Today is my laundry day, and just like every other Monday, I usually have 4 loads–two permanent loads for shirts and pants, one load of darks, and one load of whites. Once a month, I have an extra load because I wash the sheets, too.
Well, today I thought, “I could get some exercising done while doing something I do every week. It’s a thought that has occurred to me every once in a while over the years, but today I gave it some extra attention.
For instance, once I put the sorted laundry into baskets and brought them out of my bathroom to the laundry room, I dumped them on the floor. Normally, I would just pick up the basket and pour the load into my top-loading washer; however, this time, I picked each piece up one at a time by squatting while holding in my tummy muscles.
Now, I didn’t count how many squats it took to put all the pieces in the washer, but I could certainly tell I had done it! I actually felt better after I had done it, too.
Then, I decided to exercise when I folded items coming out of the dryer. I have a front-loading dryer and I usually push up a small step stool, sit on it, and fold the clothes as I take them out. (Here’s a helpful tip for you, too. Fold the clothes as they come out of the dryer. That way, they are already folded when they go into the basket and all you have to do is put them away!)
Well, not today! Instead, I pulled a few items out of the dryer and placed them on the inside of the dryer door. Then I squatted down, with a straight back with tummy muscles contracted, brought the item up to the lid of the washer, which is right next to the dryer. I then folded the item, turned to the side, and squatted down to gently place the item in the basket.
Oh yeah! I forgot to tell you to squeeze your gluteus maximus muscles, too while you are squatting.
While it’s a small thing, it is a step in the right direction and it did make me feel better.
Now, on to the next event–drinking my afternoon cup of coffee. Anybody have any great ideas on how to exercise while enjoying a cup of java?
Well my laundry day exercise consists of chasing my 2-year-old laundry thief as she steals my freshly folded clothes out of the basket and runs away as fast as she can. A freshly folded towel is instantly turned into a cape of some kind and she wraps it around her shoulders or over her head and takes off. That counts, right? 
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