Concentrating positions, not diversifying. Insights from those that have done this?

I've been investing for nearly a decade now. When I started, I had a plan that *sounded* simple at the time: find an ETF I wanted to invest in, then mimic their holdings. Not buy the ETF, just buy their largest holding in proportion to that ETF. I don't think this plan turned out terribly lol... but over the last 10 years, my thesis has changed (as has the allocations in these ETFs). So, my problem is two fold: Maybe that ETF isn't even on my radar any more AND even if it is, their allocation may have increased or decreased.

As my investing strategy has evolved, I've been trying to figure out how to clean everything up. I don't want to have a massive fire sale lol. I don't want to just sell off 20+ stocks indiscriminately. I mean, its nice that the number isn't a lot larger hahaha. But, yeah, I want to clean things up for my own sanity, but I want to make sure that I'm not selling off at a bad time. Any insights?

The good news is: this mess consumes only about 10% of my portfolio AND its still close to what I want to do anyway. Its pretty much in dividend-paying defensive stocks. So, every month, I'm pulling in a solid chunk of $$$. Its just that I don't want the hassle of researching these stocks into forever lol. Having a dozen consumer staples companies isn't necessarily better than having five lol. Having a bunch of random small- to mid- cap stocks might save me a few pennies in expense ratios, but is it really better than having one ETF to manage all of it?

The bad news: I never developed an exit strategy for these individual stocks. I just assumed I'd hold them forever. And, honestly, they aren't harming me. I just don't think they are helping me either hahaha. I would feel much better taking my "diverse" portfolio down to mostly a handful of ETFs and 5-8 individual stocks that I'm very confident in. There are still sectors I feel really good about and sectors I don't want anything to do with, so I'm not looking for a single VOO or whatever option. I just want to let go of stocks when it makes sense and wait to unload others when that makes sense. And, as I do that, I can reallocate the proceeds into much more consolidated positions. Basically, I ONLY want stocks/ETFs I have an actual plan for and I want to sell off stocks that I don't have a plan for (while avoiding selling any major mistakes).