HELP! I'm drowning in digital quicksands of archiving projects!

Question

I have been creating projects since March of this year and have completed 4 projects so far but I am continuing to keep them in the project library for this simple reason: not being able to decide how to archive them because of their huge sizes! I do not want to dump them forever but would like to retain them for future requirements such as reediting them or bringing them out in different languages.
I looked into the file size of a recent project which is a 55 minute sermon on prayer:
My head went into a spin! It wanted a lion's share of HDD space! 146 GB! If one were to abide by the rule of having a copy of the archived project ina different drive stored elsewhere, then this single project would need about 300GB of drive space! Surely this will have a dampening effect on many creative spirits! There have been discussions without conclusions on this topic, I have also participated in them.
To minimise sizes of archived projects, Tom had suggested that it would suffice to keep only the currentversionfcpproject and delete the rest.
My sincere request to all the knowledgeable members is this:
Can you please state out in easily understandable steps the workflow which one should adopt to archive projects such that expensive drive space is used to the minimum?

Answer 1

Thanks for your replies Ian and Andy.
I am aware of what you have stated [Duplicating the project with only the used clips coupled with exclusion of render files], that it would be occupying the least drive space. But, this seems to be only the 'general accepted view'. There does seemto be a workaround.
Before proceeding ahead I would like to admit one error I had written earlier: Tom had not talked about projects but about events...I had written so [above]:
To minimise sizes of archived projects, Tom had suggested that it would suffice to keep only the currentversionfcpproject and delete the rest.
Upon going once again through the concerned thread, I found out that I had wronly quoted him so. What he had written concerned events, and what he had written is this:
4. No, don't delete all contents of the event folder. Delete the Original Media folder, render folder, and transcoded media, but back up the currentevent.fcpevent.
I would like you to go this very pertinent thread in detail and see how one and all can benefit from it:
                                                                           Re: How do I properly archive or save projects so they could be used in the future                    
It would be just great if the nitty gritty details of the possibilty of having lesser space occupying re-editable project archives could be worked upon by ALL OF YOU SENIORS IN THIS FIELD as this is a matter of concern to all.
The present method of economical storing of projects [Duplicating the project with only the used clips coupled with exclusion of render files] could be likened to this:
HAVING TO STORE A HUGE-SIZED JACKFRUIT EVEN THOUGH YOUR NEED IS ONLY FOR A SINGLE SEED OF IT!
And Ian, thanks for stengthening my faith that God will provide! I may be empty handed now, but, with your brief sermon [wish most of us get such small dosed-sermons instead one ones extending to 50 minutes and over...will make the job of editing a breeze!] I now fully believe that there is a lad over here in these very forums who has with him 5 loaves and 2 fish[es]! Hope that lad will allow all of us to feed upon his precious fare!