i just bourght a VPS, imaged with ubuntu 12.04, and i notice right out of the box it's using 10% ram. I then proceeded to run this:

dpkg-query -Wf '${Package;-40}${Priority}

' | sort -b -k2,2 -k1,1

And got this huge list. I can see right out of the top I don't need 97% of these, however it would take me the better part of a day to syphon through each package and removing it. Is there any way i can select all the optional/extra packages from this list, and remove them, without causing me loss of access to my VPS via SSH? I have removed all packages marked as required and important from the list, as noone cares.

            db-util                                 extra

            diff                                    extra

            ia32-libs                               extra

            ia32-libs-multiarch                     extra

            iputils-arping                          extra

            klogd                                   extra

            libavc1394-0                            extra

            libcapi20-3                             extra

            libdb4.8                                extra

            libjson0                                extra

            libnfnetlink0                           extra

            librtmp0                                extra

            lsb-release                             extra

            lynx                                    extra

            lynx-cur                                extra

            makedev                                 extra

            mktemp                                  extra

            oss-compat                              extra

            rmail                                   extra

            sendmail                                extra

            sendmail-base                           extra

            sendmail-bin                            extra

            sendmail-cf                             extra

            sendmail-doc                            extra

            sensible-mda                            extra

            sysklogd                                extra

            xinetd                                  extra

            acl                                     optional

            apache2                                 optional

            apache2-doc                             optional

            apache2-mpm-prefork                     optional

            apache2-utils                           optional

            apache2.2-bin                           optional

            apache2.2-common                        optional

            bind9                                   optional

            bind9utils                              optional

            binutils                                optional

            bluez                                   optional

            bluez-alsa                              optional

            busybox-initramfs                       optional

            bzip2                                   optional

            ca-certificates                         optional

            cifs-utils                              optional

            console-common                          optional

            console-data                            optional

            console-tools                           optional

            console-tools-dev                       optional

            cracklib-runtime                        optional

            db5.1-util                              optional

            dbus                                    optional

            dbus-x11                                optional

            dconf-gsettings-backend                 optional

            dconf-service                           optional

            debconf-utils                           optional

            defoma                                  optional

            dmsetup                                 optional

            dselect                                 optional

            ed                                      optional

            esound-common                           optional

            expat                                   optional

            fetchmail                               optional

            finger                                  optional

            fontconfig                              optional

            fontconfig-config                       optional

            gawk                                    optional

            gconf-service                           optional

            gconf-service-backend                   optional

            gconf2                                  optional

            gconf2-common                           optional

            gettext                                 optional

            glib-networking                         optional

            glib-networking-common                  optional

            glib-networking-services                optional

            gsettings-desktop-schemas               optional

            gstreamer0.10-plugins-base              optional

            gstreamer0.10-plugins-good              optional

            gtk2-engines                            optional

            gtk2-engines-murrine                    optional

            gtk2-engines-oxygen                     optional

            gtk2-engines-pixbuf                     optional

            gvfs                                    optional

            gvfs-common                             optional

            gvfs-daemons                            optional

            gvfs-libs                               optional

            gvfs-libs                               optional

            ibus-gtk                                optional

            initramfs-tools                         optional

            initramfs-tools-bin                     optional

            insserv                                 optional

            iputils-tracepath                       optional

            iso-codes                               optional

            klibc-utils                             optional

            ldap-utils                              optional

            libaa1                                  optional

            libaio1                                 optional

            libao-common                            optional

            libao4                                  optional

            libapr1                                 optional

            libaprutil1                             optional

            libaprutil1-dbd-sqlite3                 optional

            libaprutil1-ldap                        optional

            libasn1-8-heimdal                       optional

            libasn1-8-heimdal                       optional

            libasound2                              optional

            libasound2-plugins                      optional

            libasyncns0                             optional

            libatasmart4                            optional

            libatk1.0-0                             optional

            libatk1.0-data                          optional

            libaudio2                               optional

            libaudiofile1                           optional

            libavahi-client3                        optional

            libavahi-client3                        optional

            libavahi-common-data                    optional

            libavahi-common-data                    optional

            libavahi-common3                        optional

            libavahi-common3                        optional

            libbsd0                                 optional

            libcaca0                                optional

            libcairo-gobject2                       optional

            libcairo2                               optional

            libcanberra-gtk-module                  optional

            libcanberra-gtk0                        optional

            libcanberra0                            optional

            libcap-ng0                              optional

            libcdparanoia0                          optional

            libconsole                              optional

            libcrack2                               optional

            libcroco3                               optional

            libcroco3                               optional

            libcups2                                optional

            libcups2                                optional

            libcupsimage2                           optional

            libcurl3                                optional

            libdatrie1                              optional

            libdbus-1-3                             optional

            libdbus-1-3                             optional

            libdbus-glib-1-2                        optional

            libdbus-glib-1-2                        optional

            libdconf0                               optional

            libdevmapper-event1.02.1                optional

            libdrm-intel1                           optional

            libdrm-nouveau1a                        optional

            libdrm-radeon1                          optional

            libdrm2                                 optional

            libdrm2                                 optional

            libdv4                                  optional

            libelf1                                 optional

            libesd0                                 optional

            libexif12                               optional

            libexpat1                               optional

            libexpat1                               optional

            libffi6                                 optional

            libffi6                                 optional

            libfile-copy-recursive-perl             optional

            libflac8                                optional

            libfontconfig1                          optional

            libfontconfig1                          optional

            libfontenc1                             optional

            libfreetype6                            optional

            libfreetype6                            optional

            libgail-common                          optional

            libgail18                               optional

            libgconf-2-4                            optional

            libgconf-2-4                            optional

            libgd2-xpm                              optional

            libgdk-pixbuf2.0-0                      optional

            libgdk-pixbuf2.0-common                 optional

            libgdu0                                 optional

            libgeoip1                               optional

            libgettextpo0                           optional

            libgettextpo0                           optional

            libgl1-mesa-glx                         optional

            libgl1-mesa-glx                         optional

            libglapi-mesa                           optional

            libglapi-mesa                           optional

            libglib2.0-0                            optional

            libglib2.0-0                            optional

            libglu1-mesa                            optional

            libgnome-keyring-common                 optional

            libgnome-keyring0                       optional

            libgnome-keyring0                       optional

            libgomp1                                optional

            libgomp1                                optional

            libgphoto2-2                            optional

            libgphoto2-port0                        optional

            libgssapi3-heimdal                      optional

            libgssapi3-heimdal                      optional

            libgstreamer-plugins-base0.10-0         optional

            libgstreamer0.10-0                      optional

            libgtk2.0-0                             optional

            libgtk2.0-common                        optional

            libhcrypto4-heimdal                     optional

            libhcrypto4-heimdal                     optional

            libheimbase1-heimdal                    optional

            libheimbase1-heimdal                    optional

            libheimntlm0-heimdal                    optional

            libheimntlm0-heimdal                    optional

            libhx509-5-heimdal                      optional

            libhx509-5-heimdal                      optional

            libibus-1.0-0                           optional

            libice6                                 optional

            libice6                                 optional

            libiec61883-0                           optional

            libieee1284-3                           optional

            libisccc80                              optional

            libisccfg82                             optional

            libjack-jackd2-0                        optional

            libjasper1                              optional

            libjpeg-turbo8                          optional

            libjpeg8                                optional

            libklibc                                optional

            libkrb5-26-heimdal                      optional

            libkrb5-26-heimdal                      optional

            liblcms1                                optional

            libltdl7                                optional

            libltdl7                                optional

            liblvm2app2.2                           optional

            libmad0                                 optional

            libmikmod2                              optional

            libmng1                                 optional

            libmpg123-0                             optional

            libnl-3-200                             optional

            libnl-genl-3-200                        optional

            libnspr4                                optional

            libnss3                                 optional

            libodbc1                                optional

            libodbc1                                optional

            libogg0                                 optional

            libopenal-data                          optional

            libopenal1                              optional

            liborc-0.4-0                            optional

            libpango1.0-0                           optional

            libpaper1                               optional

            libparted0debian1                       optional

            libpcap0.8                              optional

            libpciaccess0                           optional

            libperl5.14                             optional

            libpixman-1-0                           optional

            libplymouth2                            optional

            libpng12-0                              optional

            libpng12-0                              optional

            libpolkit-gobject-1-0                   optional

            libproxy1                               optional

            libproxy1                               optional

            libpulse-mainloop-glib0                 optional

            libpulse0                               optional

            libpulsedsp                             optional

            libpython2.7                            optional

            libqt4-dbus                             optional

            libqt4-declarative                      optional

            libqt4-designer                         optional

            libqt4-network                          optional

            libqt4-opengl                           optional

            libqt4-qt3support                       optional

            libqt4-script                           optional

            libqt4-scripttools                      optional

            libqt4-sql                              optional

            libqt4-svg                              optional

            libqt4-test                             optional

            libqt4-xml                              optional

            libqt4-xmlpatterns                      optional

            libqtcore4                              optional

            libqtgui4                               optional

            libqtwebkit4                            optional

            libraw1394-11                           optional

            libroken18-heimdal                      optional

            libroken18-heimdal                      optional

            librsvg2-2                              optional

            librsvg2-common                         optional

            libsamplerate0                          optional

            libsane                                 optional

            libsane-common                          optional

            libsdl-image1.2                         optional

            libsdl-mixer1.2                         optional

            libsdl-net1.2                           optional

            libsdl-ttf2.0-0                         optional

            libsdl1.2debian                         optional

            libsensors4                             optional

            libsgutils2-2                           optional

            libshout3                               optional

            libsigsegv2                             optional

            libsm6                                  optional

            libsm6                                  optional

            libsndfile1                             optional

            libsnmp-base                            optional

            libsnmp15                               optional

            libsoup-gnome2.4-1                      optional

            libsoup2.4-1                            optional

            libspeex1                               optional

            libspeexdsp1                            optional

            libstdc++5                              optional

            libtag1-vanilla                         optional

            libtag1c2a                              optional

            libtalloc2                              optional

            libtdb1                                 optional

            libtdb1                                 optional

            libthai-data                            optional

            libthai0                                optional

            libtheora0                              optional

            libtiff4                                optional

            libunistring0                           optional

            libunistring0                           optional

            libv4l-0                                optional

            libv4lconvert0                          optional

            libvisual-0.4-0                         optional

            libvorbis0a                             optional

            libvorbisenc2                           optional

            libvorbisfile3                          optional

            libwavpack1                             optional

            libwbclient0                            optional

            libwind0-heimdal                        optional

            libwind0-heimdal                        optional

            libwrap0                                optional

            libwrap0                                optional

            libx11-6                                optional

            libx11-6                                optional

            libx11-data                             optional

            libx11-xcb1                             optional

            libx11-xcb1                             optional

            libxau6                                 optional

            libxau6                                 optional

            libxaw7                                 optional

            libxaw7                                 optional

            libxcb-glx0                             optional

            libxcb-glx0                             optional

            libxcb-render0                          optional

            libxcb-shape0                           optional

            libxcb-shm0                             optional

            libxcb1                                 optional

            libxcb1                                 optional

            libxcomposite1                          optional

            libxcomposite1                          optional

            libxcursor1                             optional

            libxdamage1                             optional

            libxdamage1                             optional

            libxdmcp6                               optional

            libxdmcp6                               optional

            libxext6                                optional

            libxext6                                optional

            libxfixes3                              optional

            libxfixes3                              optional

            libxft2                                 optional

            libxft2                                 optional

            libxi6                                  optional

            libxi6                                  optional

            libxinerama1                            optional

            libxinerama1                            optional

            libxmu6                                 optional

            libxmu6                                 optional

            libxmuu1                                optional

            libxp6                                  optional

            libxpm4                                 optional

            libxpm4                                 optional

            libxrandr2                              optional

            libxrender1                             optional

            libxrender1                             optional

            libxslt1.1                              optional

            libxss1                                 optional

            libxt6                                  optional

            libxt6                                  optional

            libxtst6                                optional

            libxtst6                                optional

            libxv1                                  optional

            libxv1                                  optional

            libxxf86dga1                            optional

            libxxf86vm1                             optional

            libxxf86vm1                             optional

            memtester                               optional

            mtools                                  optional

            odbcinst                                optional

            odbcinst1debian2                        optional

            odbcinst1debian2                        optional

            openssh-blacklist                       optional

            openssh-server                          optional

            openssl                                 optional

            openssl-blacklist                       optional

            plymouth                                optional

            procinfo                                optional

            psmisc                                  optional

            psutils                                 optional

            pwgen                                   optional

            python-dbus                             optional

            python-dbus-dev                         optional

            python2.7                               optional

            python2.7-minimal                       optional

            quota                                   optional

            rsync                                   optional

            samba                                   optional

            samba-common                            optional

            samba-common-bin                        optional

            sasl2-bin                               optional

            screen                                  optional

            shared-mime-info                        optional

            sharutils                               optional

            smbfs                                   optional

            snmp                                    optional

            sound-theme-freedesktop                 optional

            ssl-cert                                optional

            sudo                                    optional

            syslinux                                optional

            syslinux-common                         optional

            tcpdump                                 optional

            tcsh                                    optional

            tofrodos                                optional

            ttf-dejavu                              optional

            ttf-dejavu-core                         optional

            ttf-dejavu-extra                        optional

            ttf-freefont                            optional

            udisks                                  optional

            unixodbc                                optional

            unzip                                   optional

            update-inetd                            optional

            uuid-runtime                            optional

            vim                                     optional

            vim-runtime                             optional

            wide-dhcpv6-client                      optional

            x11-common                              optional

            x11-utils                               optional

            xaw3dg                                  optional



            bind9-host                              standard

            bsd-mailx                               standard

            file                                    standard

            ftp                                     standard

            gettext-base                            standard

            less                                    standard

            libbind9-80                             standard

            libcap2                                 standard

            libcap2                                 standard

            libclass-isa-perl                       standard

            libdb5.1                                standard

            libdb5.1                                standard

            libdns81                                standard

            libedit2                                standard

            libgcrypt11                             standard

            libgcrypt11                             standard

            libgnutls26                             standard

            libgnutls26                             standard

            libgpg-error0                           standard

            libgpg-error0                           standard

            libgpm2                                 standard

            libgpm2                                 standard

            libgssapi-krb5-2                        standard

            libgssapi-krb5-2                        standard

            libgssglue1                             standard

            libidn11                                standard

            libidn11                                standard

            libisc83                                standard

            libk5crypto3                            standard

            libk5crypto3                            standard

            libkeyutils1                            standard

            libkeyutils1                            standard

            libkrb5-3                               standard

            libkrb5-3                               standard

            libkrb5support0                         standard

            libkrb5support0                         standard

            libldap-2.4-2                           standard

            libldap-2.4-2                           standard

            liblockfile-bin                         standard

            liblockfile1                            standard

            liblwres80                              standard

            libmagic1                               standard

            libp11-kit0                             standard

            libp11-kit0                             standard

            libsasl2-2                              standard

            libsasl2-2                              standard

            libsqlite3-0                            standard

            libsqlite3-0                            standard

            libswitch-perl                          standard

            libtasn1-3                              standard

            libtasn1-3                              standard

            libtirpc1                               standard

            libxml2                                 standard

            libxml2                                 standard

            lsof                                    standard

            m4                                      standard

            make                                    standard

            mime-support                            standard

            mlocate                                 standard

            multiarch-support                       standard

            ncurses-term                            standard

            openssh-client                          standard

            perl                                    standard

            perl-modules                            standard

            procmail                                standard

            rpcbind                                 standard

            telnet                                  standard

            ucf                                     standard

            whois                                   standard

I can't believe they would install SO much rubbish by default!

Thanks for any suggestions