Thanks to American prosperity and women’s lib, services are one of the top growing segments of our economy. Many women today can afford to pay someone else to do the housework. And it’s not just women. Men and women alike outsource the many normal activities and chores of daily life.
Some families use laundry services and meal delivery and shopping services and landscaping services. Sounds awesome, huh? I do not use any of those services, so I wouldn’t know.
But what if I told that paying for services is going to make you sick and die early? Well unless you are spending most of your free time doing some other type of physical exercise, and not sitting at a desk or on the couch or in your car, then yes, you are.
You see, all those people doing all those services, they are getting YOUR exercise! And exercise is what keeps you healthy. Not prescription drugs or magic diets!
Americans are getting more and more unhealthy thanks to our outsourced and sedentary lifestyles, starting from childhood. Too much sitting has been compared to smoking! And once we hit middle age, the risk accelerates and the need to stay active or we will lose brain cells and muscle tone. Exercise is the number one way to improve your health and quality of life. Chores are a great way to exercise.
So fire the maid and get to sweeping and mopping! Send the landscapers home and go plant a garden. Go to the grocery store and walk around and then lug those heavy bags in to your house and put them away. Walk your dog. Mow your lawn. Remodel your house. Build something!
Your heart and muscles and brain will thank you. You’re welcome. 😉
Blue Skies and Green Pastures 
I’ll take early death and keep my biweekly cleaning woman
Lol! Okay, but stay active!
My friends who live in burbs and beyond say they have to schedule it if they want to walk 10000 steps a day. As I routinely do 15-18 without the gym I’m going to say I’m at least average on the active scale…
You do get around! Do you do any weight bearing exercises? Even body weight exercise such as squats and planks is good. We ladies need it .
I do body condition classes twice a week…it’s full body weights and squats and such…I take spinning 3x a week, one day I do a 20 minutes elliptical and some basic arms with weights. Plus the walking…and I do restorative yoga twice a month
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In all fairness, I’m guessing most people who hire a cleaning lady aren’t doing it so they can sit around. They want more time with their children (playing at the park is great exercise, too.) and if they have a full-time job (which pays the cleaning lady) they have fewer hours to put into the things that matter most to them. As my father pointed out, if I need it done, and if she needs the money, why not? (And no, I don’t have a cleaning lady, but I did when I was teaching and raising three kids.) Some women love to clean – go figure! And some like me don’t. So, for years I did my part in keeping the unemployment numbers down.
I understand. My goal was more to encourage staying active more than criticizing anyone who pays for help . The topic came up with a friend . And there is the other extreme of trying to do everything yourself and working so hard that you hurt your health . Moderation! 😊