Unlike me, Bunny has always been a neat person, in all senses of the term. She not only has neat habits, such as tidiness, and keeping things in proper order and shipshape, but is also neat in the idiomatic meaning of being smart, and elegant, and efficient.

Being a prime example of unneatness, I’m forever losing or misplacing things – mobile phone, reading glasses, my wallet – and Bunny unearths the elusive object from under the jumble of clothes in the laundry, where by some mysterious force of telekinesis it found its way, with perhaps some help from me.

Now Bunny is progressing from being neat to NEAT. NEAT stands for Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis, and is a neat way of keeping fit without gymming, or jogging, or Pilates, or Zumba dancing, which can be expensive, time-consuming, boring, sweaty, or all of the above.

In 1918, the US military devised a calisthenic routine, which was popularised as the ‘daily dozen’, and involved simple, freehand movements, such as stretching, and bending every morning, to keep fit and active.

NEAT is a non-athletic avatar of the daily dozen, and consists of doing one’s everyday household chores, and performing other physical tasks, which generate body heat, that in turn burns calories through thermogenesis. Instead of leaving it to domestic help, or others to do things for you, like making your bed in the morning (187-200 calories depending on bed size and your size; the bigger you are, the more calories you’ll burn), or making your own meals (100-150 calories depending on menu and the prep time involved), or making your way to where you’re going by walking, or riding a cycle, instead of using motorised transport (250-??? calories depending on distance).

Sweeping, and moping, the floor? (100-120 calories depending on the area covered). Vacuuming? (99-160 calories per 30 minutes). Ironing clothes? (100-150 calories). Gardening? (135-250+ calories). Playing with children, or walking your dog? (250-350+ calories, depending on how energetic the children or dogs are).

I have just one problem with all this make-work NEATtness. To do it, I’d have to tackle the most difficult make-work of all: making up my mind to do it.

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