Jan 27, 2011

Burning Calories through Cleaning

I'm trying to get my house together in preparation for us going to Orlando. Does anyone else clean their house before a trip? I just can't stand to come home to a messy house. And I'm always scared our house will be broken into and everyone will see our house looking crazy. To be fair, that has actually happened! I came home from a rotation at the VA to find cops in my driveway. Someone broke into the house and stole the TV and my laptop-just grabbed what they could from the first room. The laptop really, really hurt because it was mine and I was using it while doing my Dietetic Internship so it had ALL my school stuff on it. So, yeah, the house was a wreck that day and I had to tell a cop "No. It is ok. It always looks like this!"

So today I'm getting my calorie burn from house work instead of the treadmill. It definitely doesn't count as cardio exercise, but light to moderate cleaning actually burns a decent amount of calories. I got curious about how many calories are expended, so I made this table!

Based on 60 mins of:

125 lbs
150 lbs
175 lbs
Sweeping Floors

131
156
183
Mopping

143
170
199
Light Housecleaning

86
102
119
Moderate Housecleaning

143
170
199
Washing Dishes

74
88
103
Vacuuming

143
170
199
Cooking

86
68
80
Ironing

74
88
103
Laundry-Standing

57
68
80
Scrubbing Floors/Tub

160
190
199




source
Calorie Lab is a great website to figure out calories burned. They have millions of activities to choose from.

Ok. Now I need to stop talking about cleaning and actually get to cleaning!















































5 comments:

Megan said...

So...have you ever actually engaged in "moderate housecleaning"?

Also, my verification word was "peans". That is a hilarious word. Please find a way to work that into your next post.

Carrie @ Confessions of a Dietitian said...

Um, most of my housework is moderate b/c I don't do any of the light stuff! So it is always a big chore b/ I suck so much at the daily stuff. And my vacuum is broken.

Jess @ Blonde Ponytail said...

Totally! Love returning to clean home! Have a fabulous time in Orlando!!

Happy cleaning!

sarah (SHU) said...

today's project is totally to clean, b/c we're going away this week! returning to a neat home is so much nicer than a messy one :)

Jody @ Raising Fin and Fish said...

I ALWAYS clean my house before vacation. I hate coming home to a messy house when I know I'm already bringing a buttload of dirty clothes home with me.

I also have an irrational fear that one of my friends is going to have to go into our house in case of emergency and be mortified at the state of messiness that I frequently live in.