Cleaning Kills Calories

Prepare to be amazed (at least I was)! I'm sure you've all heard that cleaning burns calories, but how much does it really burn? Well, I'm glad you asked because today I strapped on my HRM for 63 minutes of light cleaning and found my answer: a LOT! 

In my 63 minutes, I did the following:

• picked up throw blankets and folded them on the couch
• dusted furniture in the living room
• emptied trash cans in the bathroom and kitchen
• picked up some things left out in the bathroom (shaving cream, tweezers, nail polish, etc.)
• dishes (by hand - unfortunately we have no dishwasher in this old house of ours)
• picked up items left on kitchen table
• wiped down kitchen table and oven
• swept kitchen and bathroom
• vacuumed the living room, hallway, and three kitchen rugs (in a small house - we only have about 800 square feet on the first floor)

Not too much work for a grand total of 349 calories! 

That seems like so much. Especially when a person at my weight (173) and height (5'8") burns 54 sitting down reading, writing, or watching TV. I noticed as I was cleaning that the two things that really got my heart rate higher were wiping things down and scrubbing pots and pans while doing dishes. 

So there you have it. Cleaning and housework really does burn a lot of calories. And here I always thought my husband was just trying to put me to work ;) Only kidding, Josh!

Peace & Love,

Jenny