In my experience, the urge to refactor everything stems from one or a few really really badly coded features that waft their smell to the rest of the codebase.

In my experience, the urge to refactor everything stems from one or a few really really badly coded features that waft their smell to the rest of the codebase. The limited from-scratch refactor can be painful in the short term, but after it’s done you realize how much more manageable other features are because you’re no longer mentally burdened by the worst of the codebase.