Country Life Tidbits

CONCEPT BY KATE RUTTER

As a child, standing on a stool next to Grandmother watching her work dough with her experienced hands, all you’re really thinking about is eating the leftover scraps of pastry! Tasting that delicious apple and rhubarb pie fresh from the oven is probably a vivid memory. But what doesn’t register when you’re young, is that Grandma might have had the secret to the perfect pastry in her head, a simple but effective step that was never written on paper…

Moving out of the family home brings a new found respect for those little bits of information used day to day by family and friends. Phone calls to Mum to ask for her tips on making the perfect gravy or asking Dad about lawn care would happen often. Unveiling useful tips like ‘always dust before vacuuming’ can be really handy when your fresh out of the nest!

Old fashioned country life still exits in many Australian homes today. Cutting a few flowers from the garden and placing them in a vase on the bench can feel revitalising and clean but is there a trick to make them last longer? Drying clothes on the line in the sun is cheaper than using a dryer, kills bacteria and airs the fabric….might sound simple but these insights may not be common knowledge or taught. In this day and digital age we often take information for granted, we can Google, search and swipe. But what about all the gems of knowledge that are hidden in our heads that we should hand down? Those nuggets of gold that we may not realise we possess or that we may not know to share. So much valuable wisdom that isn’t available on the Internet - unique tips and tricks that have been passed through generations, hand written notes and recipes that may go undiscovered, household rituals and hacks that could carry so much value to people none the wiser. We want to honour and capture these handy hints in a collection we hope to gather so we can share them with Rural Roomies everywhere!

how to contribute to our country tidbit collective

If you’re willing to get involved, we’d love to see your ‘tidbit’. Handwriting is very unique to the individual so it would be a nice touch if you could write your tidbit on paper and send a clear photo of it as a direct message to Rural Room or upload and tag it with #countrylifetidbits so we can collect, share and grow our ‘tidbit’ reservoir. Please include your name, town & state (see examples from Rural Room Media Stringers below).

Your tidbit might have been passed down to you or something you’ve discovered that is like the cherry on top!

Tidbits are golden sentimental details stored in your memory, often revisited & never forgotten.

#countrylifetidbits