Take a quick picture of your suitcase and bags to decrease the amount of time that it will take to recover your bags, in case they are lost.

Face it: your luggage probably looks just like 90% of the luggage out there. Let me guess: it’s black with a few zippered pockets? Snap a few pictures of the bags your toting around before you leave. If they wind up in Tahiti when you’re headed to Taiwan, it’ll be much easier to show the airline clerk a photo rather than trying to explain how it’s big and black with zippers.

Travel blog Vagabondish also has 12 other clever uses for your digital camera including photographing subway maps, using it as a backup light, and to avoid rental car scams. A digital camera is one of the few small travel essentials that will help you consolidate information and lighten your luggage.

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[photo by: iheartlinen via: Family Travel]