Hello again, savvy savers! Today I am 32 years young, I am 5’6”, and weigh 192 lbs; I am down one pound since last week. I walk my dogs but beyond this am not terribly active. My lifestyle causes sedentary behaviors; I work-from-home, blog, run two internet businesses, and perform advocacy work online as well. I am an internet-based excuser! Today this changes! Spring has sprung, and so shall I! I have taken up yoga, and have started working out with a pedometer on as well!
For this weeks Battle-of-the-Bulge, Budget Style post, I wanted to share with you one of my favorite ways to exercise, and that is with basic, everyday housework! Consider the amount of time you spend each week completing the following, and you will see how much extra pounds you will be able to shed!
Did you know that according to a 2014 survey by the Discovery Channel, that many of us find cleaning our homes ‘mentally therapeutic’ and say it helps us feel in control of our lives. However, a 2013 Pew Research Center Survey found that more than 40 percent of polled women believe themselves to be “cleanaholics,” citing that the average American woman spends more than 16 hours a week cleaning her home – that’s the equivalent of 2 hours and 23 minutes a day!
So, with this idea in mind, and under the premise that women are really spending almost 2½ hours cleaning and tidying up every day, there’s plenty of opportunity to get a sufficient workout without even leaving home!
So if you are like me, and the idea of knocking out two birds with one stone is intriguing, you are not alone. For not only is working out at home a more budget-friendly way to battle the bulge, but housework is a great way to burn calories, too!
But as is the case with any workout, the more effort you put in, the greater the benefit. Consider the following examples:
- Want to workout your arms? Try polishing, dusting, mopping and sweeping.
- Looking to tone your thighs? Try bending and stretching while making beds.
- Wanting to increase flexibility? Try to wash windows or do the laundry to improving flexibility.
- Looking for quick cardio? Just by running up and down the stairs de-cluttering you can fit in a 20 minute aerobic workout.
Also,here is a simple guide as to how many calories you can earn by completing each chose for 15 minutes:
- Carpet sweeping, sweeping floors: 39 calories
- Mopping: 43 calories
- Multiple household tasks all at once, light effort: 26 calories
- Dusting: 26 calories
- Washing dishes, While standing: 22 calories
- Vacuuming: 43 calories
- Butchering/Freezer Cooking Prep: 85 calories
- Cooking and Canning: 17 calories
- Serving food: 26 calories
- Feeding animals: 26 calories
- Putting away groceries: 26 calories
- Carrying groceries upstairs: 111 calories
- Food shopping: 22 calories
- Ironing: 22 calories
- Doing laundry: 17 calories
- Putting away clothes: 22 calories
- Making the bed: 17 calories
- Moving furniture: 85 calories
- Scrubbing floors: 48 calories
- Sweeping garage, sidewalk, and outside of house: 51 calories
- Watering plants: 26 calories
- Playing with children: 26 calories
- Carrying small children: 34 calories
- Elderly & Disabled Adult Care: 51 calories
- Playing with pets: 26 calories
- Bathing pets, while standing or kneeling: 43 calories
So, with these few ideas in mind, you can be able to combine simple cleaning strategies with simply, cost and time conscious workout options!
Here’s to better health,
