Estimate calories and kilojoules burned doing laundry — folding and sorting, standing to load and unload the washer or dryer, and washing by hand or carrying loaded baskets — based on your body weight, effort tier and session duration. Laundry is one of the most universal household chores, done by nearly everyone on a regular basis, and while it's genuinely low-intensity work overall, the standing and carrying components still add a small amount to daily incidental activity.
Laundry calorie burn depends on which part of the process you're doing, captured here as three tiers: folding or sorting while sitting (MET 2.0), general laundry — standing, sorting and loading the machine (MET 2.3), and moderate laundry — washing by hand or carrying loads (MET 4.0). The formula is calories = MET × body weight (kg) × duration (hours). A 65 kg person doing 30 minutes of laundry burns 65 kcal (about 272 kJ) folding or sorting while sitting, 75 kcal (about 313 kJ) doing general laundry, and 130 kcal (about 544 kJ) at the moderate tier — roughly double the folding figure once carrying and washing by hand are involved.
| Laundry Tier | MET | Calories | Kilojoules |
|---|
The calculation uses a MET (Metabolic Equivalent of Task) value for your laundry tier, your body weight, and the duration of your session. This calculator uses three MET tiers taken directly from the Home Activities codes in the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities — folding or sorting while sitting (code 05091, "laundry, fold or hang clothes, sitting", MET 2.0), general laundry (code 05090, "laundry, fold or hang clothes, put clothes in washer or dryer, packing suitcase, washing clothes by hand, implied standing, light effort", MET 2.3), and moderate laundry (code 05092, "laundry, moderate effort", MET 4.0). None of these three codes are flagged as estimated in the Compendium, so all three are literature-supported values, not approximations.
| Laundry Tier | MET | Calories (65 kg, 30 min) | Kilojoules |
|---|---|---|---|
| Folding / sorting (sitting) | 2.0 | 65 kcal | 272 kJ |
| General laundry (standing, loading machine) | 2.3 | 75 kcal | 313 kJ |
| Moderate laundry (washing by hand, carrying loads) | 4.0 | 130 kcal | 544 kJ |
Laundry covers a narrower range of physical effort than most household chores, and that range is honestly on the low side for most of it. Folding or sorting clothes while sitting is barely above resting metabolic rate — it's a seated, low-movement task, and the calorie burn reflects that. General laundry, which covers standing to sort clothes, loading and unloading the washer or dryer, and packing a suitcase, is only a small step up, since it's still light-effort work even though you're on your feet. Moderate laundry is the only tier that meaningfully raises the intensity — this covers washing clothes by hand, which involves sustained arm and upper-body effort, and carrying loaded laundry baskets or hampers, which adds real load-bearing to the task. If most of your laundry routine is folding and machine-loading, expect a modest calorie burn; carrying and hand-washing are what actually move the number.
MegaCalcOnline treats laundry as its own calculator because its MET values sit at the lower end of the household chore range, and it's worth being upfront about that rather than overselling it. Sustained cleaning tasks like scrubbing or vacuuming generally sit at a higher intensity than folding or general laundry, and moving boxes or furniture — which involves continuous lifting and carrying — sits higher again. If you want a chore that burns more per minute, try the Calories Burned Cleaning Calculator or the Calories Burned Moving Boxes Calculator. Laundry isn't nothing, but it's realistically one of the lightest chores tracked on this site.
Honestly, barely, for most of it. Folding or sorting clothes while sitting sits only just above resting energy expenditure and wouldn't meaningfully count towards a physical activity target on its own. Standing to sort and load the machine is a small step up but is still classed as light-intensity activity. The moderate laundry tier — washing by hand or carrying loaded baskets — is the only part of a typical laundry routine that reaches an intensity worth counting as incidental activity, and even that sits below what's usually considered a structured, moderate-to-vigorous workout. General population physical activity guidelines are published by the Australian Government Department of Health and by the World Health Organization. This calculator provides a general estimate of energy expenditure only — it isn't personalised health advice.
The table below holds the tier constant at general laundry (MET 2.3) for a 30-minute session, so you can see how much body weight alone changes the total.
| Body Weight | MET | Calories (30 min) | Kilojoules |
|---|---|---|---|
| 55 kg | 2.3 | 63 kcal | 265 kJ |
| 65 kg | 2.3 | 75 kcal | 313 kJ |
| 70 kg | 2.3 | 81 kcal | 337 kJ |
| 75 kg | 2.3 | 86 kcal | 361 kJ |
| 85 kg | 2.3 | 98 kcal | 410 kJ |
| 95 kg | 2.3 | 109 kcal | 457 kJ |
Here body weight is fixed at 65 kg while both session length and tier change, so you can compare how much a harder tier and a longer session each add to the total.
| Duration | Folding (MET 2.0) | General (MET 2.3) | Moderate (MET 4.0) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 minutes | 33 kcal / 136 kJ | 37 kcal / 156 kJ | 65 kcal / 272 kJ |
| 30 minutes | 65 kcal / 272 kJ | 75 kcal / 313 kJ | 130 kcal / 544 kJ |
| 60 minutes | 130 kcal / 544 kJ | 150 kcal / 626 kJ | 260 kcal / 1,088 kJ |
Australian nutrition panels list energy in kilojoules, not calories, so it's worth converting your session into the same unit your food packaging uses. Multiply your calorie figure by 4.184 to get kilojoules. A 65 kg person doing general laundry for 30 minutes burns about 75 kcal, which is roughly 313 kJ — a modest number, reflecting that laundry is a genuinely low-intensity task for most of its duration.
How many calories does doing laundry burn?
It depends on which part of the laundry process you're doing. A 65 kg person spending 30 minutes folding or sorting clothes while sitting (MET 2.0) burns around 65 kcal (272 kJ), the same person doing general laundry — standing, sorting and loading the machine (MET 2.3) — burns around 75 kcal (313 kJ), and moderate laundry such as washing by hand or carrying loads (MET 4.0) burns around 130 kcal (544 kJ). Use the calculator above with your own weight, tier and duration for a personalised estimate.
How is calories burned doing laundry calculated?
This calculator uses the standard MET (Metabolic Equivalent of Task) formula: calories = MET × body weight (kg) × duration (hours). Each of the three laundry tiers uses a MET value taken directly from the Home Activities category of the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities — folding or sorting while sitting (code 05091, MET 2.0), general laundry such as standing, sorting and loading the washer or dryer (code 05090, MET 2.3), and moderate laundry such as washing by hand or carrying loads (code 05092, MET 4.0). None of these three codes are flagged as estimated in the Compendium, so all three are literature-supported values.
Why does laundry burn so little compared with other household chores?
Laundry is one of the lowest-intensity chores tracked on this site because most of the actual time involved — folding, sorting, waiting for a machine — barely raises effort above resting levels. Folding while sitting (MET 2.0) is only just above resting metabolic rate. Compare that with the standing and loading portion of laundry (MET 2.3), which is only slightly higher, and it's clear why laundry burns noticeably less than chores involving sustained movement, like scrubbing, vacuuming or carrying boxes. See the Calories Burned Cleaning Calculator and Calories Burned Moving Boxes Calculator for chores that typically burn more per minute.
Does doing laundry count as exercise?
Barely, for most of it. Folding or sorting clothes while sitting sits only just above resting energy expenditure and wouldn't meaningfully count towards a physical activity target. Standing to sort and load the machine is a small step up but still light-intensity. Only the moderate laundry tier — washing by hand or carrying loaded loads — reaches an intensity that could meaningfully contribute to incidental daily activity, and even that sits well below what's usually considered a structured workout. This calculator gives a general energy-expenditure estimate only, not personalised health advice.
How does carrying a loaded laundry basket or hamper up and down stairs change the picture?
Carrying a loaded basket, especially up and down stairs, pushes the effort well past folding or general sorting and into the moderate laundry tier (MET 4.0) used in this calculator, since it involves sustained load-bearing and, on stairs, a genuine cardiovascular component. If most of your laundry session involves carrying full baskets or hampers between floors rather than folding or loading a machine, the moderate tier is the more accurate choice, and a longer or steeper stair component could plausibly sit above even that MET value — this calculator doesn't model stair-climbing specifically, so treat the moderate tier as a reasonable working estimate for that scenario.
How does laundry compare to other household chores like cleaning or moving boxes?
Laundry sits at the lower end of household chore intensity. Its MET values (2.0 to 4.0) are generally lower than sustained cleaning tasks like scrubbing or vacuuming, and well below moving boxes or furniture, which typically involves continuous lifting and carrying at a higher MET value throughout. For a closer look at those comparisons, see the Calories Burned Cleaning Calculator and the Calories Burned Moving Boxes Calculator.
Does body weight change how many calories doing laundry burns?
Yes. Because calories equal MET multiplied by body weight in kilograms multiplied by duration in hours, body weight is a direct multiplier in the formula. At the general laundry tier (MET 2.3) for a 30-minute session, an 85 kg person burns roughly 98 kcal compared with about 63 kcal for a 55 kg person doing the identical task for the identical time.
How do I convert calories burned doing laundry into kilojoules?
Multiply the calorie figure by 4.184, the standard conversion between kilocalories and kilojoules used on Australian food labels. A 65 kg person doing general laundry for 30 minutes burns about 75 kcal, which converts to roughly 313 kJ.
Which tier should I select for a typical laundry session?
It depends on what you actually did. If your time was mostly folding or sorting clothes while sitting, choose folding / sorting (sitting) (MET 2.0). If you were standing to sort, load or unload the washer or dryer, choose general laundry (MET 2.3). If you spent meaningful time washing by hand or carrying loaded baskets or hampers, especially up or down stairs, choose moderate laundry (MET 4.0). Many sessions mix all three — you can run the calculator separately for each portion and add the results together for a more accurate total.