moving. A whole lot of good gear getting used again instead of sitting there.

It has already been very cool seeing people around Christchurch get on and start scanning the things they have had sitting around for years.

So here is my one ask. If someone springs to mind when I say it is probably time to clear some stuff out, and they are in Christchurch, send them our way.

Now we get to see what this city can do.