How many calories do you burn when doing housework?

Well, don't let that gym guilt get the best of you. Studies have shown that housework can be just as physically beneficial, calorie burning, and muscle toning as an hour at the gym.

Here are a few ways to get the most out of your work:

Vacuuming and Sweeping: (burn 240 calories/hour) Put on some music and move to the beat. Studies show people move faster to music.

Scrubbing Floors: (burn 325 calories/hour) Get on your hands and knees for maximum toning and stretching.

Childcare: (burn 205 calories/hour) Get down on the floor with your kid, run around with them, use them as a weight and lift them in the air ten times.

Cooking: (burn 150 calories/hour) Do as much as possible by hand instead of using electric devices.

Laundry (repetitive bending): (burn 260 calories/hour) Put the laundry basket on the floor so you have to continually bend over to get the clothes.

General Cleaning (dishes, dusting): (burn 200 calories/hour)

Shoveling Snow: (burn 415 calories/hour)

Mowing the Lawn: (burn 325 calories/hour)

Raking Leaves: (burn 235 calories/hour)

So now you can get your house clean and burn some fat at the same time! Sounds like a win-win to me.