The apology that repairs a roommate relationship
Say what you did without excuses: “I left the kitchen dirty after agreeing to clean it.” Name the impact, apologize, and state the repair: clean it now, repay a cost, or change the routine.
Do not demand forgiveness or add a counter-complaint in the same breath. Give the roommate time to respond. Then follow through for long enough that the apology becomes credible.
The repair is not the sentence. It is the behavior that follows it.