How Long is a Piece of String?

Having just spent the last 6 months planning to build a house, we had a crisis of confidence as the builder we had been talking to for the past 2 months informed us that our house was not doable within the budget (a budget we had outlined at the beginning of our conversations). Suddenly the dream of our own new home faded and we began to think of buying an existing home instead. Having spent the best part of 2 years crammed into my Mum’s home, all our stuff in boxes, we are all feeling the effects of limited space, limited autonomy and conflicts of interest. Thankfully we all get along well and most of the time these things are not overwhelming, but the prospect of many more months in our current environment is less than thrilling!
A day of looking at existing homes re-enforced the depressing truth that houses within our budget would not meet our needs in terms of space, warmth, or cleanliness. So it was back to the drawing board, the challenge: to see how we could fit our requirements into 2/3 of the original size, and 100% of our budget.
The string is shorter, the room sizes smaller, no garage and no study, but we may just manage it. There will be no oversizing, no extra height stud and no upmarket accessories, but with a smaller size we won’t need so much heating, and it will be quicker to clean. Definite plusses for domestically challenged heat-lovers such as myself.
Thinking through what I have learned in all of this, I suppose the main thing is that life is full of situations where we must cut away the superfluous nice-to-haves in favour of the essential must-haves. Sometimes the items we eventually cut out are the very things we considered to be essential at the start. It is not until we count the cost of these things that we discover the truly essential. 
I will give up the hydronic heating, solar panels and garage, but space to live, study and work is my absolute bottom line. I want a bedroom that does not have to be shared with a child. I want a place for my books and other home educating resources. I want a place for our pictures and furniture. It doesn’t have to be big, or trendy, but a well-insulated, comfortable home is my must-have.
What does any of this have to do with creativity or writing? Only that sometimes the idea we begin with fades into insignificance as the work unfolds and the true core is revealed. Inspiration is difficult to pin down, but finds its own voice in the creative process, eventually drowning out the other voices that seemed to be important. That is when resonance is achieved and the subconscious speaks. I have found the iterative process of cutting back and giving up some of the first thoughts, can be the best thing for a story that has lost its way.