"Would" can be construed as a subjunctive form which express inherent doubt. So your first sentence connotes that you may or may not do the action contemplated.
The second sentence, "will" is indicative future, and specifies what will happen. In other words, there is little doubt that the action will be realized.
And since you question the finer points of these verbs, why not take the opportunity to clean up your orthography. Poor orthography always reflects negatively on the author, even more so than semantics. This is because orthography is taught from age 8 up, so it is considered a fundamental skill. Whereas in some cases, the semantics you question can rise to the university level.
"I thought I would keep my closest family members, and get rid of the ones I don't really talk to, like people I met for one or two dates." [Cleaned orthography, use more conventional phrasing]