Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Get Off the Couch and MOVE!


There are many reports saying that sitting too long is unhealthy. Dr. Mercola has written many articles about it. I was thinking that this may be a great motivator for those of you who care about your health but hate housework. Since housework isn't done while sitting down and we know sitting too long is unhealthy for us, this is great motivation to get up off the couch and get to work cleaning your house for your health!

Many very old people will say that one of the healthiest things they do is to move a lot and keep busy. I remember one man who had a tragedy in his life and couldn't stop grieving. Finally, he made a list of all the things that needed to be done in his home and did them. As he began working, he began feeling better emotionally and physically! 

God created us to work. He put Adam and Eve in the garden to work. He never intended for us to sit around all day at computers and in front of televisions. Even standing is much healthier than sitting. If you don't use your muscles, you'll lose them; along with your health!

This also got me to thinking about all the hours children in the public school system sit all day long and we wonder why there's an obesity problem. As the hours and days of school increase, so does the waistline of the children and their health declines. Children were made to be out running, jumping and playing; not sitting in a chair for many hours each day. None of us were made to sit all day.

Therefore, if you are a homemaker, get OFF that couch and start cleaning your home. Make sure your kitchen stays clean and tidy. Clean the bathrooms often, sweep or vacuum the floors, organize a cabinet or two a day, and shop and fix nourishing food from scratch. You can't do any of this from the couch! Get off of the computer or phone and get moving for your health. It'll probably help with your depression if you're depressed or have other health problems that come from sitting too long.

Maybe begin to hang up a load or two of laundry outside on a warm day. Wash dishes by hand if you have too much time on your hands. Take a walk around the neighborhood with your children. Bake cookies with them when you get home. Train them how to work hard and keep a home clean and tidy since the skills you train them in when they are young will most likely stay with them until they are old. Idle hands breed trouble.

Get rid of clutter and hold a garage sale. Research ways to clean with all non-toxic products. Learn to bake bread from scratch and make your own salad dressing. Stand up whenever you text someone or are on the phone with someone; walking around while talking. Find ways to move!

We have become a nation of sitters and it's hurting us terribly in many ways. Hard work is good for us! Never be afraid of it. It will help you to sleep better and to think clearer. It will help to get you out of your pity party if you're in one since you'll be too busy to think about yourself and your problems. Homeschool your children so they don't have to sit all day. Put on worship songs and sing and dance around the house; just get up and move! For this is the day that the Lord hath made! Let us rejoice and be glad in it!

The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, 
But the soul of the diligent is made fat.
Proverbs 13:4

Comments (11)

Loading... Logging you in...
  • Logged in as
My Fitbit has made this a fun challenge for me! It keeps me accountable to the number of steps I take each day.
1 reply · active 500 weeks ago
Accountability is always a very good thing!
Every morning, I put on my tennis shoes as a motivator to keep moving and get it done. Add to that some good worship music, and I turn into a not-so-mean, lean, cleaning machine. grin emoticon I'm not blessed at this time in my life to be at home full time, so it's an awesome feeling when I leave for work knowing I'll walk into a tidy home at the end of the day and find our already prepared supper simmering in the crock pot. We've de-cluttered truckloads of items from our home, and I truly believe that has been a huge factor in being able to keep our home neat and clean in a limited amount of time.
2 replies · active 500 weeks ago
Good for you, Shelah!!! You are one awesome woman.
Wow Shelah, you go! I'm inspired by you too!
Amen, amen, amen!! Well said! I agree with every word you wrote. Isn't it true that the Bible speaks so highly of good, hard work and how it will benefit your life and body? We are a generation of making things faster, easier, more 'convenient' - and in the end, we are only hurting ourselves (and our children, our children's children and so forth!)....
Now, time to go clean out the basement freezer to put in all the meat birds we raised this summer! Yeah!
1 reply · active 500 weeks ago
Since reading all the dangers of sitting so much, it sure has motivated me to be up more and keep my home a lot more clean and doing other things to try to MOVE!
I love this post! Now that my baby is getting older it's easier for me to get out and do more with the kids. I always feel stuck to the couch nursing for those first few months. It feels good and you're right, it has improved my mood a lot! Really working up a sweat and getting your heart going while cleaning is such great exercise. Thanks for the tips! Very motivating!
1 reply · active 500 weeks ago
You're welcome, Tiffany! It's always good to hear from you!
Lady Virtue's avatar

Lady Virtue · 500 weeks ago

What a motivating post. Quite ironic that I read it just after coming in from an exercise walk on a beautiful evening. Sometimes I listen to sermons while I walk; other times, I listen to nothing and just behold the beauty of God's creation.
Very uplifting an motivating post, Lori! I love it! "Housework is exercise" is one of my 'mantras' :) I also get out and walk in the neighborhood most days and I believe we must keep walking and moving, so that we can keep walking and moving!

Post a new comment

Comments by