Kitchens today are much different than they were in the early days when all that was available was a wood stove and a box refrigerator. Now there is a small appliance available for just about every job imaginable, but the question remains. Are these small appliances a help or a hindrance?

The main reason given for using these appliances is that they save time. For example, if you have a food processor, you can have a salad ready in just a couple of minutes. If you had to cut each vegetable by hand, it would take considerably longer. Soups can be pureed and blended in a blender in just seconds instead of having to painstakingly pass them through a colander.

Kitchen clutter is a problem when there are too many small appliances. Oftentimes, there is no counter space left to work on, and it has been proved that appliances that are stored in cabinets are seldom used. Since many of these overlap in the jobs that they can do, it is best to choose ones that can do a variety of jobs and forget about those that are just for one specific job.

Some people are physically unable to be in the kitchen for long periods of time, or they have limited use of their hands and arms. In these cases, any type of appliance is a godsend because it allows them the opportunity to complete the necessary tasks in the kitchen that they would not be able to do otherwise. Kitchen appliances can often be substituted for muscle power.

There is a big push on today about going "green" inside of the home. These appliances use a considerable amount of electricity that can be saved with just a little bit more time and effort on the part of the cook. Cutting back on the amount of electricity that is used in the home can help the environment, and it can help the family financially as well.

Many of these appliances are convenient to use. Food can be heated in a microwave oven in a relatively short period of time, and it will not heat up the kitchen on a hot day. When a working wife comes home after work, she can have the main dish for supper cooked, hot and waiting to be served in a crock pot. With the use of a food processor, she can have a salad ready in a couple of minutes.

There is no doubt that small appliances have many advantages in a modern day kitchen. They save a considerable amount of time and energy. Most of the disadvantages can be solutioned by purchasing appliances that do multiple jobs and unplugging them when they are not in use.