O pantry, great food stash, giver of life, supplier of infinite snacks, why do you have to be such a total disaster area? I have tried to love you despite your dented, aging cans; skunky, gummy shelves; and weevils out the wazoo. Yet more often than not, you frustrate, even repulse me, and I find I must turn my back on you and order takeout from that excellent Thai place up the street.

Sigh. What does it take to surmount the common kitchen angst that sabotages your real, innate domestic superstar potential? You long to wow guests with that special improvised dish “whipped up from a few things on hand.” Except the only things in your cabinets certain to be fresh are a few Power Bars, some Chef Boyardee, and a fifth of vodka.

Or perhaps you love to cook, and do so often. But somehow you’ve accumulated three bottles of vanilla and ten cans of garbanzos, because every time you need these items you can’t seem to find them for all the chaos in your kitchen. Take heart: where there’s a will (and a couple of hours on any given weekend) there’s a way to turn your pantry into a home oasis.