"Downsizing or rightsizing"

What is the optimal size of a record collection? You might as well ask what is the sound of one hand clapping. It's a deep and philosophical matter. However, the size of a record collection also has practical implications. I have 5 913 cds according to my meticulously maintained Discogs account. Is this an asset or a liability? I used to think it was an asset. I pictured myself sitting in a comfortable armchair giving attentive listening a new and deeper meaning as a retiree. Now, I'm not so sure anymore. It might be a liabilty. I picture my kids, after my demise, driving to the recycling centre with the less valuable part of my record collection, cursing their hoarding father. Now and then I think that I should get rid of the collection, at least some part of it. Not only will this take the load off (no pun intended) from my kids, but it will also make it easier on myself. Half of the collection consists of classical cds released on prestigious labels like Deutsche Grammophon, Decca, Sony and Philips. Some of them were bought full-priced back in the days, but most of them I have paid as little as $0,2-1 for. I don't know what the original plan was, but I have felt sorry for them standing there abandoned in the thrift store. We can leave the classical albums aside. This department will need special handling. Over to the 3 000 pop, rock, jazz, blues and country albums (and the 583 gothic country albums). Now, it gets hard. Which albums will survive the purge? The thing that makes it so hard is that the record collection has been built up over the years, layer by layer. Preferences change over time. Downsizing or rightsizing is time-dependent and context-dependent, but I'm the constant factor. We will see how this plays out.