Children are the opposite of lazy. Not only are the constantly active they force you to be active as well. Fortunately for most of us, their under-developed brains allow them to be easily ammused.

There are plenty of free and easy ways to keep childern occupied even if you’re still sitting on the couch.

• Count Things - Start the kids off on a scavernger hunt for small things and see how many they can find. Select unique and non-dangerous items such as vases, pairs of shoes, or doors.
• Go To The Pet Store - This one gets you off the couch, but can be entertaining for you as well as the kids. Larger stores are better as there is more to see and you’ll burn a few extra calories walking around. You don’t need to buy anything, just look around.
• Pop in a DVD - A classic tactic to calm children for an hour or two. It’s best to give them their own area to watch so they won’t be distracted by your snoring as you sleep.
• Car Wash - During the warmer months the kids can have a lot of fun with water and soap. Their little bodies are well-suited to cleaning hard to reach spots like hubcaps, under car seats, and in between the front grill.
• Bubbles - Mix soap, water, and a ring and the kids will play for hours. Bubbles are quiet, clean, and easy to make.

Mommy Tips also suggests creating mosaic animals with common household products. Children can also be taught to be energy concious by giving them green activities around the house. Also, make separate drawers lower to the ground so kids can reach platic utensils and feed themselves.

Of course, tag and hide-and-seek never get old as well, who knows you might even be able to be lazy if you find a good hiding spot.

[photo by: chamz.]

This headline is great for every lazy person, since cleanliness is the direct opposite of doing nothing. Researchers have found that common air fresheners and sprays are potent lung irritants.

Exposure to cleaning products could account for as much as 15%, or one in seven adult asthma cases, the researchers suggest.

On average, the risk was 30-50% higher in people regularly used the sprays than in others.

Doing housework as little as once per week is enough to raise your risk. Doing nothing all the time just raises the risk of heart attack, a fat ass, and a divorce due to your filthy home. Just as there is a way to get some else to pack your bags, you can probably get them to clean your house. Never mind the fact that you can clean without air fresheners and window sprays.

This list is really just common sense, but worth reviewing for those of you trying to squeeze out a few more minutes around the house.

If you have young children, Stack suggests setting up the kitchen so that they can help themselves when they want breakfast or a snack. Put all the kids’ plates, bowls, and utensils on a low shelf or drawer that they can easily reach, and pour milk into small, easy-pour containers. Keep the refrigerator stocked with healthy, easy-to-serve snacks like cheese sticks and applesauce.

I’m not sure if the kids just wouldn’t make a mess anyway. What do you do to save time when you’re at home?

The iTouchless Towel-Matic Automatic Sensor Paper Towel Dispenser (wtf kinda name is that) dishes out paper towels with the wave of a hand.

It’s supposed to cut down on the transmission of germs, but is really another way to do less work. It can even figure out those half-tear paper towels (another lazy invention).

For 60$ it is definitely cheaper to just use hand sanitizer instead of washing your hands. Or perhaps one of those bobbing plastic duck things to activate the dispenser for you. [via Gizmodo]

In case your trash can at home looks like this one to the left, avoid taking it out for one more day (or hour) by giving it a good stepping on. Keep your shoes on for this one and just step down as hard as you can to compact the trash. You can often create up to 30% more space with this little trick.

You’re also helping the environment a tad by saving some plastic bags and making more efficient use of the space in the trash and on to the landfill. Most importantly however, is you are leaving the duty and hassle of tying up the garbage and taking it out to your little sister.

Spending energy now so you don’t have to later is what laziness is all about. Leaving work for the next guy? Yeah, that’s being lazy too.

Got any other ways to be lazy with trash - and I don’t mean your friend Tony - let us know in the comments!

You see, watching TV burns 55 calories per hours if you weigh 120lbs, and 70 if you’re up to 175.

The more you weigh, the more you burn.

Drinking alcohol while you’re binging in front of the tube makes your blood thinner, giving your heart a break. Although we hear having a heart attack is a great workout.

Doing dishes has got to be the biggest hassle a lazy person can encounter. It’s a multi-step process but the house smells if you skip it.

You can remove one of those steps by simply putting in a good mix of cups, plates, and silverware in the dishwasher. Wash a full load and then use the dishes, let them all pile up after a few days, then put em’ right back in the dishwasher. Now you’ve completely gotten rid of involving the cupboards, a pretty useless step anyway. It’s like the circle of life right in your very own kitchen! (Except nothing evolves, well, there is the bacteria from the dirty food and the cockroaches).

To keep the smell down let the dishes sit in the sink and sprinkle some water on them. Don’t forget, you can even stick pots and pans in the washer because hand washing things is for people who don’t want to do nothing all day.

If you want to spend your precious 2 minutes washing pans or putting clean plates in a dark drawer then go right ahead. I’ll be eating Cheetos in front of the TV.

Now if you really want to take laziness to the millisecond level, don’t flush after you pee. Not only does this work at home, but public urinals too. You will save a few seconds of time after each trip to the loo.

Not only that but you won’t get sick as much (God knows where those handles have been) and save water, you won’t have to wash your hands afterwards. Since you don’t make contact with anything other than your pants and undergarments (be creative ok) you can be in and out right back to the couch or bar in no time.

Finally, you will end up saving money because well, you pee more than you poo. Of course if it is #2 time, do flush. Even laziness has its limits, plus splash back is gross. Of just stop drinking water, either way, we don’t really care.