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We live in a consumer economy. Anything you can dream of you can have, and it’s just a handful of cash away. But what do we do with all the things we buy? Some of it we need, and we hold on to those necessities. Other things are just clutter and end up being tucked away, thrown out, or pushed aside.
Chinese artist Song Dong has put on display every item his mother owned in one single room, including the house itself.
What sized room would it take to hold everything you owned?
When Mr. Song’s father died, in 2002, his mother was inconsolable. She continued to live in the jammed Beijing house, throwing nothing away and obsessively bringing more stuff into it, as if continuing to feather a nest for a now-absent family.
Finally, in 2005, Mr. Song proposed that they turn the accumulated junk into an art project. In this way, he argued, nothing would be discarded and lost; everything would be meaningfully recycled and preserved.
From the Upcoming 
ueue, submitted by 
Graphic designer and writer Megan Deal is moving to Greensboro, Alabama to build a design lab for young designers in Hale County, one of the poorest places in the United States. In preparation, Megan is selling everything that she owns at her project website, goodbyewafflemaker.com:
This site is one part stoop sale and one part personal experiment. The idea was born during the March 2009 session of Project M in Belfast Maine, where 12 people sat crammed around a corner booth at Rollies, fueled by rounds of Guinness and Leinenkugels. By ridding myself of these possessions, I aim to both lighten my travel load and remove the obtrusive clutter from my everyday life. Questions, comments, and/or suggestions regarding this project or M Lab are welcome and appreciated.
