I Refused to Enter My Last Year of My 20s Messy | The Spring Reset That Changed Everything
I Looked Around, Got Honest With Myself & Decided Enough Was Enough
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Is this a safe space? Because my house has been in shambles. Ever since I traveled a few weeks ago, my routine has been completely off. I usually clean on Saturdays, sometimes Sundays, but after my trip to Texas, everything just fell apart. Missed flights turned into an extended stay, and even though I planned to jump right back into my routine, life had other plans. I’m not making excuses, I’m giving context. The truth is, life happened. When I got back, I jumped straight into everyday life, and before I knew it, two weeks had passed and I was living in chaos.
Every time I tried to clean, I would either get overwhelmed not knowing where to start, or something would come up and pull me away. That’s the thing about living alone, it’s just you (well, and Saint). There’s no one there to check you when things get out of hand, so you can get comfortable in chaos in a way you wouldn’t if someone else shared your space. I was “cleaning” every night, but really that just meant washing dishes and straightening up the living room. Meanwhile, clothes were being washed and not folded, loads were being forgotten and rewashed, and my bedroom slowly became unlivable. It got so bad that I started sleeping in my guest room, and when that filled up with clothes too, I ended up on my couch.
And during all of this, I felt foggy, tired, and emotionally drained. Nothing in my life had actually changed, but my mood had. One day, I was talking to a friend and she mentioned my birthday was coming up that week. I paused, looked around, and thought to myself, I can’t enter the last chapter of my 20s like this. Enough is enough.
That Sunday night, I cleaned my entire house. I folded clothes, vacuumed, mopped, and even cleaned the baseboards. The next day, I got my car deep cleaned, washed my dog, and washed my hair. For me, it wasn’t just about having a clean space, it was about clearing everything that had been weighing on me.
There’s something about spring that feels like a reset. April especially feels like a breath of fresh air. Maybe I’m a little biased because it’s my birthday month, but it’s more than that. Winter always feels heavy to me. The cold, the dryness, the gloom, it lingers. Even when I push through, everything feels slower and harder. While I’m grateful I don’t struggle with seasonal depression, I can admit that winter brings a weight I don’t carry in other seasons. That’s part of why I moved back to Atlanta. It’s not just about the temperature, it’s the light. The sun makes a difference, and this April feels like life again.
What I realized is that sometimes the clarity you’re searching for in your mind is on the other side of cleaning your space. The mess around you will eventually show up within you. I had therapy last weekend and told my therapist I felt all over the place, like I had too many tabs open in my mind that I couldn’t close. Life felt mundane, but still chaotic. She told me to sit with that feeling, and when I did, the answer was right in front of me, my environment.
Sometimes it’s not that you don’t want to clean, you just don’t know where to start. That was me. I had tried multiple times before that Sunday, but every time I looked around, I felt like I didn’t have enough time to do everything, so I did nothing. Until I told myself to start at the front door and work my way back, one room at a time. That’s it. And yes, it took time, but once I got going, I found my rhythm. When I finished, I felt relief, completion, and peace.
And I’m not just talking about your house, I’m talking about your life. Have you ever felt like you made too many mistakes to fix things, like everything is too far gone? It’s not. It won’t happen overnight, but if you commit to doing the work daily, you will look up one day and realize you’re no longer in the same place you were.
Even something as small as my cluttered desk was affecting me. I was working, but not at my best. Everything felt heavier because clutter doesn’t just sit around you, it sits on your mind. Maybe you don’t have hours to deep clean your home, and that’s okay. Start small. Set a timer, do one section at a time, and build momentum. If you have the resources, outsource what you can. Even if it means skipping a night out, getting your space together is never a waste of time. Your mind will thank you.
Don’t normalize living in a mess. I did. I adjusted my life around it instead of addressing it. And that’s the dangerous part, when dysfunction starts to feel normal. And this goes beyond physical clutter. Don’t normalize lack, chaos, misalignment, or situations you’ve outgrown.
For me, this was bigger than a spring clean. My birthday is coming up, and every year I take time to reflect on where I am, where I’m going, and what needs to change. And I knew this version of me could not come into my next chapter.
So I’ll leave you with this: what mess have you been ignoring? Is it your space, a habit, a mindset, or even a person you’ve held onto too long? Whatever it is, it’s time to clean it up. Not all at once, not perfectly, but intentionally.
It’s time to clean house. And there’s no better time than now. It’s time for a spring reset.
