Handyman - Working for the Elderly

There are thirty five million people right now that are sixty five years or older in America and three out of five of those people are female. This means that if you are a married woman you will likely outlive your husband. The average life span difference between genders is eight years with most men living to 74 years of age and most women living to 80 years of age, but many women outlive their spouses by fifteen or twenty years.

Being a widow can be the first time many women have lived alone in their entire lifetime since many went from their father's home to their husband's home without being on their own in between. For the average widow the adjustment to singlehood from a lifetime of being married can be stressful and it is only accelerated by the worry of maintaining the home they have lived in the majority of their lives.

Most adults in their sixties today were raised in the era that dictated men worked outside of the home, came home at night, helped to disciplined the children and spent the weekend doing the small honey do's that involved installing something, building something or fixing something while the wife took care of the children, cooked, cleaned and kept the home nice. The loss of a spouse dictates the loss of that lifestyle.

For the widow it can be hard to know where to turn to get help in doing the things that their spouse knew how to do but they don't. Hiring someone to clean the gutters or install a flat screen television is a financial option for many women but they simply don't know how to find someone they can trust to do the jobs. The elderly are preyed upon by con artist and the unscrupulous and that fear of being victimized can make it difficult to know who to trust well enough to bring into your home.

One method that has been successful for many elderly women is to hire a handyman service based on the recommendations of other consumers. A consumer based web site like Angie's List is an excellent way to locate local handymen who are being vouched for by clients both past and present in the same geographical area. Knowing you are hiring someone who comes highly recommended to do those small honey do's can help make the transition into widow hood at least a little less painful.