365 Less Things

Reducing our stuff one day at a time.

Day 324 Movement is exercise

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From that heading you are probably wondering what is Colleen going to be on about today. Well, exactly as the title says movement is exercise – every movement you make is exercise it doesn’t matter if it is a morning jog, an hour at the gym, walking around the grocery store or picking up around the house – movement is exercise.

So why waste all your exercise time in the gym while at the same time feel deflated because your house is always a mess or at least not in the shape you would like it to be in. The good news is that you and your house can get in shape together with the movement is exercise approach to housecleaning. And maybe you could save money on expensive gym fees at the same time.

Consider the amount of exercise you will receive doing any of the following

  • Bending up and down picking things up around your home. (Squatting and lifting)
  • Vacuum the floors (cardio workout)
  • Sweeping (cardio workout)
  • Dusting furniture (great arm exercise)
  • Dusting baseboards  (great for lunges & squats)
  • Climbing a ladder to clean fans or cobwebs. (great for legs and reach)
  • Cleaning mirrors and windows (great for arms)
  • Polishing the furniture (arms & cardio)
  • Emptying out and cleaning a cupboard and decluttering its contents. (an all over workout)
  • Mowing the lawn (definitely cardio and leg workout)
  • Gardening (another all round workout)
  • Cleaning and treating the leather furniture ( arms and legs get a good workout)
  • A thorough floor clean moving the furniture out of the way. (Got to be good weight baring and cardio exercise)
  • Cleaning and re-organising a bookcase (once again squats, arms and weight baring)
  • Washing the car (arms, legs and stretch)
  • Cleaning and rearranging the pantry (once again squats, arms and weight baring)
  • Raking leaves (cardio workout)
  • Cleaning the bath, shower and basins (if you are like me there will be cardio, arm and leg excise involved)
  • Beating out the door mats (cardio and arm exercise)
  • Tidying and sweeping the garage (cardio and arms again)
  • Cleaning out the pots and pan cupboard (definitely lifting and squatting involved here)
  • Changing the sheets and turning the mattresses (cardio and weight lifting)

I could go on and on as I am sure there are many more areas that I haven’t even mentioned here. Every one of these chores involves movement and like I said movement is exercise. Depending on how vigorously you approach these tasks will determine how much of a cardio workout you will get and how much you will achieve in the allotted time. Add in a game of wiffle ball with the kids and a walk to the store rather than taking the car, and you will be well on the way to a higher level of fitness and maybe even loose a little weight if that is your goal and most definitely a clean and tidy house.

Item 324 of 365 less things

We gave this towel to my father-in-law to use on his golf cart.

Golf Towel

5 things I am grateful for today

  1. Liam survived the night in our care so we are allowed to keep him – Well it was something like that.
  2. Hair Salons – I had my hair cut, dried and straightened and my eyebrows waxed and tinted today and I feel human again. I haven’t been near my salon since August which isn’t that unusual for me as I am more miserly than vain.
  3. Google Calendar – Between trip planning, keeping track of all my 365 things and now Liam’s appointments we have given our google calendar a good workout this year.
  4. My Bamix stab blender – It is coming in mighty handy for pureeing Liam’s meals. He is going to be very glad when his broken jaw is healed.
  5. Having in internal staircase – It adds an extra bit of exercise to my house cleaning routine especially when I go up then get sidetracked then remember what I went up there for once I get downstairs again.

Comments

  1. Good post! As I am recovering from surgery I am limited to what I can do, you have reminded me that every little helps

  2. I think you forgot mopping, my absollute least favorite chore, and one that’s heavy on the cardio. Maybe if I say “I’m exercising; I’m exercising” instead of “I hate this; I hate this.”

  3. House cleaning for 30 minutes burns 53 calories according to the iPhone app “Lose It.” Pretty cool app.

    • Hi Sally,
      I suppose that would depend on how much of a manic house cleaner you are. I do everything at a hundred miles a hour so I expect that would burn up a few more calories. Wouldn’t it be scary to work out how many calories one eats in a day then use the iPhone app to calculate how many calories one burns in a day. It is even scarier to realise how much faster it is consume those calories than to work them off again. 🙁

  4. Great post, Colleen. It’s wonderful to accomplish two things at once.

    I’m sure Liam will recover better at home with home-pureed food and TLC 🙂

    • Hi Jo,
      I am a little afraid of TLCing to excess. Liam went out last night and I kept texting him to make sure he was OK. He said this morning that he understood that over protectiveness is just going to come with the territory for a while.

  5. I mop my floors on hands and knees–just easier for me, really. Great stretching and core muscles exercise. I’ve been thinking about getting a gym membership and I just can’t seem to muster enough enthusiasm about spending money to move around in a stinky building with a bunch of stinky people when I can just go out my front door and exercise in the fresh air.

    • Willow, without really realizing it, “stinky building with stinky people” is the thought deep in my mind whenever I tell myself that I should join an exercise class LOL When I read your comment, it was like something coming to the surface. I tend to see those who commit to classes as somehow doing better than I am if I just go for a walk outside, but this helps me look at it differently.

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