7 hacks to make life easier during menopause

Today's topic

Today on A.Vogel Talks Menopause, I'm going to be talking about seven hacks that can make life better for you in the menopause.

Now, we are busy people and, you know, life can often get on top of us. We can find ourselves overwhelmed and swamped with everything so, if you can find some simple little hacks to do on a regular basis or daily basis that will save you time and energy, it can really make quite a difference. So, I'm going to go through some of the hacks that I use that I know have helped me over the last few years.

1. Only have one handbag

Menopause symptoms this can help with: Brain fog, forgetfulness, anxiety and stress

I can hear all of you already going, "No, I can't do this!" But, number one is to try and have only one handbag. So many times, I have gone out and I've picked up another handbag, gone somewhere, and then found that I've forgotten keys, or my credit cards, or my notebook, or my diary, and I find that this creates a great deal of stress.

And, you know, if we're in a rush, we tend to forget things. Our memories sometimes are not particularly good, so we can forget that we've left something in one bag and not in another bag. Obviously, you have a few bags for different occasions. But I try very hard to keep everything in just one main handbag.

If you do need to swap bags regularly, then what can be really helpful is one of these bag inserts. It's like a little mini bag with pockets, and you keep all your important things in here. And, when you swap bags, you just pull it out, and put it into your next handbag, so it can be a very handy tip. You can get these on Amazon, and they're really not very expensive.

2. Keep things in the same place

Menopause symptoms this can help with: Brain fog, forgetfulness, anxiety and stress

Number two is try to keep important things in the same place. There have been times when I've been out shopping, I've got the car keys and bags of shopping in my hand and I put everything down and start to tidy up. Then, the next morning, I go to get my car keys, and I can't find them.

I can't remember where I put them and, in that moment, not finding things (especially if I'm in a rush) can create stress. It can increase your anxiety and make you late, and then that can cause a whole raft of other problems. So, when it comes to important things like car keys, I have a special hook in one of my cupboards, and the car keys go on there every single night, and that saves me a huge amount of anxiety and stress in the morning when I'm ready to go out.

The other thing that I do is I need glasses for close-up work and I find that, when I had one pair, I was either leaving them at work or leaving them at home. And, especially at weekends, I love to read. Having a whole weekend without reading, for me, is like a horrible punishment, so I now have two pairs of glasses. One stays at work in my drawer, the other pair stay at home.

And, for when I'm out and about, I bought one of these very cheap pairs of universal glasses which stay in my handbag. This means if I need to read something, maybe if I'm down the library or looking at the ingredients of something I want to buy, then I've got a pair of specs handy in my bag, and I don't need to spend the whole time squinting.

3. Declutter

Menopause symptoms this can help with: Anxiety and stress

If we have a lot of mess around us, it can bear us down. We can feel swamped. You know, sometimes, I go into one of the rooms and think, "Oh, I need to tidy up." But we can feel very much under pressure. We can feel demotivated in the menopause and even simple things like putting a few things away, dusting or hoovering can just seem really too much to bear.

One of the interesting things that happens in the menopause is our levels of a hormone called oxytocin decrease. And oxytocin is sort of like your love hormone. It binds you to things. And a lot of women do find, once they're in the midst of the menopause, that their attachment to things and old clothes tend to decrease.

So, having a good declutter not only gets rid of things that you don't need, but you can feel that there's a lot more space around you afterwards as well. And, also, if there's things that you don't wear, if there's things that you don't use, charity shops are always really glad to get these extra donations.

4. Write to-do lists & reminders

Menopause symptoms this can help with: Brain fog and stress

I have a terrible short-term memory. I will get up in the morning and think about what I've got to do and, by the time I've finished my breakfast, I've forgotten. So, I make lots of lists.

I love Post-it Notes! I think they are the most wonderful invention, and I put them up all over the place to remind myself what I'm doing, and if there's anything important that I've got to do at a particular time of the day.

The other thing that I do is I have a full diary at work. There's lots of different things going on, and I have lots of different things that I do at the weekend. So, I started to have a diary at work, a diary at home, and a diary in my bag, and then I found that I was forgetting to update them all regularly, which created absolute havoc.

So, if you want to be super organised and have a few diaries, just make sure that you take the time at least once a week to update them all. Otherwise, like me, you'll end up in a terrible mess.

5. Batch cook healthy foods

Menopause symptoms this can help with: weight management and cravings

Number five is to try and batch cook if you can. When we're really busy, when we're in the menopause (especially if you have lunch out or go to work and need to take food with you), it's so easy just to pop in and buy a sandwich or get some convenience food, and put it in the microwave.

The problem here is that these things end up very expensive, and the quality of food is really poor. You need good, healthy food during the menopause. So, doing batch cooking at the weekend can make a huge difference to taking healthy food to work. And, if you're eating healthily, you are less likely to snap, and to crave other foods that might not be quite so good for you.

For me, one of my best investments was a soup maker. So, I have this little machine and, at the weekend, any spare vegetables that are left over, I just chop them up and put them in the soup maker. I add some flavouring like stock, tinned tomatoes, curry powder, or maybe some coconut milk. You switch it on, leave it, go away, and do whatever else you need to do.

Twenty minutes later, you've got a big pot of soup all ready. I just freeze these, and that will give me five lunches for work during the week. And I add different things to them just to make a little bit of a change, maybe some shredded chicken, some noodles, or some crème fraîche, something just to add that little bit of extra taste. But, for me, it makes such a difference to my diet, and also I'm not throwing out all the unused vegetables during the week, which makes me feel a lot better as well.

6. Carry a mini fan in your handbag

Menopause symptoms this can help with: hot flushes

Number six, if you are getting flushes or sweats during the day, try and remember to carry a little portable fan with you. It can make such a difference, especially in the hot weather. If you're standing in a queue, if you're stuck in the car and you're just starting to feel that you're getting a little bit overheated, it can really make a lot of difference.

If you're around the house or if you're in the office, then even something like one of these gel packs can be really handy just to stick on the back of your neck, which can give you that little bit of instant coolness.

7. Schedule your water intake

Menopause symptoms this can help with: most symptoms

Number seven, remember, I always talk about water. It's so important to drink plenty of water, but it can be difficult to fit it into your day.

I mean, I'm really particular about drinking water, but I find the whole morning can go by if I'm really busy, and I suddenly realise that I've hardly drunk anything. So, what I do, when I remember, is drink a big glass of warm water as soon as I get up out of bed in the morning. Then what you can do is, during the day, use your smartwatch or your smartphone to set an alarm for certain times during the morning and afternoon to remind you to drink your water.

Good times to drink are maybe about half an hour before you have a meal. That can not only refresh you but, very often, drinking water before you eat will decrease your appetite, and that can be really handy if you are trying to manage your weight.

My extra hack

Menopause symptoms this can help with: self-esteem, confidence and stress

And my extra tip! For me, shopping can be a bit of a bugbear, and, you know, especially when I'm doing filming like this, I have to have a certain amount of clothes.

Otherwise, I'd be wearing the same things every week. But, A) shopping is very time-consuming and B) I don't like the crowded shops. So, what I did a number of years ago was I went and had my colours done. You go and see someone, and they can pick the colours that are best suited to your skin tone and to your hair colour. I am a winter white, which means that I can wear black and white, and really bright colours like pinks, blues, purples, and greens. But oranges, yellows and creams just make me look ill.

So, now it's much easier. When I go shopping, I just aim for the colours that I know suit me, and I can forget all the others. And that saves about half the shopping time. You can probably find colour therapists in your local directory. Or you can Google for the nearest one to you. And it's a nice afternoon if you have a few friends round as well because they'll come to your house. You can have a nice, relaxing, girly afternoon, and do something positive for yourself as well.

I hope these helped you. And if any of you out there have any hacks that you find really great for helping you through the menopause, then please do share them.