Sweat equity: How to burn calories doing basic household chores

Key insights:

• Maintain a clean home and burn calories with these indoor and outdoor tasks.
• Add an extra calorie burn — with squats or arm circles — to your typical household chores.
• Don’t forget about the yard! Mowing, gardening, and weeding will get you sweating while boosting your curb appeal.

Are you getting enough exercise? Standard household chores can be a great way to burn calories and build muscle — and the end result is a beautiful house or exterior landscape! Here are some tips on how to get fit while tidying up your home.

Household chores that burn calories

1. Declutter your space

Before deep cleaning, start by decluttering your home. Not only will this create a blank slate for you to dust and scrub later on, but it will also burn about 240 calories per day for the average homeowner.

2. Touch up the details

Light cleaning in commonly overlooked areas will help you burn around 170 calories per hour. Simply set an hour aside in your day to disinfect remotes, clean the fan, and reorganize the silverware drawer, along with other easily forgotten tasks.

3. Paint your walls

To create a fresh vibe in your home, choose a wall color, grab your tape and brushes, and begin painting. Just one half-hour of painting your walls will burn around 160 calories on average.

4. Vacuum the floors

Thirty minutes of vacuuming can burn between 99 and 166 calories. If you usually vacuum once a week, try bumping it up to twice a week. Not only will your floors be cleaner than ever, you’ll burn double the calories you usually would!

For more spaces to clean inside, try dusting, scrubbing the bathtub, washing dishes by hand, and reorganizing the pantry.

Exterior home maintenance that works up a sweat

1. Mow the lawn

Even with a self-driving machine, those between 125-185 pounds can burn between 125 and 200 calories when mowing the lawn for just 30 minutes a week. If you have an old-school push mower without a motor, add an extra 30-40 calories.

2. Get in the garden

Ready to finally plant that pollinator garden? For every thirty minutes you spend planting, pulling weeds, and otherwise maintaining your garden, you burn between 139 and 205 calories!

3. Gather and remove leaves

Yard work has extra benefits, too! For a half-hour of leaf raking and removal, you can burn between 120 and 178 calories. Step back and hydrate as you admire your lush green yard after an afternoon of hard work.

4. Shovel snow

In just 30 minutes, the average person burns over 200 calories shoveling snow. While the snow-filled driveway may look daunting, shoveling can help keep you warm and active. (Remember, though, that shoveling can be risky for those who have a heart condition. Be sure to check with your doctor before heading out to your driveway.)

Need more ideas? Consider washing your car, pressure washing your deck, washing outside windows, or cleaning the grill.

How to burn more calories at home

1. Climb the stairs

Between household tasks, encourage yourself to walk up and down your flight of stairs. Whether you need to grab something from an upstairs closet or you simply want to add an extra calorie burn, climbing an additional flight of stairs burns roughly five calories. While this might not seem like much, it adds up over time.

2. Add exercises to your cleaning routine

With 20 calories burned for every 40 arm circles and nearly <href="#calories-burned">50 calories burned for five minutes of intense squats, you can supplement the calories you’re already burning as you do household chores. Turn up the music, increase your pace, and toss a set of squats in between dusting and vacuuming.

3. Walk the dog

Not all household tasks need to feel like a chore. If you have a dog, walking your pet is probably already on your daily to-do list. Enjoy the time outside with your pooch, and burn an average of 200 calories as you go.

Get moving!

While it’s good to have balance and enjoy the comforts of your home, remember to mix a few household chores or other exercises into your schedule. This way, you’ll feel your best in your body and your home moving forward. And knowing you’re getting that workout in after all might encourage you to keep up the habit!

Have questions on how to maintain your home’s appearance, or are you wanting to know how to sell your recently improved home? Reach out to Edina Realty or your agent for assistance. We’re here to help you keep moving forward seven days a week.