1. Half the clothes you think you’ll need. You can manage on a lot less than you think.
2. Clothes that focus on fashion more than comfort. You’ll regret it when your trousers refuse to dry or you’re shivering in your vest top.
3. Teddy. He takes up space and you will be very upset if you lose him.
4. Lots of electrical stuff – you’ll need adaptors and chargers as well as your gadgets.
5. An extensive medical kit. Unless you’re going somewhere very remote, you probably won’t need your own syringes.
6. Books – they’re heavy and it’s easy to find them on travellers’ routes.
7. Lots of beauty products. It’s fine to take a bit of make-up but stop at the hair-straighteners.
8. Anything that is, or looks like, or smells like, it could be used to take drugs.
9. Anything valuable. You might as well write ‘thieves enter here’ on your backpack.
10. Anything that could break. It will.
Now you've decided to leave your crown and Venus de Milo at home, why not search for a career break?
Image credits: Neil Turner, David Urbanke, Pete Bartell, Global Panorama, Cristiano Betta, CCAC North Library, Mainstream, Nathan Mac, Chris Brown, Ivo Jansch