By Shauna Scott Rhone
The Cincinnati Enquirer

(Brandi Stafford photo)

It's cold out, it gets dark early and you're in no mood to exercise, despite what you know you should be doing: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends adults get at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity nearly every day.

But there's good news: What you're already doing counts.

The CDC says "moderate" housework is an acceptable form of exercise. This includes inside activities such as scrubbing the floors, washing windows and moving light furniture and outside work such as washing your car, mowing the lawn and gardening.

You don't have to be a math whiz to figure your fitness level. Caloriesperhour.com is a free online service that lists the amount of calories expended during light, moderate and heavy activity. The Web site also has a "calorie balance" feature that keeps track of the number of calories burned vs. calories consumed by eating.

So how does your regular housework routine measure up? These statistics from www.Caloriesperhour.com are for a 150-pound, 35-year-old woman doing 30 solid minutes of everyday chores around the house. Plus, to help you burn even more calories, we've suggested a few other activities to give you a really beneficial in-home workout.

Type of housework	METs (metabolic equivalent total)	Calories burned per half-hour	Add light calesthenics (119 cal.)	Add disco dancing (153 cal.)	Add jogging in place (272 cal.)
Doing laundry	2	73	192	226	345
Making the bed	2	68	187	221	340
Cooking	2	85	204	238	357
Washing the dishes	2.3	78	197	231	350
Ironing	2.3	78	197	231	350
Dusting	2.5	85	204	238	357
Sweeping	3.3	112	231	265	384
Vacuuming	3.5	119	238	272	391
Scrubbing the floors	3.8	129	248	282	401
Rearranging furniture	6	204	323	357	476
Yard work	5	170	289	323	442
Washing windows	3	102	221	255	374
Washing the car	3	102	221	255	374
Gardening	4	136	255	289	408
Mowing the lawn	5.5	187	306	340	459
Raking	4.3	146	265	299	418
Shoveling snow	6	204	323	357	476
Carrying a small child (up to 15 lbs.) up and down stairs	7.5	289	408	442	561