It's a well known fact that adding small segments of physical activities to the day will keep your metabolism roaring and ward off a few extra pounds. Experts recommend brief speed walking sessions after lunch and a quick round of weights in the early a.m. If you can't remember to add these activities to your schedule, there's another way to get on the mega calorie burn, and it's as simple as picking up the vacuum cleaner.

Common household chores such as vacuuming, dusting the living room and mopping the kitchen floor give all your major muscle groups a mini workout; as you tighten up those abs to get to those hard-to-reach places and turn yourself into a mean, cleaning machine, you can burn off hundreds of calories per hour. Here are just a few chores and activities that will help you reach your fitness goals - and leave your house or apartment squeaky clean:

Ironing
Guaranteed to make your shoulders and upper back sore but strong, and you'll burn over 115 calories per hour.

Vacuuming
Get the place looking spiffy and burn nearly 200 calories per hour, even more if you add ankle weights to the mix.

Carrying Laundry and Household Items up and down Stairs
Almost 500 calories per hour; just make sure you're maintaining a steady pace to give thighs, glutes and hips a major workout.

Washing Windows
Give biceps, triceps and shoulder muscles a killer workout and burn almost 200 calories per hour. (So that's how those professional window cleaners stay so buff.)

Washing the Car
Grab that wax and practice the 'wax on, wax off' technique; get sudsy and enjoy a real car washing experience to blast off over 230 calories per hour.

Raking Leaves
Clean up that lawn and get your garden in tip-top shape for the season while burning over 350 calories per hour.

Washing Dishes
Give the dishwasher a break and hand wash a load of dishes to burn nearly 200 calories per hour.

Painting
Painting walls or window trim burns 65 to 100 calories per hour - give those biceps a mega-workout!

So what are you waiting for? Strap on a pair of sneakers and hit the cleaning closet for your 'workout equipment' of choice.