Widowed older people face household tasks their spouses once handled

Many older people who lose a spouse must learn to manage household chores, finances and contracts their partner once handled, Yle reports. For 80-year-old Mikko Räikkönen, doing the laundry was one such challenge.

Räikkönen was widowed four years ago. He had once taken care of the home and their two children while his wife was on work assignments abroad. He can cook and bake, but washing clothes on his own left him unsure which items could go together and which needed separate washes.

He first searched online for instructions and checked the labels on his clothes. Now he lives in a service home, where an automatic washing machine dispenses the detergent for him. He selects a 60-degree cycle for coloured laundry, and the machine signals when the wash is done.

The Martta Association, which provides household advice, and Eläkeliitto, which runs courses for older people, say they hear from widowed people struggling with everyday tasks. Questions include how to cook potatoes or make sauce, as well as how to do laundry and clean.

Marja Vehnämaa, a household adviser with the Martta Association in Häme and Pirkanmaa, expects the need for help to grow as people live longer. The difficulties can also affect family caregivers when a spouse can no longer help with daily life.

Applications to Eläkeliitto’s courses for people suddenly living alone reveal difficulties with finances, repairs and car maintenance, says the organisation’s planner Katja Harinen. Some also question whether they are worth cooking for now that they are alone. A partner may have handled utility and internet contracts, streaming services or driving, leaving the surviving spouse unsure where to find contract details and passwords or how to get around.

Räikkönen and his wife had discussed what they would do if one of them became seriously ill. Those plans helped when her illness meant he eventually had to stop being her caregiver because he could no longer manage the strain.

He encourages older couples to discuss practical matters while they can, including what kind of funeral they want, whether they want a death notice in the newspaper and where to seek help. He says talking about sensitive topics can make it easier to adjust after a spouse dies.