Wendy Hays

Although most people find household cleaning tasks boring and arduous, the health benefits from vigorous, heart rate and temperature raising, cleaning and gardening cannot be disputed. 

Government guidelines recommend that we do at least 150 minutes of strenuous exercise per week. 

Whilst age, weight and gender play a role, on average, it is possible to burn anywhere from 4,000 to 12,000 kilojoules per hour doing housework, depending on the type of activity and the vigour with which you do it. 

By way of comparison, a Big Mac contains about 2,431kj and a slice of chocolate cake about 895kj (4.2kj equals 1 calorie). 

Now, I am not advocating these foods as healthy choices, but am using them to illustrate the energy value of food. 

So rather than thinking of housework as a chore, adjust your mindset to exercise mode. Don your lycra or favourite trackie and use the All Purpose Cleaner to do some energy burning spring cleaning. 

This cleaner is great for stainless steel and can be used undiluted on stubborn stains, but always patch test if unsure of the effect on various surfaces and materials.

All purpose cleaner

Ingredients

1 cup of methylated spirits

2/3 of a small bottle of eucalyptus oil

¼ cup of a good quality dishwashing liquid

Method

Mix all ingredients together in a 2 litre bottle then fill the bottle up with warm water.

To use in a 500ml spray bottle, add 1 cup of this mixture to the bottle then top up with warm water.