as often what comes to my mind with these discussions, and what I often mention, is that its common to already own a,b or c item that is heavier or bulkier than other options, but we just keep using them because we have them and sometimes budget comes into play.
I wouldn't mind having a tent a few pounds lighter than my two person tent, or a warmer sleeping bag that weighs half of my bag and is smaller, but the stuff I have works and in life there are always things in life that are higher up on the priority of spending money on, so budgeting can very much come into play.
I'll probably get lighter and more compact things at some point, but being fairly caught up in family stuff with older parents, I'm not heading off on any exciting trips right now anyway, so if I'm able to do anything in the near future, I'll just be using the stuff I have and a few extra pounds it will be.
In general though, even though I have some heavier and bulkier stuff, I am pretty good due to experience keeping the overall volume and weight down, but this does only come from experience and experimenting-- and hopefully mr corlew will be able to be able to look at his stuff and reduce it for next time.