US startup helps people earn cash by renting out their stuff

A sharing economy company lets you make money on your clutter

Spotted: Usually when your house gets cluttered, you stuff things in closets, or give them away or toss them out. US startup Omni is offering another alternative. Think of that guitar in the corner of your bedroom you never play but aren’t ready to discard. Omni staff will pick it up, photograph it and store it. Or better still — if you want to make some cash — it will list it as a rental on its website.

Omni operates as a digital marketplace, but one that is at present only available for use by customers in Portland, Oregon and the San Francisco Bay Area. The idea is to help people live lighter and consume less.

Fees for the service depend on the items being stored and rented. The four-year-old startup raised $35.3 million from investors, as of 2018, including $25 million from Ripple, the fintech startup.