Use Your iPhone’s Camera to Remember Just About Anything

iphone photo of light bulbs

Have you ever forgotten your license plate number as your family checked into a hotel and had to run out to the parking lot and write it down just so you could get a room? When was the last time you went shopping for new colored pencils only to space out which brand or colors you were supposed to pick up? Frustrating, isn’t it?

Your iPhone’s built-in camera is a fantastic tool for capturing still shots and video of friends, family and events. It’s also an easy way to commit things to (digital) memory. You can use your smartphone’s camera to take quick shots of just about anything that you may need to reference later.

Here are 50 things we frequently take pictures of with our iPhone:

  1. Titles of books we want to buy or get from the library
  2. Prescription medication labels
  3. Student identification cards
  4. Our pets’ registration and rabies vaccination tags
  5. Unique sized light bulbs
  6. Insurance cards
  7. Clothing sizes
  8. Our vehicle’s location in a parking lot
  9. Bike registration numbers
  10. The car’s license plates
  11. Watch and toy battery sizes
  12. Restaurant takeout and delivery menus
  13. Printer cartridge refill model numbers
  14. Shoe sizes and styles
  15. Air filter sizes
  16. Recipes from magazines and books
  17. Registration number on children’s computers, tablets and phones
  18. Driver’s license
  19. Grocery lists
  20. Things that need to be memorized for school assignments
  21. Shopping rewards membership numbers and cards
  22. Library cards
  23. Mechanical pencil lead refill sizes
  24. Price tags for comparison shopping purposes
  25. Our favorite stores’ business hours signs
  26. Maps to use when no wifi or 4G is available
  27. Valuables in our homes for insurance purposes
  28. Toys and games children like so we can add them to wish lists
  29. Coat check ticket stubs
  30. Business cards for the plumber, electrician, music teacher, tutor, etc.
  31. Tire sizes for the household’s cars and bikes
  32. Pictures of school band instruments and registration numbers in case of theft
  33. Book page numbers that mark where we’ve left off reading bedtime stories
  34. Which Lego kits the family already owns, and which we’d like to purchase
  35. Homework assignments written on a chalkboard or whiteboard
  36. Membership cards for the gym
  37. Locker numbers and combinations
  38. Lunch boxes, backpacks and other items of value in case they get lost
  39. Water purifier filter cartridge
  40. Report cards
  41. Pen cartridge refill and model numbers
  42. Receipts that need to be saved for tax purposes or other reasons
  43. Things that are on sale in various newspaper flyers
  44. Paint colors or paint can labels
  45. Labels of foods or beverages we want to try or buy again
  46. Store loyalty cards
  47. Credit cards
  48. Travel itineraries, tickets, reservations and passports
  49. Birthday party invitations, wish lists and directions
  50. Dry cleaning tickets

Slip all these photos into a folder in iPhotos called “remember,” or whatever you like. That way, they’re right at your fingertips when needed, and you can delete when they’ve served their usefulness.