Today I interviewed decluttering coach and psychologist Kate Evans about something most of us would rather ignore: the piles in the corner, the “I’ll deal with it later” rooms, and the way clutter quietly eats away at our energy and worth. In this episode Kate makes a sharp distinction between cleaning up a space and actually healing the patterns that created it. Clutter, she says, is a symptom—of stress, life transitions, perfectionism, anxiety, and old stories that whisper “you don’t deserve better anyway.” If you’ve ever shamed yourself for not being able to “just pick it up,” this episode is your permission slip to stop.
We talk about why quick-fix shows like Hoarders make for great television and terrible long-term results. Kate explains how real change happens at the speed of your nervous system, not the speed of a binge-worthy series. We dig into the 80/20 rule, why aiming for 100% perfection is a guarantee for failure, the power of tiny wins (starting with one drawer), and the way evidence of success slowly rewires identity. Coaches will hear so many parallels to business: all-or-nothing thinking, ignoring small wins, and expecting a weekend workshop to undo years of conditioning.
Then we bring in the Endotype Formula and talk about how different Endotypes experience clutter: the action-oriented types who need to move to think, the understanding types who need to know “why” before they touch anything, and the emotion-first folks who wake up on the “wrong side of the bed” for a year and drown in the energy of their space. We talk about how clutter connects to self-worth, why caring for your home is self-care, and how coaches can honor a client’s wiring while still moving them toward change. This episode will help you see your space—and your clients’ spaces—as a crucial part of their coaching journey, not an embarrassing side note.
- 0:11 – Introducing Kate Evans and her work as a psychologist + decluttering coach
2:27 – Why hiring a professional organizer often leads to more clutter later4:32 – Clutter as a symptom of stress, perfectionism, shame, and limiting beliefs7:29 – Biggest Loser, Hoarders, and why crash-change doesn’t stick9:28 – Brains, nervous systems, and the need for slow, sustainable change12:21 – Endotype quadrants, energy, and the different ways we get stuck16:28 – When you don’t believe you deserve a delightful space18:50 – Tank tops, file folding, and the power of one small success23:14 – The 80/20 rule for decluttering and making multiple passes27:42 – Using personality and Endotype to individualize decluttering plansKate Evans is a psychologist and decluttering coach at Soulful Space Coaching. She helps people overwhelmed by clutter understand the mental and emotional roots behind their stuff so they can create sustainable change in their homes and lives. Drawing on yoga principles, therapy training, and practical systems, Kate blends inner work with outer order. She lives in Chicago with her husband and two calico cats.
- Website: https://soulfulspacecoaching.com
Instagram & Facebook: @katesevans.coachingBook: Ditch Your Sh!t : Decluttering Your Mindset to Declutter Your Home – available online wherever you buy booksCatch this conversation and more Raving Coaches episodes here:
- ➤ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7pNiUG0d05CTFM0MNJeuFE?si=dd985373802a470b
➤ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/raving-coaches/id1673460023